Still trailing 3-1 in the sixth inning, Little Falls coach Cristi Paragi knew her team was running out of time and let them know about it.
SOFTBALL
The Mounties responded in a big way and now find themselves right back in the thick of the league race.
Little Falls scored three unearned runs in the sixth and then escaped a bases-loaded jam in the bottom of the seventh as it beat Ilion 4-3 in a Center State Conference Division I game.
The win puts the Mounties (4-1, 8-1) in a three-way tie atop the divisional standings with both the Golden Bombers (3-1, 5-2) and also Adirondack with one league loss apiece.
“We looked at this as a pretty big game even though its still early in the season, because we didn’t want to fall behind by two games in the race,” Paragi said. “I told the girls we were running out of time, but I felt confident with who we had coming up in that inning.”
While Little Falls put the ball in play, it Ilion’s defense that helped contribute to the Mounties taking the lead.
Alaina Demeree led off the inning with a sharp single to left on a 2-0 pitch. Olivia Tooley then laid down a bunt and Tooley, hustling down the line was able to jar the ball loose as she collided with Ilion second baseman Sarah Alexander covering first base.
Demeree went all the way around to third and scored when Sue Schoff hit a grounder to short and Tooley was able to beat the force at second.
Jordan Mitchell then hit a high pop fly behind shortstop that was ruled an infield fly. Ilion’s Emily Woudenberg fell to the ground as she tried to make a lunging catch and the ball dropped allowing both Tooley and Schoff to advance. Woudenberg tried to flip the ball to second, but nobody was there and Tooley came around to score and Schoff proceeded to third.
Sarah Helmer then delivered the go-ahead run with a sharp single to left.
“That was one tough defensive inning and it cost us,” Ilion coach Pat Whalen said. “I’m going to stay positive with the girls, but against a good team like that you can’t give them extra outs.”
After going quietly in the sixth, Ilion had one more chance in the seventh, thanks in part to some miscues by the Mounties in the field.
Emily Gilman led off with a single against Nikkie VanMeter and went to second as Jessica Boulia’s liner back to VanMeter was dropped.
VanMeter struck out the next batter before Ilion’s No. 2 hitter Marissa Maldonado reached on another error, this time on a grounder to third.
That loaded the bases, but VanMeter proceeded to strike out the next hitter before inducing Stephanie Lachacz into a grounder back to the pitching circle to end the game.
“It was a pretty tense situation and we just needed to calm down,” Paragi said of what she said when she made a trip to the pitching circle to talk to her team after Ilion loaded the bases. We just needed to remain calm and take care of the next two batters. I’m proud of the way the girls responded.”
Little Falls other run in the first inning actually came unearned as well.
Tooley singled with two outs and came all the way around to score as Sue Schoff’s double down the left field line got by the Ilion fielder for an error.
Despite the loss, Whalen was encouraged with how his team played, especially a couple of his youngsters.
Freshman Samantha Giruzzi pitched extremely well despite the loss as all four runs she allowed were unearned. Giruzzi struck out 11 and allowed six hits without a walk.
Gilman also had her first varsity hit, a two-run single that gave the Golden Bombers a 2-1 lead in the second inning.
“I was very proud of how those two young girls performed,” Whalen said. “Emily had a big hit and that was quite a pitching performance out of a freshman. We had a couple of our veterans who just needed to do a better job of putting the bat on the ball in a key situation.”
Ilion extended their lead to 3-1 in the fifth as leadoff hitter Sarah Alexander drilled a home run down the right-field line. It was the second straight game that Alexander has delivered a home run on the Bombers’ home field.
Tooley finished with a hit and two runs scored for the Mounties and Schoff had a double.
VanMeter finished with a three-hitter with 12 strikeouts on the day.
ADIRONDACK 5
MOHAWK 4
HERKIMER — Mohawk scored three times in the bottom of the seventh inning but just came up short in losing to Adirondack in a CSC Division I game played at Herkimer County Community College.
The Mohicans (2-3, 4-5) had the tying run on base when Adirondack pitcher Rachel Hitt got the final out on a grounder to first to end the game.
Amber Etienne had started the seventh for Mohawk by singling with one out. Etienne went to second on Kaylee Luppino’s fielder’s choice back to the pitcher before Christy Traglia reached on an error to score Etienne. Alex Kryshchuk then delivered a run-scoring single and scored on Alexis Gilbert’s base hit.
Hitt, who struck out eight, was then able to end the threat.
Adirondack, which scored two in the first and two more in the sixth, got a much-needed insurance run in the top of the seventh as Jenna Crill doubled and later scored.
Hitt allowed seven hits and walked one to beat Kelly Herlehy (3-4), who struck out two and walked one in tossing a five-hitter.
Etienne had two hits and scored two runs and Kryshchuk also had two hits for the Mohicans.
HERKIMER 14
DOLGEVILLE 8
HERKIMER — The Magicians erased an early deficit by scoring seven times in the third inning and went on to beat the Blue Devils in a CSC Division I game.
Herkimer scored in every at-bat and overcame a four-run Dolgeville first inning to pick up the win.
Kayla Krenichyn and Shauna Mills each had three hits to lead a 14-hit Magician attack. Krenichyn drove in three runs, while Mills had a double and an RBI. Dana Pohlig also doubled for Herkimer and Emily Stalteri had two hits and drove in two runs for the Magicians (2-3, 3-7).
Sarah Meszler picked up her first varsity win as she allowed four hits and struck out five.
Katelyn Winkler took the loss for Dolgeville lasting just 2 2/3 innings.
WEST CANADA 23
RICHFIELD 9
RICHFIELD SPRINGS — The Indians had a couple of big innings as they beat Richfield Springs in a CSC Division III game.
West Canada (2-2, 2-7) scored eight times in the first inning then added 10 runs in the sixth inning to pull away to the easy win.
Alexa Dispirito led a 12-hit attack with a two hits including a triple and Mackenzie Picker had two hits as well. Kayla McKerrow had a double and scored three times for the Indians.
Sarah Smith picked up her first win of the season as she struck out five on the day.
Taylor Van Winkler took the loss for Richfield (0-4).
Ilion, N.Y. —
