EAST SYRACUSE – Everything possible lay in front of the West Genesee softball team as it worked toward an opportunity at the Section III Class AA championship.
That hard work resulted in a sectional finals appearance – and though the ultimate dream was denied by Whitesboro Thursday in a 6-1 title game at Carrier Park, there was plenty to celebrate.
Just getting there required WG, in Sunday’s quarterfinal at Carrier Park, to beat no.3 seed Auburn, a team it topped 5-2 less than two weeks earlier – but their rematch was far more stressful, going to eight innings before the Wildcats pulled it out 8-7.
A wild first inning saw the Maroons score twice, but WG take charge when it batted around and plated six runs, the kind of rally that usually decides a game.
But Auburn pitcher Ella Noble settled down and blanked the Wildcats over the next four innings, and while Maria Brandt was just as stingy, the Maroons cut the margin to 6-4 with single runs in the fifth and sixth.
WG tacked on a run in the bottom of the sixth, which proved important because Auburn, down to its last three outs, erupted for three runs in the top of the seventh, sending it to extra frames.
Brandt kept it 7-7, having struck out 10 in her complete-game stint, and was rewarded when the Wildcats pushed across the winning run in the bottom of the eighth.
Overall, WG had 14 hits, three each by Brynlee Elkins and Christina Gugllelmi, who combined to score three runs. Lorelai Leskoske scored twice, while Kyra Lynch, Anna Drogo and Jenna Bookman earned two RBIs apiece. Brandt also drove in a run.
Now, though, it was WG against Whitesboro, who had prevailed 11-2 when they met early in the regular season – and was bent on earning its first sectional championship since 1988.
Quickly, Whitesboro went in front with a run in the first inning, but did its big damage in the third, when it tagged Brandt for four runs, one scoring on Sophia Temple’s inside-the-park home run and two others on a hit from Casey Clausen.
Pitching in relief, Lorelai Leskoske threw two scoreless innings, and the Wildcats did score in the top of the sixth when Makayla Dunham singled and made it home.
For the rest of the game, though, Whitesboro pitcher Addison Cook was quite effective, only allowing one other hit – to Lynch – and a walk to Ellkins while netting five strikeouts and breaking her program’s long sectional title drought.
