WILSON — Wilson had a chance to move on to its second Section VI title game in three seasons in the bottom of the seventh, down 4-3 with two outs and a runner on third against No. 5 Falconer in the Section VI Class C semifinals.
Sophomore Lucy Madan hit a ball to deep center and it appeared to the team and the crowd watching that the sophomore had a signature moment and had sent her team to the sectional championship game. The crowd held its breath as the ball flew through the air, anticipating a walk-off home run.
But unfortunately for the No. 1 seed, it was caught just a few feet in front of the wall to end Wilson’s season and send Madan into her first base coach Marc Muoio’s arms in tears, Tuesday, at Wilson High School.
“I saw it pushing. I mean, she picked the biggest part of the park to hit it to,” Wilson head coach Dan Lucinski said. “But I mean, we just kept saying, ‘We got to get back to the top and let her get a chance with the hammer.’ She gave it everything she got; it’s all we can ask for.”
The Section VI Class C semifinal loss ends Wilson’s season with a 12-7 overall record, but the sour finish to the season is not what Lucinski and his team will remember the most about this season. Instead, it’s the positive things they accomplished, like going to Florida for a mid-season trip and winning the program’s first Niagara-Orleans League title since 2008.
The fact that the game was even within a run was a testament to Wilson’s toughness, as they had to overcome a 3-1 deficit heading into the fourth inning when the lead-off hitter reached and was promptly brought home on a double to trim the deficit to 3-2. Later in the frame, the Lakemen’s Mackenzie Hardy scurried home on a passed ball to knot the game up at three.
However, the Lakemen’s .892 team fielding percentage came back to rear its ugly head at the top of the fifth when Falconer retook the lead at 4-3 thanks to two errors.
“I think we all just got a little bit in our heads,” Wilson senior Rowan Simpson said. “But we pulled it together and we don’t get mad at each other for making mistakes and we just had to make sure every one mistake didn’t turn into another. That’s kind of what happened, so we just had to flush it out of our minds and go into the next inning.”
The defense stepped up when they needed to, though in the seventh with a double play to get out of a first and second situation before they hit a single to lead off the top of the seventh. However, it was not enough to get the win.
Barker 3, Clymer/Sherman/Panama 1
When No. 2 Barker softball needed a win to head back to the Section VI Class C title game for the second year in a row, the answer of who to throw on the mound was simple.
It was the team’s ace, Mady Flint, who delivered in a big way to help her team get a 3-1 win over No. 3 Clymer/Sherman/Panama in the Section VI Class C semifinals, Tuesday, at Barker High School.
Flint pitched a complete game, giving up one run on two hits while striking out 13 hitters on the bump. The sophomore also finished the day going 1-for-2 with one walk, one strikeout and two runs scored.
After the teams traded runs in the fourth inning, the sixth inning was when Barker did its damage. Two batters into the frame, Flint hit a single and then was eventually brought home on an error before her teammate Melodi Murphy roped a double to left to score a run and push the lead out to 3-1.
Barker has another chance to win its first-ever Section VI title when they take on Falconer at 5 p.m., Friday at Olean High School.
Grand Island 15, Pioneer 0
No. 1 Grand Island softball headed into the Section VI Class A1 tournament with all of the expectations that come with a top seed and they lived up to it in the first round but the semifinals are a different animal.
But, Grand Island treated it the same way it did the first round with a 15-0 win over No. 5 Pioneer, Tuesday, at Grand Island High School.
Grand Island has now outscored its first two postseason opponents 28-1.
In the win over Pioneer, the Vikings were led by Skylar Pachura who got it done both on the mound and at the dish with a one-hit shutout on one side and a 2-for-3 performance on the other.
Pachura was joined on the hit parade by Addison Lewis, Hannah Simpson, Avery McNulty and Mia McGowan all of whom went 2-for-3 with three RBIs.
Grand Island has now advanced to the sectional championship game where it will be taking on Starpoint at 5 p.m. Thursday at Hamburg High School.
Starpoint 10, Williamsville South 1
No. 3 seed Starpoint softball has not made it to the Section VI title game in a decade and a loss to No. 2 seed Williamsville South would have extended that streak for another year.
However, that’s not the way it went and instead Starpoint has booked its spot in the Section VI Class A1 title game with a 10-1 win over Williamsville South Tuesday at Williamsville South High School.
Starpoint gave up a run in the bottom of the first before they tied the game up with one in the third. The tie only lasted until the top of the fourth when the Spartans exploded for four runs on four hits and two errors to go up 5-1. They added three more in the fight and then two more in the seventh to get the nine-run victory.
On the mound, Starpoint’s Lily Laika starred, pitching a complete game while giving up one run on five hits while striking out three and walking two hitters. She also went 2-for-3 with two runs scored in the victory.
The win sends Starpoint to a date with Grand Island, Thursday in the Section VI Class A1 title game.
Lake Shore 7, Lewiston-Porter 6
The Lewiston-Porter softball team could have lain down after going down 3-0 early against Lake Shore and proceeded to get blown out.
But that’s not the path the seventh-seeded team took in the Section VI Class A2 semifinals against the sixth-seeded Lake Shore. Instead, it chose to claw its way back into the game and take a 5-3 lead. However, the team just came up short in a 7-6 walk-off loss to Lake Shore, Tuesday, at Lake Shore High School.
Lewiston-Porter scored its five runs in the fifth on three hits, two walks and a sacrifice fly. The biggest swing of the frame from the Lancers came when Charlotte Ryan flew around the bases for an inside-the-park home run to give her team a 5-3 lead.
Lake Shore responded with two of its own in the bottom of the fifth before the squads traded runs in the seventh and Lake Shore walked it off in the eighth.
North Tonawanda 9, Sweet Home 1
The North Tonawanda runaway train continues to be unstoppable as it improved to 17-0 with a 9-1 win over No. 3 Sweet Home in the Section VI Class AA softball semifinals tournament Tuesday at North Tonawanda High School.
The No. 2 Lumberjacks got off to a fast start with a four-run bottom of the first, which was punctuated by a two-run single from Miley Pelligrino to go up 4-0. Pelligrino was one of four players with multi-hit games as she was joined by Ella Marshall, Lexi Zurek and Jessica Lindhurst.
North Tonawanda is now back in action at 11 a.m. on Saturday, when it takes on Orchard Park in the sectional title game at Grand Island High School.
BASEBALL
Hamburg 18, North Tonawanda 0
The No. 8 seed North Tonawanda baseball team did not have as much luck as its counterparts on the softball team in the Section VI Class AA tournament. North Tonawanda only gave up five earned runs against No. 1 Hamburg in the sectional tournament quarterfinals.
However, the team’s defense betrayed them to the tune of five errors and it cost the Lumberjacks in an 18-0 loss to Hamburg, Tuesday, at Hamburg High School.
Hamburg scored in all four innings of the five inning run-shortened game including six runs in the third and seven in the fourth to advance to the Section VI Class AA semifinals.
The Lumberjacks were held to three hits in the loss with Blake Suitor, AJ Cinquino and Aiden Reed accounting for the knocks.
Lockport 14, Hutch Tech 1
Tenth-seeded Lockport made the 37-minute drive down to Buffalo trying to pull off the upset against No. 2 Hutchinson Central Technical High School in the Section VI Class AA tournament.
Lockport did just that in a big way, winning 14-1 in seven innings to move on to the sectional semifinals for the second year in a row.
This year, Lockport was led by Bryson Drake on the mound who pitched a complete game giving up zero earned runs on three hits while striking out eight hitters. At the dish, Lockport had three players finish with two or more hits, led by three-hit, three RBI days from Nick Bucholtz and Noah Bohlman. They were joined in the multi-hit column by Drew Walker who had two hits and an RBI.
Lockport’s sectional semifinal opponent will come from the winner of the game between Williamsville East and Frontier at 5 p.m. on Thursday.
Medina 8, Fredonia 0
Medina has played two postseason games so far this season and they have yet to give up a run in either contest. It has been a run that has seen them outscore its opponents 31-0.
The No. 2 seed in the Section VI Class B Tournament opened their postseason with a 23-0 over Newfane and had no trouble following it up with an 8-0 win over No. 10 Fredonia, Tuesday, at Medina High School.
Medina took a 1-0 lead into the third inning when they put the game out of reach. In the third, Medina had its first three players reach base to push the lead out to 3-0 before a Hadrian Batista single scored Preston Woodworth and gave the team a 4-0 lead. That was just the beginning though as four walks and a wild pitch scored three more runs to give Medina 7-0 lead.
Medina’s Aidan Papaj got the ball and he delivered, throwing a complete game two-hit shutout while striking out 13 hitters and only walking one.
Lewiston-Porter 8, Albion 3
For the second year in a row, Lewiston-Porter is heading to the Section VI Class A2 title game and this time, they are hoping for a different result.
But before the fourth-seeded Lancers got there, it needed to take down No. 8 Albion in the sectional semifinals. It did just that with an 8-3 win Tuesday at Lewiston-Porter High School.
The teams traded runs back in the fourth in the first two innings and then zeros all the way until the sixth inning when Lew-Port turned a 3-3 tie into an 8-3 lead. The Lancers started the sixth with its first seven hitters reaching safely to turn the game into a blowout.
Lew-Port returns to the diamond at 7 p.m., Thursday, when it takes on Olean in the Section VI Class A2 title game at Frontier High School .
Roy-Hart 3, Cleveland Hill 0
For the first time since 2024, Royalton-Hartland is heading to the Section VI Class B semifinal after it got a 3-0 win over No. 13 Cleveland Hill on Tuesday at Royalton-Hartland High School.
It took until the fourth inning for No. 5 Roy-Hart to plate a run but once they did they were able to add one more in the fifth and the sixth to get the three-run win.
At the plate, Roy-Hart was led by Hank Snyder’s 2-for-3 day with one run scored. He was joined in the hit column by Evan Poeller and Jared Hy who each had one hit.
Roy-Hart now moves on to the sectional semifinals at 5 p.m. on Thursday, when it; will take on the winner of the game between JFK and Akron.
Grand Island 12, Starpoint 5
No. 1 Grand Island took on No. 5 Starpoint back on April 14, and lost 8-1 at Starpoint High School. But now, the two squads met up again, this time at Grand Island High School and the story was different.
This time, Grand Island was able to come away with a 12-5 win in the Section VI Class A1 semifinals on Tuesday at Grand Island High School.
The Vikings were led offensively by Lucas Collure, who went 3-for-4 with one run scored, while the Spartans’ offensive leader was split between Ben Ely and Brayden Milleville, who each went 2-for-3 with an RBI.
The Vikings are heading to the Section VI Class A1 title game at 4 p.m. Thursday, when they take on Amherst.