Oneonta High proved Wednesday it can score runs with or without hits.
Despite getting two-hit by visiting Norwich on Wednesday, the third-seeded Yellowjackets cruised to a 7-1 victory in a Section Four Class B quarterfinal at home.
"I thought we had to change our approach halfway through the game," said OHS coach Randy Brockway, whose team was held hitless by Jaime Berger through five innings but still held a 3-0 lead. "Berger did a nice job throwing the ball and hitting her spots. We put the ball in play and forced them to make plays. We wanted to put the ball in play and force the issue."
Hayley Dower manufactured Oneonta's first run, drawing a two-out walk, stealing second and scoring on a two-base throwing error as she attempted to take third on a wild pitch in the third inning. The throw down from catcher Molly Moore ended up in left field as Dower scored to make it 1-0.
Another walk hurt sixth-seeded Norwich in the fifth. Brieanna Baker followed her free pass with a steal and took third when Shelby Cleaveland's bunt attempt turned into an errant throw to first base. Dower then grounded to back to Berger, who checked Baker back to third before throwing to first for the out. Baker broke for home on the throw to first and scored as the throw home got past Moore. The error also allowed Cleaveland to score as she was running on the grounder.
Erin Mushtare was hit by pitch to open Oneonta's at-bats in the sixth and beat a throw in the dirt to second after winning pitcher Seneca Baldwin grounded to third. Berger then threw away a bunt attempt by Cami Cleaveland, allowing Mushtare to score and giving the Jackets (14-6) runners at second and third.
Minnie Webster then broke up Berger's no-hit bid with a two-run triple down the right-field line, and Baker followed with an RBI double to left-center field to cap the scoring.
Baker relieved Baldwin in the seventh, walked the bases loaded and gave up a run on a wild pitch before ending the quarterfinal with a strikeout.
Baldwin struck out seven, walked none and gave up four hits in six scoreless innings to improve to 14-5 for the Jackets, who will visit second-seeded Susquehanna Valley at 5 p.m. today for a semifinal. SV thumped Dryden, 15-0, in its quarterfinal at home Wednesday.
Berger struck out 11, walked four and hit one batter in her two-hitter for Norwich, which fell to OHS, 3-2, during the regular season.
Oneonta 7, Norwich 1
SECTION FOUR B QUARTERFINAL
6-Norwich ..... 000 000 1 _ 1 4 4
3-Oneonta ..... 001 024 x _ 7 2 0
Jaime Berger (L) and Molly Moore. Seneca Baldwin (W,14-5), Brieanna Baker (7) and Brianna Georgia. 2B _ Brieanna Baker (O). 3B _ Minnie Webster (O).
CLASS D
Deposit 12, Gilboa 0
Defending Section Four Class D champion Deposit cruised to a quarterfinal victory over sixth-seeded visitor Gilboa to set up a rematch of the 2011 sectional final with Afton.
The third-seeded Lumberjacks, who ended Afton's sectional-title run at 16 in a row last season, scored twice on two errors, a sacrifice bunt by Jenn Newman and a single by Kayla Miller in the fourth inning against Gilboa (13-4).
Hannah Freyer, who scored the first run, contributed a two-run single with one out in the fifth, when Deposit (18-4) scored five times for a 7-0 lead. The Lumberjacks also scored five times in the sixth, with three runs coming on a bases-loaded triple by Kylie Papagelos.
Haley Linkroum had two hits and two runs for Deposit, which received two hits and two RBIs from Miller.
Winning pitcher Justina Ellis struck out nine, hit one batter and walked none in a three-hitter for third-seeded Deposit, which will visit No. 2 Afton at 4:30 p.m. today.
"I would say we kind of figured that in order to defend our title, the road would go through Afton at some point," said Deposit coach Ed Swartwout, whose team won the 2011 sectional crown with a 6-5 victory over the Crimson Knights. "Whether it's in the semifinals or the final makes no difference. You're going to have to beat the best to win the title."
Afton, which beat Deposit, 3-1, in a Midstate Athletic Conference semifinal this season, earned a 16-2 victory over Tri-Valley League champion Schenevus on Wednesday to advance.
"No. 1 vs. No. 3 in the state," Swartwout said of the Class D state rankings attached to Afton and Deposit, respectively. "I guess it's kind of a big game, right?"
Deposit 12, Gilboa 0
SECTION FOUR D QUARTERFINAL
6-Gilboa ..... 000 000 0 _ 0 3 4
3-Deposit ..... 000 255 x _ 12 9 1
Allison McGuire (L) and Shelby Oliver. Justina Ellis (W,18-4) and Shelby Pettersen. 2B _ Jenn Newman (D), McKenzie Martin (D). 3B _ Kylie Papagelos (D).
Afton 16, Schenevus 2
Payton Cutting and Sierra Palmatier had four hits apiece to lead Afton to a Section Four Class D quarterfinal victory over visiting Schenevus.
Cutting doubled, tripled and drove in two runs for the Crimson Knights, who received three singles and a double from Palmatier.
Midstate Athletic Conference Tournament runner-up Afton (14-7) scored 10 times in the first inning against Tri-Valley League champion Schenevus, which ended its season at 13-7.
Maura Harrington and Sierra Bentley doubled for the 10th-seeded Dragons, who were outhit, 18-3.
No. 2 seed Afton hosts third-seeded Deposit (18-4) for a sectional semifinal at 4:30 p.m. today.
Afton 16, Schenevus 2
Section Four D Quarterfinal
10-Schenevus ..... 100 000 1 _ 2 3 3
2-Afton ..... (10)31 020 x _ 16 18 2
Taylor Spranger (L), Jessica Kruh (4) and Maura Harrington. Cassidy Phillips (W), Payton Cutting (5) and Taylor Briggs, Bailey Sherman (7). 2B _ Payton Cutting (A), Taylor Briggs (A), Sierra Palmatier (A), Bailey Sherman (A), Maura Harrington (S), Sierra Bentley (S). 3B _ Payton Cutting (A).
Hancock 14, Davenport 3
Fifth-seeded Hancock started Wednesday with a 10-1 lead over No. 13 Davenport as their game _ suspended from Tuesday _ resumed in the bottom of the third inning.
All of Hancock's runs Tuesday came in the first inning.
Starting pitcher Lindsay McGraw plated Hancock's first runs, hitting a three-run homer as the third batter of the game. McGraw, who had four hits over two days, was a triple shy if hitting for the cycle. She drove in six runs and scored twice.
Lea Newman _ who relieved McGraw and struck out seven in four innings for the pitching win _ had three hits, scored three runs and drove in two. Brooke Sherburne and Caitlin Wormuth contributed three this apiece. Sherburne singled, tripled and hit a two-run homer in the fifth.
Bailee Hymers doubled for Davenport (7-7).
Hancock (15-5) will travel to top-seeded Franklin (14-2) for a semifinal at 4:30 p.m. today.
Hancock 14, Davenport 3
Section Four D Quarterfinal
13-Davenport ..... 010 000 2 _ 3 4 1
5-Hancock ..... (10)01 030 x _ 14 18 3
Jenna Lutz (L) and Ashley Yearsley. Lindsay McGraw, Lea Newman (4,W,5-0) and Brianne Kravetsky. 2B _ Bailee Hymers (D), Lindsay McGraw (H). 3B _ Lea Newman (H), Brooke Sherburne (H). HR _ Lindsay McGraw (H), Brooke Sherburne (H).
Franklin 10, Milford 9
Top-seeded Franklin overcame a six-run deficit in the first inning to advance in the Section Four Class D Tournament.
Renee Kessler's two-run single highlighted a six-run first inning for ninth-seeded Milford, which gave up six runs in the bottom of the second. Marisa Cawley had an RBI single in the second for Franklin, who scored the other five runs on walks and errors.
Franklin broke an 8-all tie with two runs in the sixth. Jordan Beers led off the inning with a single and stole second and third before Jessie Terrano hit an RBI single to left-center field. Terrano later scored on a single up the middle by Cawley.
Cawley and Beers each went 2-for-4. Beers scored twice and Cawley had two RBIs.
Milford (12-6) closed the gap to one run in the seventh on a fielders' choice by Peggy Paffenroth that scored Krista Ransier. Teammate Michelle Paffenroth finished 2-for-4 with a double and run.
The game, which started Tuesday, was suspended after five pitches because of poor weather.
Franklin (14-2) will host fifth-seeded Hancock (15-5) in a semifinal at 4:30 p.m. today.
Franklin 10, Milford 9
Section Four D Quarterfinal
9-Milford ..... 601 010 1 _ 9 7 2
1-Franklin ..... 060 112 x _ 10 9 4
Kaitlin VanWinkler (L), Kaley Chase (6) and Natasha Skillen. Angie Willert, Jordan Beers (1), Angie Willert (4,W,13-2) and Haley Downin. 2B _ Michelle Paffenroth (M).
BASEBALL
Hancock 14, SK 2
Tyler Phillips went 3-for-5 with four runs for defending Section Four Class D champion Hancock, which rolled to a semifinal victory over fifth-seeded South Kortright at Deposit.
Hancock coach Brandon Olbrys said the game was moved to Deposit because rain made his field unplayable. The top-seeded Wildcats (19-3) won't have to worry about field maintenance from here on out, though, as they advanced to the sectional final at Oneonta State.
Olbrys said his opponent will be determined today, when Richfield Springs visits Milford in the other Class D final. Olbrys said the third-seeded Indians and No. 2 Milford were rained out Wednesday, pushing their semifinal to 4:30 p.m. today and the Section Four final to 4:30 p.m. Friday.
Warren Drake contributed two hits and three RBIs for Hancock, which helped Cole Dufton to his sixth pitching win this season. Dufton stuck out eight, walked three and gave up four hits in six innings before Drake threw a scoreless seventh.
Dylan Cole's two-run single in the fifth paced South Kortright, which got a double from Cody Stinson.
Hancock 14, SK 2
SECTION FOUR D SEMIFINAL
at Deposit
5-South Kortright ..... 000 020 0 _ 2 4 3
1-Hancock ..... 310 541 x _ 14 13 0
Cody Stinson (L), Trevor Holdridge (2), Griff Metzko (6) and Dylan Cole. Cole Dufton (W,6-1), Warren Drake (7) and Chris Wadeson. 2B _ Cody Stinson (S), Tom Banicky (H).
