HAMBURG — The last time the Chautauqua Lake softball team won the Section VI Class C championship it did not lose another game and claimed the program’s only state title.

Seven years have passed since that run in 2018 and now the Eagles are one win away from returning to the state final four.

In the way of that return to states stands the team which came one run short of the state championship last season, Section V’s Bloomfield.

In a Far West Regional doubleheader, the Eagles take on the Bombers in the second game at 7:30 p.m., while Forestville takes on Section V’s Fillmore at 5 at Frontier High School.

The Eagles came up just one win short of meeting Bloomfield a year ago, but instead it was their rival Westfield falling in a narrow 2-0 contest.

This year it also figures to be another pitchers’ duel as Bloomfield’s Ashlyn Wright has unfinished business in her final season for the Bombers. A year ago, Wright only gave up one run in the state playoffs and it came in the state championship game.

Wright has led the Bombers to a 20-1 record since with the only loss coming to Burnt Hills/Ballston Lake which is the Section II Class AA champion. She boasts a 15-0 record in the circle and over her 106.2 innings has just given up six earned runs and 15 total, along with 29 hits, 20 walks and 217 strikeouts.

It clearly will be a tough task for Chautauqua Lake to score in Friday’s regional, but with senior Cayzlee Johnson in the circle the Eagles have been on the right side of plenty of close contests.

In a final sendoff she dreamed of as the only senior, Johnson would like to go a little further and it is feasible if she pitches how she has all year. Leading the Eagles to a 15-3 record, Johnson has given up just five earned runs and 14 overall on 41 hits and 12 walks while striking out 143 batters. Her earned run average stands at 0.368 and her WHIP is 0.558 on top of throwing five shutouts and one perfect game.

In what expects to be a low-scoring affair, the Eagles have several bats in the lineup that could make an impact at any time, but it’s sluggers Lucy Gates and Johnson herself who could change the game with a single swing of the bat.

Gates is leading the Eagles in average at .483, RBIs with 18 and hits at 28, while Johnson boasts a .471 average, 18 RBIs, 24 hits, 22 runs scored, three triples, three doubles and a home run.

Alice Scarpine and Jillian Miller usually lead off for the Eagles with a .452 average and .345 average, respectively. Scarpine is tied with Gates at 28 hits and has scored 18 runs, while Miller has 20 hits, 22 runs and 14 RBIs.

The middle of Chautauqua Lake’s lineup could pose a threat with a ton of speed and girls who know how to get on base from Kinslee Motter, Karagan Fairbank, Cameron Mackey and Makennah Ryberg.

Facing tough pitching against Madyson Flint of Barker in the sectional final, the Eagles still managed a scoring threat in nearly every inning.

Johnson will have her hands full with the Bloomfield offense and it starts with Brianna Leitten hitting .508 with 27 RBIs, five doubles, three triples and three home runs. Sydney Falsone leads the Bombers in average hitting .533 and has scored a team-high 32 runs along with two home runs. Wright also boasts a heavy bat hitting .439 with 32 RBIs, six doubles and four triples, and Calla McCombs is a threat hitting .418 with 16 RBIs, four doubles and six triples.

The last time Section VI won the Class C Far West Regional was in 2023 when the Gowanda Panthers went on to claim the state title.

The Eagles hope to do the same.

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