By Brian FeesSouthern Tier Sports Report
BINGHAMTON — Just three batters into the game the Horseheads softball team found themselves behind against Goshen in the Regional Final on Wednesday night at Greenlight Grand Slam Park.
It wasn’t a position the Blue Raiders, or pitcher Megan Wolf, wanted to be in to start a game. And Wolf wasted no time getting that run back, leading off the bottom of the first inning with a solo home run to left to tie the game. From there it was all Blue Raiders as they picked up a 4-1 win to capture their first regional title since 2008.
“Super proud,” Horseheads coach Paul Richmond said. “I get a little teary eyed. I have been watching Horseheads football for a long time. Every day we come to practice and we see those state championship years. It’s been quite a long time. I am just proud of them. They battle, they fight. They are cheering in the dugout. They have each other’s back. It’s the least amount of drama I’ve ever had with any team I’ve coached.”
For the players making the state final four is special
“I am really proud, I don’t even have words right now,” Wolf said. “This is my first ever regional win, so I’m excited to be here.
“We just came together as one and get one run at a time. Inning by inning we take it as it comes. We meshed together on the field and as a pitcher I know my defense has my back,, so once we get the bats rolling and have clean D we’ll be okay.”
“It’s super exciting to know that we can go far,” Raegan Burge said. “The normal season we did really good and bringing the energy into this is really good.”
Wolf was not happy at all after giving up that first run.
“I didn’t love it,” she said. “But, there was still a lot of game left. My mind was like, it’s just one run, we have to score one run. I wasn’t too bothered by it, but it wasn’t my favorite.”
And, Wolf came right back with that solo home run.
“I was very aggressive at the plate because I was not happy with the run scored,” Wolf said. “Base hits are all we need and that one just went a little further.”
The top three bats in the lineup —— Wolf, Caitlin Yearick and Burge — have homered quite a few times this year.
“Between Meg and Cate and Raegan that’s happened a few times this year,” Richmond said. “There are good odds one of them mike poke it out. But, in these type of games, any time you are down you do worry a little bit. We had innings on our side and of course one batter later that was erased and I think that was all Meg needed and the team needed to reset and get going.”
Horseheads had the bases loaded in that first inning, but that’s all the runs they would get as the game stayed tied at one into the bottom of the third inning.
In the third Caitlin Yearick singled and with one out Chloe Perritt singled before Aubrey Howe was hit by a pitch. Yearick scored on a passed ball to make it a 2-1 Horseheads lead.
In the fourth inning eighth grader Samantha Bonnell singled to lead off the inning and Wolf hit a double off the wall to put runners on second and third. After an out was recorded, Burge hit a two-run single to give Horseheads a 4-1 lead that they wouldn’t relinquish.
“I felt I needed to do a job,” Burge said. “Contact is all you need. You don’t need to hit a big hit every time, just something through the middle, that’s all you need to score those runs.
“It’s a super big lift (the two-run single). I can speak as a pitcher giving that little break for Megan and having that little leverage just in case they do score another run, it’s just a good feeling.”
Turning that one-run lead into three runs was big for Wolf
“It’s good to know I have a couple runs if I need them,” Wolf said. “At the end of the day we don’t want to give up runs. But, stuff happens. They are a very good team, they hit the ball, we have room to work and everyone was in it to win today.”
Goshen had two on in the fifth, but in the sixth Wolf put them down in order. In the seventh Goshen had runners on second and third, but Wolf got a strikeout to end the game.
For Wolf there were some nerves in that last inning, but that made things more exciting.
“They (the nerves) were there, but that’s the fun of it, you get to be in those moments and have the pressure put on you,” Wolf said. “That’s the fun part, being able to come and win it like that.”
Having a three-run lead meant Wolf could rear back and throw a little harder late in the game.
“Having the lead you are able to do that,” Wolf said. “I was just ready to go. I was fired up.”
Wolf had a double and a home run, an RBI and two runs scored and Yearick had two hits and scored a run.
Burge had the hit and two RBI and Perritt had two hits.
Grace Cronin and Bonnell each had hits, with Bonnell scoring a run.
Wolf threw a four-hitter, striking out 10 in the game.
Throwing less innings this season has helped Wolf to be fresh in these big moments.
“You know what’s funny,” Richmond said. “She’s such a great player. Until last game, but the end of the season, she had pitched fewer innings than any of our three pitchers. We grew Raegan a lot this year and Chloe (Perritt) was super steady as a senior. But, the fact that Megan was so fresh was a reason she’s being so dominant right now. Usually it’s the other wa around for pitchers this time of year.”
Wolf is feeling good in the biggest moments.
“It’s great right now,” Wolf said. “This season all our pitchers have worked incredibly hard and I haven’t had to throw as much as I have in recent years and that helped me now because I’m a little more fresh and ready to go. Our pitching staff has worked really hard this year and that’s why we are successful.
“We have a group (of pitchers) in practice. We all mesh together. We all get what each other is going through and the mindset on the mound. Having them right behind my left shoulder, I can talk to them.”
Wolf walked just two batters in the win.
“She is not walking people and she’s controlling the zone,” Wolf said. “It’s really just her attitude. I’ve known Meg a long time, she’s been playing softball a long time. She’s in complete control out there and nothing phases her and that’s kind of scary for other people and nice for us.”
With the way Wolf was pitching the Blue Raiders were able to win a low-scoring playoff game, after scoring five or more runs 13 times this year.
“That’s always a worry, because it’s great when you out hit people, but this time of year you are going to be facing people’s best and as the pool narrows down you are going to see really good pitching,” Richmond said. “I thought we put enough bats on the ball to make things happen. It wasn’t our best hitting game, but we’ve got a little bit of time to work on that.”
Now it’s onto the state final four, right back at Greenlight at 4 p.m. on June 13 against the winner of Clarkstown South and East Islip.
This team has been playing well all year and they have faced tough competition throughout the season that prepared them for these moments.
“They (the girls) just work, they come every day to practice ready to go,” Wolf said. “They take coaching, they are very coachable kids and you can’t be successful without kids who want to learn and be successful, so every kid on this team did something positive in the game, whether it’s cheering in the dugout, getting a hit, making a play. Everyone is doing something to help us and that’s what you need because it’s a team sport.”
Among the tough schedule included three games with Corning this year, plus another game that was stopped in extra innings and started over.
“We always say it, the Corning games are something else because pitching doesn’t matter, innings don’t matter, we love playing them,” Richmond said. “Going to Myrtle we had a really competitive schedule. We were in the Mirabito up here and went 3-0. We try and make it as tough of a schedule as we can.”
“We have played as many games there (at Greenligh) as we have at our home field, so this is officially our home field,” Richmond said.
“At this point in time it just feels like our home field,” Wolf said. “We are happy to be here. It’s a great place to play and we are ready to get some more hardware.”
“It’s just amazing,” Burge said. “This team is really good. This team is really special and it’s our year to do what we need to do.”
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PHOTOS BY BRIAN FEES
PHOTO GALLERY FROM THE GAME:
