Section IV Softball
New York's Premier Area for High School Softball
Home of 55 State Champions!

5/15/26

Here is a preview of the STAC Playoffs on Saturday, borrowed from our friends over at STAC.  Semi-finals will take place at 11:00, with the Championship game to follow around 1:00.

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* STAC Semi-final, Saturday at 11:00 am at Greenlight Park: (Central) Waverly vs. (West) Corning.  In one Semi-final matchup, defending STAC and Section IV Class AAA Champions Corning will face off with Central champion Waverly. Corning has been flawless this season at 14-0, using a combination of stellar pitching and big bats throughout the lineup. They’ve swept every New York opponent and went 4-0 in games vs. other states in Myrtle Beach over Spring Break. Needless to say, there’s not much they haven’t done right this season. In a recent 6-0 win over M-E on Monday, the lone senior on the team, Matti Johnston, tossed a one-hit gem with 11 strikeouts, and drove in a pair of runs from the leadoff spot. Cleanup hitter Emilia Smith launched a 3-run homer to build the lead in the 6th. In a 9-2 victory over Vestal on April 22, Lauren DeRosa had three hits and scored three runs, while Hannah Kauffman drove in three. Beating this squad is quite a tall order, but that’s exactly the type of challenge Waverly will welcome. Not too long ago, they found themselves a game behind Owego in the Central and in need of a strong run to overtake them. Strong run they received, indeed. On May 4, the Wolverines went into Owego and shocked the home team 20-2. Taylin Gonzalez allowed only six hits and homered at the plate. Hannah Carpenter, hitting in the #4 spot, had an amazing game: 4-for-5, 2 home runs, a double, and 8 RBIs. Eight! Maddie Cron was a perfect 5-for-5 with 2 triples and 5 RBIs. That set up a Central division tiebreaker game, which again was dominated by the Wolverines 13-3. This time, it was an 8-run 1st inning that put the game away quickly, as five hitters recorded two or more hits apiece. They are currently on a 10-game winning streak after defeating Horseheads 5-1 on Thursday. The competition will crank up a few notches on Saturday, as they will need to be at their very best to meet the challenge of Corning and dethrone the reigning champs. After joining STAC in the 2023-2024 school year, this is the first time Waverly will be competing in the STAC Playoffs. Corning will seek their 3rd STAC title.

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* STAC Semi-final, Saturday at 11:00 am at Greenlight Park: (Metro) Vestal vs. (East) Susquehanna Valley.  The other Semi-final matchup will be a rematch from last season. East champion Susquehanna Valley will look to get some revenge after dropping a tight 3-2 decision to Metro champion Vestal. The difference in that game was an RBI double by Aubrey Rogers in the 6th to plate the eventual winning run. This year, both teams are coming in strong, as Vestal has won six straight and SV eight straight. Vestal swept their Metro division rivals Maine-Endwell to edge the Spartans for the division title. On May 6, the Golden Bears put it all together in a dominant 11-0 romp. Erin Gowe was terrific in tossing a two-hit shutout with 16 strikeouts. The top in the order of Maggie Costello and Natalie Frobel took advantage of some M-E wildness in the circle, each drawing three walks to score five times. Their only two losses have come against Corning, the team they could potentially meet up with later on Saturday in the Championship. Susquehanna Valley held off a tough Oneonta squad to capture another East division title, and are coming off one of their best games of the season. In a 15-0 shutout of Chenango Forks, LilliOnna D’Introno fired a 5-inning no-hitter on 10 strikeouts, with only one walk separating her from a perfect game. Leadoff hitter Rianne Moelder smashed two home runs and drove in four. Four other hitters collected multiple hits, including Amelia Frisbie with three. While the pitching of D’Introno has been sensational for years, the Sabers have proven they can also win on days where she’s not at her very best. On April 29, they visited Oneonta at a time when the Yellowjackets were making a serious push to win the division. The SV offense carried the load that day, led by a double, triple, and three RBIs from Kylee Richardson. Danica LaBarre drove in three from the cleanup spot, and Frisbie three more in an 11-5 win. Just like last year, this game will feature two pitchers at the top of their craft, and offenses that can break out big innings at any point. SV will look to claim their 8th league title, and Vestal their 7th.

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5/13/26

* MAC Championship, Thursday at 4:30: #2 Bainbridge-Guilford at #1 Deposit-Hancock.  For the 9th straight time a MAC Championship has been played (excluding the Covid years of 2020 and 2021), a team from Deposit will play for the league title.  Deposit-Hancock claimed the last two titles over Sidney and Greene, respectively.  This year, Bainbridge-Guilford will give it a shot, as they are appearing in the MAC Championship for the first time since losing close games to Deposit in 2017 (2-0) and 2018 (3-0).  D-H downed #4 Delhi in one Semi-final, as Jordan Diemer tossed a six-hit shutout with 11 K’s.  The offense had their typical production up and down the lineup, with leadoff hitter Olivia Johnston gathering three hits, and Kadyn Appley, Ivy Tice, and Haley Begeal two apiece.  Bainbridge-Guilford suffered a home loss to Unatego on Monday, but shook that off to beat #3 Afton 8-4 the next day in the other Semi-final.  A five-run 2nd was the difference, as Alessandra Cafasso’s two-run homer put the margin at 6-0.  Cafasso also started in the circle and pitched four scoreless innings before Afton got to the bullpen a bit in the later innings.  In the MAC league game between these two on May 5, D-H had one of their closer games of the season in a 9-4 victory.  The final score is a bit deceiving, as B-G did everything they could to get the win…though six innings.  A 4-3 advantage was erased as D-H plated six in the top of the frame.  Johnston doubled leading off, which opened the floodgates to six hits, one walk, and one HBP.  So, the obvious goal for B-G to get the upset win is to somehow avoid the big inning when D-H starts to threaten.  One note from that game is that Cafasso did not pitch, so perhaps she will get the call in this one.  D-H went with Diemer in the Semi-final, and can also hand the ball to two aces in Aubrey Smith and Tice.  B-G will be looking to win their first MAC title in school history, as they are 0-3 overall.  D-H has three titles and Deposit four.

* IAC Small School Championship, Thursday at 3:00 at Watkins Glen: (North) Union Springs vs. (South) Tioga.  In the IAC, all roads lead through Union Springs and Tioga for Small School supremacy.  For the 6th consecutive year, these two powerhouses will meet for the league title.  Union Springs has won three of the five games, including a 4-0 victory last year.  It was a fast start for the Wolves, as some shaky Tigers’ defense helped plate all of the runs in the first two innings.  Tioga used this as motivation, defeating Union Springs 4-3 in a Class C Semi-final and handing them their first loss in 19 games.  This year, the teams have split their first two games.  Back on April 8, Tioga got a 5-3 victory behind a 3-for-3 day from Madelyn Rogers with a pair of RBIs, and Kate Kithcart going the distance and allowing only five hits.  The rematch came on Tuesday, and it was all Union Springs 16-3.  The offense pounded out 14 hits, as Gracie Chalupnicki had four hits and five RBIs and Abbi Tracey two hits and two RBIs.  Tioga, however, chose to rest Kithcart and give the ball to Olivia Shugars, who has only appeared in five games this year.  It’s not a surprising move considering the rubber match was going to happen two days later.  Tioga has dropped three of their last five, but did win six of seven before that.  Union Springs rolls with their 1-2 punch of Paityn Delaney and Chalupnicki in the circle, with the Tioga loss in their first game of the season their only setback.  This is the ultimate “toss the records out of the window” types of games, as both teams have to be at their best to get the win.  Tioga will look to win their 12th IAC title, and Union Springs their 7th.

* IAC Large School Championship, Thursday at 5:00 at Watkins Glen: (North) Lansing vs. (South) Watkins Glen/Odessa-Montour.  After knocking off Edison in the South Large Division Tiebreaker 8-5, Watkins Glen/Odessa-Montour returns to an IAC Championship game for the first time since Watkins Glen lost to Trumansburg in 1997, 10-9.  Odessa-Montour last appeared in 1988, losing to Dryden, 8-2.  Put it all together, and this year’s team is making history as we speak.  One year after giving Edison all they could handle in a 9-8, Class B Semi-final loss, this year’s squad jumped out to a 10-0 record, which included solid wins over Spencer-Van Etten/Candor, Edison, and twice over their Large School Championship opponent, Lansing.  Both games have not been particularly close, as WG/O-M won by a combined 22-2.  In the first game on March 30, a 10-run 3rd put the game out of reach in a 13-1, 5-inning mercy rule win.  The top three in the order of Keira Ells, Paige Ells, and Lauren Signor combined for six hits and seven RBIs.  Keira Ells gave up two hits and struck out nine.  The rematch wasn’t a whole lot different on April 21, as WG/O-M took it 9-1.  This time, the lead was 5-0 after two innings.  The top three in the order again led the way, as did Brooklyn Thompson with two hits and Sydnee McCormick with two RBIs.  Paige Ells took the ball and struck out 13 in a four-hitter.  While those were a couple of rough games for Lansing, there have been plenty of great moments.  They pounded Chenango Forks 18-6 and recently swept a doubleheader over Spencer-Van Etten/Candor.  Currently, they’ve won five straight, so they appear to be peaking at the right moment.  In order to claim the crown, the Bobcats will need some steady pitching from Reagan Chalupsky, who has pitched all but seven innings this year.  They also need to limit the other team’s chances with good defense.  In a 2-1 win over SVEC, they committed no errors.  In the 20-13 win right after, they had six.  There’s no way they can keep up with WG/O-M if their gloves don’t bring their best effort.  This will be Lansing’s 5th Large School Championship appearance in six years, and all have ended with losses mostly by blowout.  A win would give them their 8th title and first since 1999.  WG/O-M has not won as a combined program, but do have two titles by Watkins Glen and one by Odessa-Montour.

* Delaware League Championship, Thursday at 4:30 at Neahwa Park in Oneonta: #1 Windham-Ashland-Jewett vs. #2 Charlotte Valley/Schenevus.  After two games that more than delivered on nail-biting drama, it’s only appropriate that we’re treated to a third.  Both games were won by Windham-Ashland-Jewett by 1-0 scores.  You rarely see something like that in high school softball anymore.  On April 27, Alexis Weinberg walked leading off the 3rd, stole 2nd, and scored on an RBI double by Piper Cohane.  That’s all ace Hannah Tuttle needed as she stuck out 21 in seven innings.  That’s right – every single out was by a K.  That’s insane!  Credit to Brinlee Wright and Abby Vroman for getting hits off of her.  Wright’s hit was a leadoff triple in the 4th, but she was stranded.  Wright stuck out 14 herself, and it still wasn’t enough.  The second game came shortly after on May 7, as Tuttle struck out 22, Wright K’d 16, and W-A-J earned the win in the 8th when Tuttle’s double drove in Cohane.  CV/S did all they possibly could to win, and still came up short.  That’s a full credit to W-A-J.  They have an ace in Tuttle who averages about 2 ½ strikeouts an inning.  Their offense can win by putting up a bunch of runs one night, or grind out a run when needed against a great pitcher.  CV/S has the two losses to W-A-J as their only blemishes this year.  Their offensive production has really picked up steam in the second half of the season, as they’ve posted double-digits in seven of their last nine games.  It’s easy to see another low-scoring game, but what makes these championship games so unique is that the unexpected can often happen.  Nerves and jitters play a role for any athlete, especially high school kids playing for a title.  Last year, W-A-J was the top seed and committed eight errors in losing the DL Championship to CV/S 12-4.  Both teams also suffered upset losses to lower seeds in the Class D Quarterfinals, so anything can happen.  W-A-J is looking for their first DL title.  CV/S will attempt to go back-to-back, as Charlotte Valley also won five previous titles.

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5/3/26

Another week down in Section IV, and the playoff picture is taking shape across all leagues.  Let’s take a look at who could represent the STAC, IAC Large, IAC Small, MAC, Delaware, and Tri-Valley in league playoffs.

This will be broken down based on how each league held their playoffs last year.  If any of that has changed, feel free to reach out to correct.

(The Section IV Tournament, otherwise referred to as “sectionals,” will begin later in May.  Individual league playoff season always comes first.)

* STAC.  The standings are courtesy of stacshowcase.com, a great resource for all things STAC.  The division winners in the West, Metro, Central, and East all earn a ticket to the Semi-finals, which will be held with the Championship game to follow on Saturday, May 16 at Greenlight Park.  Right now, Corning is a game away from clinching the West and earning a shot at defending their STAC Championship.  Any combination of a win for Corning or loss for Horseheads clinches it.  The other three divisions are all very close.  In the Metro, Vestal is a game ahead of Maine-Endwell.  M-E needs wins at Horseheads on Monday and at Vestal on Wednesday to force a one-game tiebreaker.  A loss in either of the two means Vestal clinches.  In the Central, Owego currently leads over Waverly, who meet up on Monday at Owego.  A win by Owego would mean they sweep the series and clinch the division.  Finally, Susquehanna Valley earned a big road win over Oneonta on Wednesday and now has a one-game lead and owns the tiebreaker by sweeping the season series.  Oneonta will need to beat Norwich on Wednesday and get some help in order to reclaim the division lead.

* IAC Large.  The IAC standings are harder to come by, so we’ll do the best we can here.  In the North Large, Lansing has taken care of business with a pair of wins over Whitney Point, and one each over Dryden and Trumansburg with one more game vs. each to come.  Their three losses have come against South Large opponents: Watkins Glen/Odessa-Montour twice and Edison once.  They welcome Edison on Monday and still have two games against Spencer-Van Etten/Candor.  The South Large is once again very close.  Edison played three tough teams in the Morabito Tournament last weekend, and used that experience to post a 3-0 week with wins over SVEC, WG/O-M, and Elmira Notre Dame.  WG/O-M raced out to a red hot start, including the Lansing sweep and a 1-0 win over Edison on April 17.  Edison got one back 3-0 this past Friday.  Each has between 3-4 league games left.  If they both end up with the same league losses, there will be a one-game tiebreaker held.

* IAC Small.  Union Springs started the season with a close 5-3 loss to nemesis Tioga and have run off 12 straight wins since.  Two of those wins were by narrow margins over Southern Cayuga, putting the Wolves in full control of their fate in the North Small.  They have won three of the last four Small School Championships, and have appeared five straight times.  In the South Small, it’s Tioga currently at 10-3, with two of those losses to Southern Cayuga.  The rematch vs. Union Springs will be on Wednesday at Union Springs in a possible league and sectional playoff preview.  Get ready for more fireworks in the month of May between these two.

* MAC.  Thanks to the great Nate Lull and his standings over at natelull.com, we’re able to get plenty of clarity for the “smaller” schools.  Deposit-Hancock (surprise, surprise) is currently in 1st with a 7-0 league record.  Right behind them is Bainbridge-Guilford at 6-1, who shook off an early loss to Oxford to win six straight league games.  D-H travels to B-G on Tuesday in a possible MAC Championship preview.  The 3-4 spots are very competitive: Delhi (5-3), Sidney (5-3), Afton (4-3), Oxford (4-3), Unatego (3-3), and Harpursville (4-4).  With 10 league games, these spots could easily switch many more times during the week.  A couple of games to keep an eye on are Sidney going to Delhi on Thursday, and Afton traveling to Oxford on Friday.  Harpursville will most likely need to defeat Oxford and Unatego this week to give themselves a chance at sneaking in.

* Delaware.  Last season, the top two teams advanced to the championship, as there were no semi-final games played.  Assuming that stays the same this year, all signs are pointing to a rematch between defending league champion Charlotte Valley/Schenevus and runner-up Windham-Ashland-Jewett.  W-A-J is 7-0 in league games and owns a close 1-0 win over CV/S on April 27 thanks to a 21-strikeout, 2-hit shutout by Hannah Tuttle.  The rematch is on Tuesday at W-A-J.  Both teams picked up a pair of wins on Saturday, with W-A-J downing Cherry Valley-Springfield/Sharon Springs and South Kortright in their Round Robin Tournament, and CV/S winning the Calhoun Classic by defeating Worcester and Edmeston/Morris.  Lurking right behind is Roxbury/Gilboa at 5-3.  They still have a pair of games against W-A-J, so if they can pull upsets, they have a chance.

* Tri-Valley.  With only six teams in this conference, there are only five league games to play.  Last year, there were semi-final games held, so that’s what we’ll go with here.  Also of note from last year, it was the two road teams that pulled the upsets and advanced, with #3 Laurens/Milford shutting out #4 Cherry Valley-Springfield/Sharon Springs 15-0 in the Championship.  This year, defending Class D Champion Edmeston/Morris has clinched a spot at 4-0.  Right behind them at 3-1 is Richfield Springs, who entered as the top seed last year but were upset by CV-S/SS.  Laurens/Milford and CV-S/SS are each 2-2 and seem to control their own fate, as Franklin and Worcester have both struggled to get going this year.

* It’s that time to take a look ahead the big games this week, along with the never-ending reminder to check Schedule Galaxy and/or the school website for possible postponements and changing of dates.

            - Monday: Maine-Endwell at Horseheads, Vestal at Elmira, Waverly at Owego, Edison at Lansing, Sidney at Afton

            - Tuesday: Union Springs at Moravia, Deposit-Hancock at Bainbridge-Guilford, Delhi at Unatego, Windham-Ashland-Jewett at Charlotte Valley/Schenevus

            - Wednesday: Corning at Horseheads, Maine-Endwell at Vestal, Oneonta at Norwich, Spencer-Van Etten/Candor at Lansing, Whitney Point at Watkins Glen/Odessa-Montour, Tioga at Union Springs, Roxbury/Gilboa at Windham-Ashland-Jewett

            - Thursday: Oxford at Deposit-Hancock, Sidney at Delhi, Charlotte Valley/Schenevus at Edmeston/Morris

            - Friday: Horseheads at Maine-Endwell

            - Saturday: Milford Tournament (Laurens/Milford vs. Worcester, Windham-Ashland-Jewett vs. Richfield Springs, Championship and Consolation to follow), Tioga at Waverly, Edmeston/Morris at Roxbury/Gilboa

* The season is flying by.  Enjoy it while you can!