Three big swings ended Mechanicville’s run of sectional softball titles, as Greenwich unseated the Lady Red Raiders, 7-5, Wednesday, in a Section II Class C semifinal at Veeder Park.
Ashleigh Maines’ two-run double in the seventh inning was the sixth and final hit for Greenwich, a state semifinalist last season.
Dani DeGregory homered in the first inning to give the 14-8 Lady Witches a quick lead, and Sarah Heimbach belted a long grand slam in the third to give Greenwich a 5-1 advantage.
Mechanicville used a four-run fourth to pull into a 5-5 tie. Heimbach hit her shot after Mechanicville coach Don Arceneaux chose to walk DeGregory to load the bases with two out.
“That was the idea. I knew they were both power hitters,” Arceneaux said. “When one hits a home run and the other one grounds out, [her first time up] I guess you’ve go to go with the percentages.
“You just don’t want to give them anything where they can score four on you with one shot.”
“I was thinking ‘They’re loading the bases with two out, so they can’t pitch around me. They don’t want to walk me, because that walks in a run,’ said Heimbach.
“I had to lay off bad pitches and not try to crush good pitches. I was just tying to get a base hit.”
Top-seeded Mechanicville got five of its 11 hits in its four-run fourth, as Allison Ford hit a two-run double, one run scored on a throwing error and the final one was the result of an interference call.
Greenwich pitcher Rachel Albrecht quickly set down the top of Mechanicville’s order in the last of the sixth.
“We came back and scored four, and I was thinking in the bottom of the sixth, with the top of the order up, we’d punch a couple across,” said Arceneaux, whose team finished 20-3. It didn’t happen that way.
“They had some timely hits. We had some opportunities, and we just couldn’t get them in early. It is what it is.”
“That was the third time I’d pitched to them, so I knew where their swing was,” said Albrecht. “I don’t try to think about the score too much. I just try to stay in the zone and go pitch by pitch. I just want to keep batters off first base.”
Maines said she took a simple approach to her final at bat.
“I just wanted a base hit. Don’t overthink it,” she said.
Greenwich will play Wasaren League rival Hoosic Valley in Friday’s 6 p.m. championship game at Veeder Park.
The third-seeded Lady Indians beat No. 7 seed Albany Academy, 1-0, in 10 innings when winning pitcher Morgan Anderson hit an infield single to score Marina Wiley.
South Glens Falls ended the season of the Johnstown Lady Bills, 4-2, in a Class A semi at Moreau Rec in South Glens Falls.
Trisha Sheperd hit a pair of two-run home runs for the 19-0 Lady Bulldogs, who will play in their 15th title game in 16 years today at 5 at Moreau Rec against Averill Park.
Johnstown pitcher Alyssa LaLonde gave up just five hits and hit a solo homer to give her team a 1-0 lead in the fourth, Brynn Hlozansky singled in the other run for the 12-9 Lady Bills, tying the game, 2-2, in the top of the sixth.
Kelly Donnelly and Caraline Wood both had a triple and single, and McKenzie Bump doubled and knocked in a run as third-seeded Averill Park beat No. 2 Hudson Falls, 8-2.
Erin Wadsworth threw a two-hitter and hit a two-run double, leading No. 6 seed Ichabod Crane past second-seeded Cohoes, 6-0, in a Class B semi at Veeder Park.
Krysta Konderwich and Kimberly Myers also drove in two for the Lady Riders, who lost both
Colonial Council meetings to the Lady Tigers this season.
Ichabod Crane, 15-8, will play top-seeded Chatham in Friday’s 4:30 title game at Veeder Park. Chatham beat Patroon Conference rival Greenville, 5-0, in the other semi.
Stephanie Zaloom hit a three-run homer to highlight a four-RBI, four-run game as Loudonville Christian School beat Germantown, 17-1, to advance to the Class D final.
The 19-0 Lady Eagles will meet Fort Ann, an 8-1 winner over Argyle, in today’s 5 p.m. championship game at Moreau Rec.
CLASS A
SOUTH GLENS FALLS 4, JOHNSTOWN 2
Johnstown 000 101 0 — 2 5 1
South Glens Falls 000 202 x — 4 7 1
LaLonde and Hlozansky; Sullivan and Sharp.
AVERILL PARK 8, HUDSON FALLS 2
Averill Park 201 220 1 — 8 10 1
Hudson Falls 000 002 0 — 2 6 1
Wood, Meka (6) and Hagerty; Morrill and Ovitt.
CLASS B
ICHABOD CRANE 6, COHOES 0
Ichabod Crane 002 120 1 — 6 8
Cohoes 000 000 0 — 0 2
Wadsworth and Jn. VanAlphen; Dayter and Gumphrect.
CLASS C
GREENWICH 7, MECHANICVILLE 5
Greenwich 104 000 2 — 7 6 2
Mechanicville 010 400 0 — 5 11 0
Albrecht and M.Linnett; Alonzo and Liberty.
HOOSIC VALLEY 1, ALBANY ACADEMY 0 (10)
Albany Academy 000 000 000 0 — 0
Hoosic Valley 000 000 000 1 — 1
Smith and Padalino; Anderson and Chapko.
CLASS D
LOUDONVILLE CHRISTIAN SCHOOL 17, GERMANTOWN 1
Germantown 100 000 0 — 1 6 1
LCS 201 563 x — 17 16 0
Rifenburgh, Cady (5) and Fix; Rollis and Stephano.
GAZETTE COVERAGE
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Categories: High School Sports
