Just like that, Oneonta High's softball season came to an end.
Second-seeded Susquehanna Valley sealed a 4-3 victory over the visiting Yellowjackets with a strike-em-out, throw-em-out double play in the top of the seventh inning Thursday as the Sabers advanced to the Section Four Class B championship game.
"It's not the way we wanted to end our season," said OHS coach Randy Brockway, whose third-seeded team finished 14-7 this season. "But to lose, 4-3, to a state-ranked team isn't anything to hang your head over."
Minnie Webster gave the Jackets a little hope with one out in the seventh, when she reached base on a throwing error by SV third baseman Abby Hogan. Shelby Cleaveland then struck out swinging on a hit-and-run attempt that went awry as SV catcher Lindsey Haskell threw out Webster at second base to end the game.
"It was the type of game where if anyone got on base, you had to figure out how to produce the run," said Brockway, whose team finished with two hits for the second straight game. "It was certainly heartbreaking for us. We put ourselves in a position to win at the end."
Oneonta, which had two hits in a 7-1 quarterfinal win over visiting Norwich on Wednesday, struck out five times against winning pitcher Laura Knight.
"She didn't overpower us," Brockway said of Knight, who walked one. "She did change speed a lot and that got us a few times. But we changed our strategy from (Wednesday), when we looked at a few too many pitches. Today we swung the bat. I thought our execution was good. We put ball in play, we just didn't find the hole when we needed to find it."
OHS opened the scoring with two out in the fourth inning. Erin Mushtare drew a walk before pinch-runner Maria DiMartin scored on a double by Brieanna Baker to left-center field. Baker later scored on a throwing error to make it 2-0.
The Sabers rallied back with three runs in the bottom frame. Hogan and Haskell singled to set up an RBI single from Kasey Petrysyzn. Haskell and Petrysyzn each moved up a base on the throw home from center field and later scored on wild pitches.
Hogan contributed an RBI bunt-single down the first-base line in the fifth, when SV took a 4-2 lead.
Losing pitcher Seneca Baldwin scored Oneonta's last run, reaching base on a fielder's choice, stealing second and advancing two bases when the throw down ended up in center field in the sixth.
Baldwin struck out five, walked four and scattered eight hits in her final high school game.
"Overall, we had a really good season," Brockway said. "The girls played with a lot of passion, a lot of heart."
SV will play for the sectional crown against Chenango Valley or Windsor on Saturday at the BAGSAI Complex near Broome Community College. Top-seeded Windsor will host a sectional semifinal today against CV, which beat Whitney Point, 18-2, in a quarterfinal Thursday.
SV 4, Oneonta 3
SECTION FOUR B SEMIFINAL
3-Oneonta ..... 000 201 0 _ 3 2 2
2-Susquehanna Valley ..... 000 310 x _ 4 8 5
Seneca Baldwin (L) and Brianna Georgia. Laura Knight (W) and Lindsey Haskell. 2B _ Brieanna Baker (O), Abby Hogan (S).
CLASS D
Deposit 8, Afton 2
Deposit is looking to go 2-for-2 in Section Four Class D championships after knocking host Afton out of the postseason for the second straight season.
Hannah Freyer went 2-for-4 with four RBIs for the third-seeded Lumberjacks (19-4), who scored seven runs during the fifth and sixth innings for a runaway victory over No. 2 seed Afton (14-8).
"This will be our fifth straight Section Four Class D final," said Deposit coach Ed Swartwout, whose team ended Afton's record-sectional-title streak at 16 in a row with a 6-5 victory in the 2011 final. "For a number of years we thought we were in the same class with them. This just kind of goes to prove it."
Each team scored once in the first inning, and the score remained tied until Deposit opened up for four runs in the fifth.
Shelby Pettersen had an RBI single, Freyer singled in two more runs and Andrea Davis hit an RBI single in the fifth as Deposit took a 5-1 lead.
Kate Werth's inside-the-park home run to left field in the bottom frame capped the scoring for the Crimson Knights, who beat the Lumberjacks, 3-1, during a Midstate Athletic Conference Tournament semifinal earlier this season.
Freyer contributed an RBI single in the sixth, when Deposit scored two unearned runs on a throwing error with two out.
"She's a quality kid who hits the ball hard every day," Swartwout said of clean-up batter Freyer. "There was al little something in her eye tonight _ in all the kids' eyes. In the past there's been this aura _ kind of a concern of being able to play with Afton. Tonight, I didn't see it."
Haley Linkroum had two hits and two runs for the Lumberjacks, who will play fifth-seeded Hancock at 4 p.m. Saturday at the BAGSAI Complex.
"They played a great game," Afton coach Cindy Bostelman said of Deposit. "They strung a couple hits together with a couple of errors and all of a sudden, the runs tallied up."
Ashley Rogalski went 2-for-3 for Afton, which got a double from Taylor Briggs.
Afton entered the game as the state's top-ranked Class D team, two spots ahead of Deposit.
Deposit 8, Afton 2
SECTION FOUR D SEMIFINAL
3-Deposit ..... 100 043 0 _ 8 9 1
2-Afton ..... 100 010 0 _ 2 6 3
Justina Ellis (W,19-4) and Shelby Pettersen. Cassidy Phillips (L), Payton Cutting (7) and Taylor Briggs. 2B _ Taylor Briggs (A). HR _ Kate Werth (A).
Hancock 14, Franklin 1
Brooke Sherburne went 3-for-5 with four RBIs and a run to lead fifth-seeded Hancock to a rout of top-seeded host Franklin in a sectional semifinal.
Lea Newman also went 3-for-5 and drove in a run for the Wildcats (16-5), who received three hits and two runs from Demi Travis.
Winning pitcher Lindsay McGraw struck out one, walked two and scattered four hits in four innings for Hancock, which amassed 19 hits _ seven of which went for extra bases.
Jordan Beers went 2-for-2 for the Purple Devils (14-3), who received an RBI single from Marisa Cawley in the fourth.
Hancock advanced to the sectional final for the first time since 2007, when it fell, 5-0, to Afton.
"We need to play our best game," said Hancock coach Kim Makowski, who started coaching the Wildcats in 2007. "Deposit and Afton, you can't make an error. They'll eat you up."
Hancock 14, Franklin 1
SECTION FOUR D SEMIFINAL
5-Hancock ..... 614 102 0 _ 14 19 1
1-Franklin ..... 000 100 0 _ 1 7 4
Lindsay McGraw (W,11-5), Lea Newman (5) and Brianne Kravetsky. Angie Willert (L) and Jordan Beers. 2B _ Lindsay McGraw (H), Brooke Sherburne (H), Meghan Smith (H), Sierra Keesler (H), Kylee Letosky (H). 3B _ Kayla Barringer (H).
TENNIS
State championships
Oneonta High sophomore Emerson Kelby lost in the opening round of the state championship tennis tournament at Flushing Meadows to drop to 17-2 this season.
Section Four Class B champion Kelby fell, 7-5, 6-3, to Section Two's Stefan Kuhar of Albany Academy.
Kelby broke Kuhar in the seventh game of the first set to take a 4-3 lead. Kuhar then broke Kelby's serve twice en route to the victory.
Kelby fell into a 3-0 hole in the second set but pulled to 3-2 before Kuhar took three of the last four games. Kuhar advanced to play Jeremy Dubin of Southampton High, who is seeded third.
Kelby will play at 9 a.m. today in the consolation round. The name of his opponent was not available at press time.
Kelby qualified for the state tournament with a top-two finish in the Section Four State Qualifiers. Kelby's loss to Kuhar marked his second straight as he fell, 6-3, 6-3, to Artem Khrapko of Corning in the Section Four championship match Saturday at the Binghamton Tennis Center.
