Malta — When the Maple Hill Varsity softball team took to the diamond Friday, they did so with one thought – get done what they couldn’t last year.
In 2015, after an impressive regular season, the Wildcats marched into Sectionals on fire, making it to the Class C championship game for the first time since 1998. While playing on a very poor condition (to put it kindly) field, the Wildcats dreams were crushed, falling to Hoosic Valley.
With a new year came new hope, something the Wildcats used to obtain the #3 seed in Class C entering Sectionals. With wins over Cambridge and Greenwich, the Wildcats found themselves back in the sectional championship game, but this time against Patroon Conference rival Greenville.
This “rivalry” (which pretty much popped out of nowhere) when Ichabod left the Patroon Conference a few years back, is something that has taken center stage this school year. The Spartans ended the MH boys’ soccer season in the fall and in the winter it was the Lady Wildcats that (with the help of a 4th quarter comeback) finished Greenville’s season in the girls’ basketball quarterfinals. Given the animosity between the two schools, Friday’s game had all the makings of a classic.
In many games this season, the Wildcats started off slow with the sticks. Right off the bat MH put up a run early in the 1st, putting Greenville in a hole before they even had a chance to bat.
It was at this time that a combination of technical and communication glitches ended our live stream. Though able to work the technical issue out, given the scolding we received from “the Section 2 police” we opted to cease streaming for the day so as not to risk getting kicked out. For those of you that were unable to watch the game as a result, I do apologize and hope that we can work things out with the Section, in the future.
With that out of the way (it shouldn’t be the story), the game was a thriller, coming right on down to the end. Going into the 7th, Maple Hill was down 9 to 5, but the Wildcats still had some fight in them. Off a 2 out rally Maple Hill scored 3 quick runs, putting the Wildcats within 1 run. As a wise man once said,”what wasn’t meant to be simply wasn’t meant to be” and after nearly a 16 pitch at bat, McKenzie Seymour went down swinging for the final out of the ball game.
After the heartbreaking loss, while heading home down the Northway, Maple Hill coach Pat Austin touched on his team’s performance. “We’ve got nothing to be ashamed of…I’ve got a group of fighters… on a day when it wasn’t easy they didn’t give in…I’m proud of them.”
Greenville will now play Ticonderoga (the Section 7 champion) on Thursday (6/2) at SUNY Plattsburgh. The game is scheduled to start at 4:00pm.
STAT LINE
Maple Hill
Arianna Papas- 5AB, 2R, 2H, 1RBI, 0BB, 0SO
Alysa Houghtaling- 5AB, 1R, 2H, 2RBI, 0BB, 0SO
Pitching- 6IP, 12H, 9R, 7ER, 3BB, 6SO
Kayley Fountain- 3AB, 1R, 2H, 1RBI, 1BB, 0SO
Kenzie Seymour- 5Ab, 1R, 2H, 0RBI, 0BB, 2SO
Elisabeth Brahm- 4AB, 0R, 2H, 0RBI, 0BB, 0SO
Alex Stuto- 3AB, 0R, 1H, 0RBI, 1BB, 0SO
Katlyn Fountain- 4AB, 1R, 0H, 0RBI, 0BB, 0SO
Lilly Tedford- 4AB, 1R, 2H, 0RBI, 0BB, 2SO
Maddie Bryda- 4AB, 1R, 1H, 0RBI, 0BB, 2SO
Greenville
Kristen Silk- 3AB, 2R, 1H, 0RBI, 0BB, 0SO
Ava Fitzmaurice- 4AB, 2R, 3H, 0RBI, 0SO, 0BB
Pitching- 7IP, 14H, 8R, 7ER, 2BB, 10SO
Justine Albin- 3AB, 1R, 1H, 2RBI, 1BB, 0SO
Kaitlyn Krasney- 4AB, 1R, 2H, 2RBI, 0BB, 0SO
Samantha Case- 4AB, 0R, 0H, 0RBI, 0BB, 2SO
Callie Pfleging- 3Ab, 1R, 1H, 1RBI, 1BB, 2SO
Caila Benning-4AB, 0R, 2H, 1RBI, 0BB, 1SO
Genevieve Palmer- 4AB, 0R, 1H, 0RBI, 0BB, 1SO
Kasey Pfleging- 2AB, 2R, 1H, 0RBI, 1BB, 1SO
