PLATTSBURGH — Mistakes happen. Galway took advantage.
Ticonderoga stayed within striking distance early before falling to the Golden Eagles, 18-1, in a NYSPHSAA Class C softball regional final Friday in Plattsburgh.
“It’s something we talked about all week,” Sentinel head coach Eric Mullen said. “They’re a really good team, and if you give them opportunities and put runners on for free, they make you pay … So when the game opens up and mistakes happen, you’re putting yourself at a disadvantage.
“Good teams like Galway, they make you pay for those mistakes and free passes.”
Ti pitchers Clara Mitchell and Lillian Davis combined for 13 walks; Mitchell had seven and Davis six. Additionally, the Sentinels had five errors in the game.
It was a 3-1 game after the second inning, and the Sentinels were hanging on. But gradually, the game slipped away with Galway scoring seven runs through the fourth and sixth innings. The wheels truly came off in the eighth with eight runs being scored.
A majority of those came before Ti could record an out.
“I was trying to give Lillian the chance to work out of it,” Mullen said. ”That’s something as a young pitcher. You don’t want to be automatically taken out and stuff, so we were trying to let her balance it out.
“We talked about it a little bit, and stuff like that … Unfortunately, you know, they got to hit. They’re a good team. They swing the hot bats. They got good pitching.
“The biggest thing was they made the plays. I mean, we hit some hard balls, and they caught everything we hit at them.”
And the Sentinels had plenty of contact as Galway pitcher Emma Menge gave up only two hits while striking out five. Mullen was proud his girls didn’t have strikeouts as they went out fighting in the box.
“(Menge) has a lot more spin on the ball than what we see, especially in our league and stuff like that,” he said. “So speed wise, we had seen the speed with Tuckahoe and Nichols, but it was just the movement and the spin on the ball. And lots of times, you don’t necessarily make the solid contact.”
The two hits were a single by Mitchel in the first and a double for Addison Munson in the fourth.
Despite the loss, Mullen is excited about the continued success of the program.
“We’ve had a lot of growth, especially. Not just even the younger girls, but some of the juniors and people that were with us last year and stuff, they really stepped up,” Mullen said.
“Avery Lender stepped up and took on a bigger role and responsibility. Grace Carr, nice job at second base coming from left field to second base.
“We moved some people around to fill in other spots with the younger people, and there was growth over the season and stuff like that. And there’s going to be continued growth between this year and next year.”
Looking ahead, Mullen said there’s excitement around the program. Younger players will step in to fill holes left vacant by graduating seniors. Many of his players will switch to travel softball to keep playing and improve their skills.
Mullen has expectations to back in the regionals next year.
“I think we should have another competitive season next year,” he said. “You know, Peru is really good, and there’s Beekmantown. Our league’s getting better and stuff, so it should be a very competitive league.
“You know, we should be hopefully back in the same spot, and you know, there’s a good chance we’re playing them again next year in a regional final, so we’ll wait and see.
“But yeah, the future is bright, and it’s a credit to the girls who work at it.”
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Galway 18, Ticonderoga 1
GCS;120;223;8;-;18;14;0
TCS;010;000;0;-;1;2;5
E. Menge, A. Menge and Smith. Mitchell, Davis (5), Mitchell (7) and Munson. WP- E. Menge. LP- Mitchell. 2B- Allen (GCS), A. Menge (GCS), Munson (TCS). 3B- Stead (GCS). HR- Smith (GCS).