CENTRAL NEW YORK – Area high school softball teams found themselves in four different Section III playoff brackets early last week, all of them trying to make it through opening-round tests – and mostly doing so.
The big activity was in Class B, where Marcellus was the no. 2 seed and Jordan-Elbridge the no. 3 seed, aiming toward a possible semifinal against each other if they both won twice.
In Tuesday’s playoff openers, the Mustangs rolled past no. 15 seed Canastota 10-0 as the no. 3 seed Eagles had a tougher game against no. 14 seed Adirondack, but defeated the Wildcats 8-2.
Again, Bella Mondello was the big story for Marcellus. All but three of the outs she recorded came from 18 strikeouts as she held Canastota to four hits and one walks.
Steadily, Marcellus seized control, scoring in each of the first three innings and going up 5-0 before it doubled that margin with five runs in the bottom of the fifth, all of it helped by Canastota committing six errors.
Mondello went two-for-three with three RBIs as Bryn Goldsworthy scored three times and Jill O’Connor scored twice, with Jordan O’Connor, Maddy Richer and Carly Sears driving in one run apiece.
As this went on, J-E saw Adirondack, despite its 5-10 record, hang around for quite a while, even after the Eagles built a 3-0 lead in the first three innings.
The Wildcats scored twice in the top of the fifth to make it 3-2, but J-E would get a run in the fifth and then, in the bottom of the sixth, decide matters with a five-run rally.
Abbie Ahern’s home run was a key blow as she also doubled, tripled and finished with three RBIs. Ava Hildebrant drove in a pair of runs and scored twice in support of pitcher Abby DelFavero, who limited Adirondack to two hits and struck out eight.
Solvay entered the fray as the no. 5 seed and was quite impressive, too, in its playoff opener against no. 12 seed Herkimer, erupting in a big second inning to help put away the Magicians 15-0.
It was already 2-0 when, in the bottom of the second, the Bearcats struck for nine runs, taking full advantage of a struggling Herkimer defense that committed five errors overall.
All the while, Jenna Wing followed up her May 17 perfect game against Tully with a 14-strikeout, two-hit complete game while she also got two hits and two RBIs at the plate. Delaney Kaszubinski also drove in a pair of runs as Sylvia Sgroi-Whalen and Ariana Ortiz each scored three times and Rachel Willsey scored twice.
Skaneateles went first in Class B, the no. 9 seed Lakers going to no. 8 seed Lowville on Monday and pushing into extra frames before it was able to emerge with a 2-0 victory.
For seven innings, it stayed 0-0, Grace Wagner sensational in only allowing one hit and two walks while accumulating 13 strikeouts, while Skaneateles constantly threatened against Lowville pitcher Anna Dening but couldn’t bring a run home.
Then, in the top of the eighth, Ellie Walsh, Reese Gaidis and Finn Pas’cal each got their third hits of the game, Gaidis driving home Walsh and Pas’cal singling home Gaidis. Wagner then got the final three outs.
Far from all this was the Class D sectional playoffs where Bishop Ludden, as the no. 3 seed, survived a 15-13 opening-round battle with no. 14 seed Poland to advance to a quarterfinal at home against no. 6 seed Sackets Harbor.
Grace Hilton’s two hits and three RBIs paced the Gaelic Knights, while Serena Royal singled, doubled and drove in two runs. Sophia Chemotti scored three runs as Jaylianna Pascarella and Amyah Macknail had two hits apiece.
A day later, in the sectional Class AA quarterfinal, West Genesee defended its no. 2 seed before and after a weather delay, shutting out no. no. 7 seed Central Square 10-0 as pitcher Maria Brandt limited the Redhawks to five hits.
Three-run rallies in the second and fourth innings, plus a four-run sixth, provided all the offense needed, and Kyra Lynch was part of all three rallies, her three singles leading to five RBIs. Makayla Dunham had three hits and scored three runs as Christina Guglielmi had two hits and scored twice. Single RBIs went to Alanna Bowman and Lorelai Leskoske.
