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Griffin girls softball and lacrosse teams fall in playoffs, Wildcats softball rally falls short



S-GI Softball

The Springville softball team went 1-1 in the playoffs with an 18-13 victory at Albion on May 18, before falling 20-8 at Olean on May 19. Almost 100 miles separate the two opposing schools that were played on back-to-back days, but first-year head coach Robert Cain remains optimistic.

Carmin Wikman was Springville’s top player in its playoff win at Albion with five hits, three RBI and three runs.

“With such a young roster it was very good for their development, they were able to face adversity with the tough schedule and they should be able to apply the lessons learned in future seasons,” Cain said.

In the Albion win, Springville waited until the final inning to pull ahead and held on. The Griffins trailed 2-1 after the first, 5-1 after the second, 7-1 after the third, 7-5 after the fourth, 11-7 after the fifth and 12-8 after the sixth, before Springville erupted for 10 runs to take an 18-12 lead. Albion plated one run at its last at-bat for the 18-13 final.

The Griffins plated 23 hits and were led by Carmin Wikman with five, including a double and a team-best three RBI. Mia Rogers finished with four hits and two RBI, while Lillian Enser and Kailea Sullivan each had three hits and two RBI with Sullivan getting a double in one of her three hits.

Two hits each came from Elsie Fisher, Ella Wittman and McKenzie Steff, with the latter two also earning a pair of RBI. Riley Ballantyne and Halley Hayden also had hits with Ballantyne adding one RBI.

Steff scored four times, and three runs each came from Ballantyne and Wikman to lead Springville.

Against Olean, aside from allowing 10 runs in the first inning, the rest of the game was separated by just a pair of runs as Springville trailed 19-0 after three, but put together eight combined runs in the fourth and fifth innings.

Wittman and Sullivan each had a pair of hits with both of Wittman’s going for extra bases with a double and a triple. Wittman also had a team-best three RBI. Solo hits came from Fisher, Wikman and Enser.

The Griffins finished the regular season with an 11-7 loss to visiting Cheektowaga in a game that was suspended from April 25.

Despite the loss, Springville finished with 19 hits with three each coming from Fisher, Wittman, Wikman and Sullivan. Grace Ricci and Paige Carson each added a pair of hits, with solo hits coming from Hayden, Rogers and Ballantyne. Rogers and Wikman each scored twice, with single runs from Hayden, Ricci and Steff.

Springville finished the season at 7-11 after going 3-7 on the road and 4-4 at home.

Colleen Keller had 10 strikeouts in West Valley’s 7-5 playoff loss to Clymer-Sherman.

West Valley Softball

The West Valley softball team fell 7-5 in the first round of the playoffs to visiting Clymer-Sherman on May 19.

The Wildcats fell behind 7-0 before plating three runs in the fifth for a 7-3 score and then the team’s last at-bat rally fell short with a pair of runs for the 7-5 final. The game was 2-0 after three innings after the visitors got both runs in their first at-bat. Clymer-Sherman added a single run in the fourth and then four runs in the top of the fifth before West Valley got on the board.

Nikki Blackwell went 3-for-3 with one run to lead the Wildcats. Sam Herbst added a pair of hits including a triple with one run, while Maggie Parish also finished with two hits. Solo hits came from Bethany Stanier, Emma Smith and Lauren Frascella, who scored twice for West Valley.

Colleen Keller rounded out the team’s runs and also took the loss from the circle. Keller finished with 10 strikeouts after allowing eight hits with two walks.

West Valley finished its season at 7-8 after five of the seven wins came during a winning streak from April 30 through May 10 with two wins over Franklinville and single wins against North Collins, Ellicottville and Salamanca.

Ginger Andrews, Chloe Lester and Brooke Ruzycki battle for a groundball against Newfane.

S-GI Lacrosse

The Springville girls lacrosse team fell at Newfane, 13-4, in the first-round of the playoffs on May 23.

The Griffins played well in the first half and trailed 4-3 at the break after holding a 2-1 lead. Moorea McKinsey led Springville with two goals with single goals coming from Chloe Lester and Ava Beaudoin. 

Springville finished with 11 ground balls with three from Chloe Lester and two from Kailey Lester to lead the team. Lily Beaudoin got the start in goal and finished with 12 saves before Noralee Sprague made five saves in relief.

The Griffins entered the playoffs after falling 11-1 at Salamanca-Randolph in the team’s final regular season game on May 20. Ava Beaudoin had the team’s lone goal, while the Griffins collected 18 ground balls with three each from McKinsey and Ella Uhteg. Two ground balls each came from Ayla Oakley, Cierra Bucci, Sydney Moran and Meghan Rosenswie.

The Springville girls lacrosse team finished its season with a 3-13 record.

West Valley Track

The West Valley girls track team fell at Salamanca on May 17 and were led by Olivia Harmony with 15 points. Harmony finished first in the 1500-meter run, 3000-meter run and the long jump. Janay Ghani secured first in the 100- and 200-meter dash adding 10 points. Onalee Caswell secured third in the 100- and 400-meter hurdles bringing the team total to 27 points. 

The West Valley boys track team fell, 91-40, at Salamanca on May 17. Jack Tharnish led the team in points with 16, and took first-place finishes in the 1600- and 3200-meter races. He also took second in the triple and long jump. 

Nolan Spencer brought 10 points to the team with his first-place finishes in shot put and discus. Josh Kowalski took first in the 110 hurdles and second in the 400 hurdles. Nick Peters took third in the 200-meter dash, while Ben Fisher finished second and Lucas Proseus took third in the 400. Zach Westfall finished third in shot put. 

West Valley will bring its best two student-athletes for each event for the CCAA meet in Falconer, May 27-28.

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