Greene two wins from state title
CICERO – Greene was the fourth seed in the Section IV softball tournament, now it’s among the final four in the state.
The Lady Trojans advanced to their first state semifinals scoring all of its runs in the first inning in a 4-2 victory over Section III champion Sandy Creek (22-3) in the Section III-IV Class C regional championship.
Kiley Schaff delivered the big blow for the Trojans with a three-run double in the first inning to make it a 4-0 game. From there, the Greene defense held up with strong play after strong play, particularly slick-fielding shortstop Caitlin Willis. Willis, playing her third different infield position in as many years, punctuated her flawless day ranging far to her left snagging Gabby Guarasce’s grounder up the middle and throwing to Natalie Greene at first base for the final out of the sixth inning.
Winning pitcher Rebecca Hanrahan, used to chalking up big strikeout numbers, fanned just one Comets player after the second inning, instead deferring to the fielders behind her. She allowed five hits striking out four and walking just one. She retired opposing pitcher, Chelsea Claflin, on a flyball to rightfielder Shawn Ayers for the final out as the entire Greene roster celebrated.
Hanrahan struggled against the Comets’ batters in the middle innings, particularly the fourth when nearly every ball in play was hit hard. Jordan Miller’s two-run homer to right-center carved the Trojans’ lead in half. After that big shot, Hanrahan let her defense do the work with Willis fielding the final out of the inning. “I really felt comfortable out there the last two innings, and (the defense) definitely made some great plays,” said Hanrahan, a four-year starter at pitcher. “I wouldn’t be here without the players behind me.”
Sandy Creek’s Claflin tossed a one-hit shutout victory and homered in a 5-0 Section III finals win over Bishop Ludden. Three batters into yesterday’s game, she had already allowed more basehits than that game. Willis led off with a single, and Hanrahan stroked a hard-hit single up the middle. Taylor Ellis was hit by a pitch setting up Morgan Ellis’s clutch at-bat.
Ellis fell into an 0-2 count before evening the count, then fouling off two more pitches. Eventually, the eight-pitch at-bat ending in a bases-loaded walk scoring Willis. Schaff, wasting no time, ripped the first pitch into the right-center gap scoring three more runs – all of Greene’s offense on the day.
“We wanted to go out and jump on them early to get the lead, and if something happened later, we would have a cushion,” Hanrahan said.
It was a bit of superstition that allowed Greene to take the first cuts of the game. The Trojans won the pre-game coin flip, and elected to play the role of visitor. “When (the captains) chose visitors on the flip, I almost fell down,” said Greene head coach Rick Smith. “We’ve been the visitors in every game we’ve play in the playoffs, and it worked out today scoring all of those runs in the first inning.”
Greene finished with just five hits – three of those coming in the first inning. Sandy Creek looked to answer right back in the bottom half of the first putting runners on second and third base with one out. Hanrahan closed out the inning with back-to-back strikeouts, and had one-two-three frames in four out of the last six innings.
Greene (20-4) plays the winner of Section V and Section VI on Saturday at 11:30 a.m. at Adirondack Park in Glens Falls in one-half of the state semifinals. The winner of that contest will compete in the state championship game at 4 p.m. “We’re not satisfied, and that’s what has gotten us this far,” Smith said. “Being in this spot, we feel really fortunate and want to represent Section IV the best we can.”
Schaff was the lone Greene player with two hits. Sandy Creek’s Karintha Myslivecek also had two hits.
Greene (4)
AB R H BI
Willis, ss 4 1 1 0
Greene, 1b 3 0 0 0
Hanrahan, p 3 1 1 0
T. Ellis, 3b 2 1 1 0
M. Ellis, 2b 2 1 0 1
Durdon, lf 0 0 0 0
Schaff, DP 3 0 2 3
Ayers, rf 3 0 0 0
Sherwood, c 3 0 0 0
Stoppkotte, cf 3 0 0 0
Totals 26 4 5 4
Sandy Creek (2)
AB R H BI
Claflin, p 4 0 1 0
White, c 3 0 0 0
K. Martin, lf 3 1 1 0
J. Miller, ss 3 1 1 2
M. Martin, 2b 3 0 0 0
Myslivecek, rf 3 0 2 0
P. Miller, DP 1 0 0 0
S. Darling, DP 1 0 0 0
Valley, 3b 3 0 0 0
Totals 24 2 5 2
E: (G) Stoppkotte, (SC) J. Miller, M. Martin. Doubles: (G) Schaff, (SC) M. Martin. HR: (SC) J. Miller
Score by Innings R H E
Gr. 400 000 0 4 5 1
SC 000 200 0 2 5 2
Pitching
IP H R ER BB K
Greene
Hanrahan (W) 7.0 5 2 2 1 4
Sandy Creek
C. Claflin (L) 7.0 5 4 4 1 6
The Lady Trojans advanced to their first state semifinals scoring all of its runs in the first inning in a 4-2 victory over Section III champion Sandy Creek (22-3) in the Section III-IV Class C regional championship.
Kiley Schaff delivered the big blow for the Trojans with a three-run double in the first inning to make it a 4-0 game. From there, the Greene defense held up with strong play after strong play, particularly slick-fielding shortstop Caitlin Willis. Willis, playing her third different infield position in as many years, punctuated her flawless day ranging far to her left snagging Gabby Guarasce’s grounder up the middle and throwing to Natalie Greene at first base for the final out of the sixth inning.
Winning pitcher Rebecca Hanrahan, used to chalking up big strikeout numbers, fanned just one Comets player after the second inning, instead deferring to the fielders behind her. She allowed five hits striking out four and walking just one. She retired opposing pitcher, Chelsea Claflin, on a flyball to rightfielder Shawn Ayers for the final out as the entire Greene roster celebrated.
Hanrahan struggled against the Comets’ batters in the middle innings, particularly the fourth when nearly every ball in play was hit hard. Jordan Miller’s two-run homer to right-center carved the Trojans’ lead in half. After that big shot, Hanrahan let her defense do the work with Willis fielding the final out of the inning. “I really felt comfortable out there the last two innings, and (the defense) definitely made some great plays,” said Hanrahan, a four-year starter at pitcher. “I wouldn’t be here without the players behind me.”
Sandy Creek’s Claflin tossed a one-hit shutout victory and homered in a 5-0 Section III finals win over Bishop Ludden. Three batters into yesterday’s game, she had already allowed more basehits than that game. Willis led off with a single, and Hanrahan stroked a hard-hit single up the middle. Taylor Ellis was hit by a pitch setting up Morgan Ellis’s clutch at-bat.
Ellis fell into an 0-2 count before evening the count, then fouling off two more pitches. Eventually, the eight-pitch at-bat ending in a bases-loaded walk scoring Willis. Schaff, wasting no time, ripped the first pitch into the right-center gap scoring three more runs – all of Greene’s offense on the day.
“We wanted to go out and jump on them early to get the lead, and if something happened later, we would have a cushion,” Hanrahan said.
It was a bit of superstition that allowed Greene to take the first cuts of the game. The Trojans won the pre-game coin flip, and elected to play the role of visitor. “When (the captains) chose visitors on the flip, I almost fell down,” said Greene head coach Rick Smith. “We’ve been the visitors in every game we’ve play in the playoffs, and it worked out today scoring all of those runs in the first inning.”
Greene finished with just five hits – three of those coming in the first inning. Sandy Creek looked to answer right back in the bottom half of the first putting runners on second and third base with one out. Hanrahan closed out the inning with back-to-back strikeouts, and had one-two-three frames in four out of the last six innings.
Greene (20-4) plays the winner of Section V and Section VI on Saturday at 11:30 a.m. at Adirondack Park in Glens Falls in one-half of the state semifinals. The winner of that contest will compete in the state championship game at 4 p.m. “We’re not satisfied, and that’s what has gotten us this far,” Smith said. “Being in this spot, we feel really fortunate and want to represent Section IV the best we can.”
Schaff was the lone Greene player with two hits. Sandy Creek’s Karintha Myslivecek also had two hits.
Greene (4)
AB R H BI
Willis, ss 4 1 1 0
Greene, 1b 3 0 0 0
Hanrahan, p 3 1 1 0
T. Ellis, 3b 2 1 1 0
M. Ellis, 2b 2 1 0 1
Durdon, lf 0 0 0 0
Schaff, DP 3 0 2 3
Ayers, rf 3 0 0 0
Sherwood, c 3 0 0 0
Stoppkotte, cf 3 0 0 0
Totals 26 4 5 4
Sandy Creek (2)
AB R H BI
Claflin, p 4 0 1 0
White, c 3 0 0 0
K. Martin, lf 3 1 1 0
J. Miller, ss 3 1 1 2
M. Martin, 2b 3 0 0 0
Myslivecek, rf 3 0 2 0
P. Miller, DP 1 0 0 0
S. Darling, DP 1 0 0 0
Valley, 3b 3 0 0 0
Totals 24 2 5 2
E: (G) Stoppkotte, (SC) J. Miller, M. Martin. Doubles: (G) Schaff, (SC) M. Martin. HR: (SC) J. Miller
Score by Innings R H E
Gr. 400 000 0 4 5 1
SC 000 200 0 2 5 2
Pitching
IP H R ER BB K
Greene
Hanrahan (W) 7.0 5 2 2 1 4
Sandy Creek
C. Claflin (L) 7.0 5 4 4 1 6
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