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Dragons Capture Class C2 Crown

Maple Grove Pulls Away From Cassadaga Valley Late

Maple Grove’s Sammy Davis throws across the infield during Thursday’s Section VI Class C2 final against Cassadaga Valley at St. Bonaventure. P-J photo by Lisa Monacelli

ST. BONAVENTURE — No. 2 Maple Grove knew that it would have a difficult time handing No. 8 Cassadaga Valley its third loss of the season, but that is exactly what the Red Dragons did in Thursday’s Section VI Class C2 softball final at Joyce Field.

Showing marked improvement after their upset of No. 1 Frewsburg in the opening round, the Cougars (2-16) kept things close all evening, but in the end Maple Grove (16-2) was able to stay one step ahead on the way to an 11-5 win.

Errors from Cassadaga Valley and opportune hitting by the Red Dragons would prove decisive.

“Both teams came out hitting the ball really well,” said Maple Grove coach Rebecca Zimmerman. “It came down to capitalizing with baserunners on and committing fewer errors. The 4-1 (errors) was a big difference.”

Things would get interesting in the fifth inning when Cassadaga Valley was able to pull within a pair of runs.

Cassadaga Valley third baseman Holly Crandall fields a groundball during Thursday’s Section VI Class C2 final against Maple Grove at St. Bonaventure. P-J photo by Lisa Monacelli

Maple Grove’s Lynne Nordin started out by issuing a walk to Olivia Bishop. From there, Brittyn LeBaron smacked a groundball through the infield and made her way to first while the incoming throw missed the mark.

With runners on second and third, Grace Warsitz collected an RBI single while Melanie Russo added a two-RBI single to left field to make it 7-5 in favor of Maple Grove.

With the lead trimmed to two runs, Zimmerman would take a trip to the circle to settle her team down.

“The biggest thing is to try and stop the momentum,” Zimmerman said. “Cassadaga was really rallying among their leaders, so we kept (our players) composed. You tell them that they are in control and they know it. The biggest thing was having my infielders communicate with the outfielders.”

That talk did its job, as eighth-grader Erin Mansfield made a fine play at shortstop to bring the inning to a close. On a team that is heavy with veterans, Mansfield has made her mark, showing strong defense with a difficult catch in the top of the second as well.

“She definitely feeds off of the leadership here and they feed just as equally off of her,” said Zimmerman. “You have probably seen it when she makes a bang-bang play she jumps around. It’s great to see that enthusiasm come out of her and that builds the team. They rally around her.”

Maple Grove got a run back on a throwing error in the fifth before setting back to work on offense once again in the sixth. Elise Swanson started with a double and was sent home on a single from Meghann Nolan. That brought Tessa Warner up, and the senior promptly belted a two-run triple before running home from third following a bad throw from the Cougars to give the Red Dragons their final three runs.

“We spent time looking at what had happened the first two games,” said Cassadaga Valley coach Jerri Crandall. “Where the hits had been, knowing what we had to do. I think that playing on a turf surface and the weather conditions definitely didn’t help us. It is not the reason we didn’t come out on the other end of it. They are a good ball team and they capitalized when we made some mental errors and it brought them out on top.”

The Cougars started out hot as LeBaron tagged a triple to right field on the first pitch of the day, eventually running home on a fielder’s choice in the first inning. A series of wild pitches and passed balls granted the Red Dragons a quick 3-1 lead in the bottom half, with that growing to 4-1 after LeBaron walked home Lauren Grissom.

Maple Grove’s offense also included an RBI single by Grissom in the second, as well as an RBI double from Swanson and an RBI single by Nolan in the fourth.

Zimmerman and company will now spend the weekend preparing for a 4 p.m. Class C crossover with Portville on Monday, back at St. Bonaventure University.

“Portville is very tough, I saw them when I used to coach for Cuba-Rushford,” Zimmerman said. “I know they have tough pitching, I know they can hit, I know they have speed. It is going to come down to who has the most hits, who commits the fewest errors.”

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