4 days ago
R-H wins title in walkoff; Sutherland, Thomas also raise bricks
Class AAA (2)Rush-Henrietta 7, (4)Greece 6
Kyla Piedici admitted she wasn't feeling confident when she came to the plate in the bottom of the 7th in a tied sectional championship with the winning run on first base. She had to settle herself a bit.
'I took a big, deep breath. I had confidence after that,' Piedici said.
The 8th grader delivered the title winning, walkoff RBI double to give Rush-Henrietta a come from behind win on a cold, blustery afternoon at MCC.
The tying run was just as dramatic. After a leadoff double from Elizabeth Gleghorn, Katelyn Millitelo followed with a single up the middle. The throw home from the center fielder was perfect, but Gleghorn moved toward the backstop and reached left just far enough to grab the plate and avoid a tag. Piedici finished the rally in the next at-bat.
The Storm took the lead in the top of the 7th thanks to an RBI infield single from Janalyse Rivera with two outs. She hammered a line drive that went off the pitcher's glove and stopped short enough from the infielders that the throw to first was late.
This contest was ridiculously good. Greece escaped a jam in the 6th thanks to a diving catch from shortstop Juliana Bates and a line drive caught by Madyson Hewitt that turned into an easy double play. That followed a Storm threat Kadyn Hartel ended by pulling the string with an offspeed pitch for a strikeout without a swing. R-H first baseman Elizabeth Rinella also had a sliding catch in foul territory the inning before.
Greece put up four in the top of the 4th to take a 5-3 lead highlighted by Hannah Keane's two-run double. The Comets equalized with two in the bottom half of the frame. Rinella had the tying RBI on a line drive single to right.
It was the second title in three years for Rush-Henrietta. Hartel was named the MVP after striking out eight and going 2-3 at the plate with a two-run double in the second.
'It feels amazing,' Piedici said. 'I believed in my teammates. I had a lot of faith in us when we first stepped on the field.'
The Comets are now 14-8 and moving on to Wednesday's state first round game at Pioneer High School in Buffalo. First pitch is 5pm.
Greece finished their season 7-15.
Class AA: (3)Thomas 2, (1)Schroeder 1
Olivia Bowers struck out seven and made a two-run third inning enough to Thomas to win their second title in three years.
Ruby Marrapese teed up the Thomas third inning with an RBI double. Kyara Murphy cut the deficit in half for Schroeder with a roped RBI double down into the left field corner, but she was stranded at second.
It was the first time in three tries Thomas beat their crosstown rivals in a sectional final. Bowers was named tournament MVP.
The Titans are now 18-6 and will next play in the state quarterfinals Saturday. First pitch is scheduled for 4pm at Grand Island High School in Buffalo.
Schroeder finished their season at 19-2.
Class A: (1)Sutherland 10, (2)Eastridge 5
Gabby Lyons hit two triples and drove in three runs to win her second consecutive tournament MVP as Sutherland won their third championship in four seasons.
Alex Sippel added a solo homer and also had three RBIs. Hannah Glanton had two hits and three runs scored.
Josslyn Siembor and Emma Johnson each had two run homers for Eastridge. Siembor finished with three hits.
Her home run in the third closed an early 3-0 lead for Sutherland down to 3-2. The Lancers got even in the fourth. However, Pittsford scored four in the 4th and three in the 5th to take command.
Sutherland improved to 20-2 and will now face the champion of Buffalo's Section VI in the state quarterfinals Saturday. That game is 1:30pm at Grand Island High School in Buffalo.
Eastridge closed their season at 13-8.
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