Maine-Endwell and SV suffer tough losses in state softball semifinals
· Yahoo Sports
BINGHAMTON – Susquehanna Valley (20-4) and Maine-Endwell (18-6) remained this year’s state semifinalists in the 2026 New York Public High School Athletic Association (NYSPHSAA) softball tournament after securing 21-11 and 13-5 victories over Section 6’s Alden and Depew, respectively, before exiting the state tournament in a heartbreaking 8-7 and 5-2 loss against Section 2’s Chatham (23-2) and Averill Park (21-4).
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The Spartans ended their season in the Class A state semifinal after succumbing to an early 5-2 scoring gap and a scoreless last four innings, despite outhitting Averill Park six hits to four.
Junior pitcher and Metro all-division selection Tessa L’Amoreaux and freshman Harper Eagan had two hits each, and sophomore Emma Rondeau and freshman Metro all-division selection Isadora Moreira added a hit each.
Susquehanna Valley came closer in its state semifinal matchup against last year’s state champion, Chatham (Section 2), after leading the Panthers 7-2 by the middle of the fifth inning, but ultimately lost out on the Class B state final appearance after Chatham’s five-run comeback and game-winning single by Rylie Barden in the bottom of the ninth inning.
“Our motto is: ‘pick me up’; make a mistake, but we can’t carry it to the next thing,” Susquehanna Valley head coach Karen Bidwell said regarding the team’s overall outlook.
The Sabers suffered a similar fate as Maine-Endwell, having fallen out of the tournament in a close loss despite outhitting Chatham twelve hits to eleven.
Central/East all-conference selections Lili Onna D’Introno, Danica LaBarre and Kylee Richardson, who shared their last game as seniors, and sophomore selection Kiana Cipolla combined for eight out of the team’s 12 hits and four out of the seven runs in the Sabers’ 8-7 loss.
Deposit-Hancock and Windham-Ashland-Jewett will be the Section 4 teams continuing their state tournament streak after defeating St. Lawrence (Section 10) and Fort Ann (Section 2), respectively, and compete in the Class C and Class D state finals on Saturday, June 13.
Averill Park shuts Maine-Endwell down
Bottom line: Averill Park took its chances on more than one occasion and ended up with the 5-2 victory despite being out-batted six to four.
Key Sequences
Top of 1st inning: Maine-Endwell’s Kaylee Hurba puts the Spartans on the board with a sacrifice fly out to center field to drive Tessa L’Amoreaux home and get the 1-0 lead over Averill Park.
Bottom of 1st inning: Averill Park’s Mady Charron and Abigail Colwill each get a run after taking their chances on pitching errors. Averill Park takes a 2-1 lead with the bases loaded, forcing the Spartans to huddle at the mound.
Top of 2nd inning: L’Amoreaux singles on a ground ball to third base to drive home Liliana Moreira, tying the score at 2-2.
Bottom of 2nd inning: Audrey Coon doubles on a fly ball to center field to drive Colwill home. Charron drives home Coon and advances to 2nd on M-E’s missed catch, putting the score at 4-2 in favor of Averill Park.
Bottom of 3rd inning: Victoria Sanchez doubles on a fly ball to left field, then advances to 3rd on a throw, driving home Lily Biette, who put Averill Park up at 5-2.
Key Stats
Audrey Coon, AP (SS): 1 run, 1 hit, 1 RBI; Abigail Colwill, AP: 2 runs, 1 hit; Victoria Sanchez, AP (RF): 1 hit, 1 RBI; Natalia Mancino, AP (C): 1 hit | Team Stats – four team hits, two RBIs, and eight walks
Tessa L’Amoreaux, M-E (P): at bat – 1 run, 2 hits, 1 RBI; Harper Eagan, M-E (1B): 2 hits; Isadora Moreira, M-E (RF): 1 hit; Emma Rondeau, M-E (2B): 1 hit | Team Stats – six team hits, two RBIs, and one walk
Chatham claws its way to another state final
Bottom line: Chatham saw an opening, ran with it, and refused to let the game slip away, coming back from a five-run deficit to win the game 8-7.
Key sequences
Top of 1st inning: Danica LaBarre doubles on a fly ball to center field to drive in Kiana Cipolla, giving the Sabers the first run of the night. 1-0
Bottom of 1st inning: Chatham’s Laney Steltz doubles on a fly ball to drive home Aubrey Rowe while Samantha Silver scores on a passed ball to put Chatham ahead 2-1.
Top of 2nd inning: Amelia Frisbie scores on a wild pitch by Chatham, and the Sabers load the bases and tie the game at 2-2.
Cipolla’s single on a line drive to center field brings Ella Kariam and Liv Hughes to score. The Sabers take a 4-2 lead.
Top of 5th inning: Kylee Richardson singles on a line drive to center field to drive Cipolla home from second base. LaBarre hits a hard single to left field on the next play to put Richardson at second base. LilliOnna D’Introno’s ground ball and a reach on Chatham’s error bring Richardson to score and put the score at 6-2.
Frisbie’s pop fly out to right field drives LaBarre home, stretching the Sabers’ lead to 7-2.
Bottom of 5th inning: Rowe singles with the bases loaded to bring home Skylar Groom. Meta Mountain scores on the Sabers’ passed ball on the next play to close the gap at 7-4.
Silver scores on Susquehanna Valley’s reaching error. Rylie Barden singles on a ground ball to center field on the next play to bring home Lylah Rowe. D’Introno lets Groom walk with the bases loaded, and Riley Pulver jogs home to tie the game at 7-7.
Bottom of 9th inning: Steltz steals second base then advances to third on Pulver’s bunt. D’Introno lets Alexis Nehmens walk on the next, bringing the Panthers to load all three bases.
Barden hits a game-winning single to left field to drive home Steltz and cap the game at 8-7.
Key Stats
Skylar Groom (P), Chatham: 9 IP, 18 strikeouts, 12 hits allowed, at bat – 1 run, 1 hit, 1 RBI; Rylie Barden (2B), Chatham: 2 hits, 2 RBIs; Laney Steltz (LF), Chatham: 1 run, 2 hits, 1 RBI; Aubrey Rowe (C), Chatham: 1 run, 2 hits, 1 RBI; Samantha Silver (RF), Chatham: 2 runs, 2 hits; Riley Pulver (3B), Chatham: 1 run, 1 hit; Meta Mountain (SS), Chatham: 1 run, 1 hit; Chatham – 11 team hits, five RBIs, and seven walks
Kiana Cipolla (2B), SV: 2 runs, 3 hits, 2 RBIs; Danica LaBarre (C), SV: 1 run, 3 hits, 1 RBI; Kylee Richardson (SS), SV: 1 run, 2 hits, 1 RBI; Amelia Frisbie (3B) SV: 1 run, 2 hits, 1 RBI; Ava Kariam (RF), SV: 1 hit; Liv Hughes (LF), SV: 1 run, 1 hit; Susquehanna Valley – 12 team hits and five RBIs
This article originally appeared on Binghamton Press & Sun-Bulletin: Maine-Endwell and Susquehanna Valley end the 2026 season at state