Updated June 4 with date change for Corning’s regional final.
Returning state champions Corning and Deposit-Hancock joined Horseheads, Maine-Endwell and Susquehanna Valley in capturing Section 4 softball titles at Greenlight Networks Grand Slam Park in Binghamton.
The planned single-day event turned into a two-day showcase when rain halted play May 31 after Deposit-Hancock (Class C) and Edmeston/Morris (Class D) secured titles. Edmeston/Morris beat Laurens/Milford, 14-9.
Finals in classes A and B were suspended after one inning Saturday. The matchups in AAA and AA were also pushed back.
All six champions are one victory from advancing to the New York State Public High School Athletic Association final four, to be played June 13 and 14 at Grand Slam Park.
Class AAA: Corning 4, Elmira 0
Matti Johnston followed up last year’s no-hitter against Elmira in the sectional final by pitching a two-hitter as the defending Class AAA state champ Hawks won their third sectional championship in a row and sixth overall since beginning play in 2011.
Corning, which also won a state title in 2019, beat Elmira in the 2023 Class AA sectional final and won last year’s AAA final after New York expanded to six classes.
“We beat a good team today,” Corning head coach Mike Johnston Jr. said.
“Really proud of our kids and how they’re playing softball right now.”
Johnston struck out eight and walked one.
“Matti gives us a chance in every game,” Mike Johnston said. “She gets it done, she competes like crazy on the mound. Now she’s more experienced.”
Elmira (7-9) loaded the bases with one out in the seventh, but a strikeout and ground ball to shortstop Kendall Curreri brought the game to a close. Mike Johnston said Curreri made a couple of ESPN highlight-reel plays at shortstop and also praised the defensive play of Elmira shortstop Addison “Sonny” Taft, a Bucknell commit.
Sophie Schoonover led the Corning offense with two hits while driving in all four runs. She had an RBI groundout in the first inning, a two-run single in the third, and an RBI triple in the fifth.
Up next: Corning (16-3) will face Section 9 titlist Middletown (11-8) at 12:15 p.m. June 5 at Monroe-Woodbury High School in a game originally scheduled for June 7. It was moved up because of a rainy forecast.
Class AA: Horseheads 7, Vestal 6
Horseheads regrouped to score the winning run in the bottom of the sixth inning after Vestal rallied from a 6-1 deficit to tie the score.
The sectional title was Horseheads’ 14th overall and first since 2022. The Blue Raiders lost to Vestal in last year’s championship game.
“It’s a lot of fun. When I took the job three years ago, I always tell the kids, ‘This is why you like to do this stuff,’ ” Horseheads coach Paul Richmond said. “It’s the whole point of playing and competing.”
Megan Wolf, a key part of the 2022 sectional title, went the distance for Horseheads. She allowed six hits while striking out nine and walking five. She was 3-for-3 at the plate. Richmond said Wolf’s calmness and solid effort stood out against Vestal’s quality lineup.
Dylan Young went 2-for-3 for Horseheads, Sammie Bonnell doubled and scored three runs, and Raegan Burge drove in two runs. Burge’s bases-loaded walk brought home the deciding run.
Allie Policare went 3-for-4 for Vestal (12-5).
“This group has been really special,” Richmond said. “We have some real young players mixed in with some really good senior leadership.
“I feel like throughout the season we just got stronger and stronger. We’ve had a bunch of comebacks throughout the year and they just never quit, especially when we gave up our lead. Super proud of them.”
Up next: Horseheads (14-4) is scheduled to meet Section 9 champ Goshen (15-4) at 6 p.m. June 5 at Grand Slam Park.
Class A: Maine-Endwell 14, Chenango Valley 11
Maine-Endwell scored six runs in the fourth inning and five in the fifth to take control against Chenango Valley in the Class A title tilt, earning a third consecutive Section 4 title and 15th in program history.
Olivia Virgil of M-E went 2-for-3 with a homer, five RBIs and two runs. Kaylee Hurba added two hits, two runs and three RBIs; and Tessa L’Amoreaux was 2-for-5 with two runs.
Caelyn Koch was 2-for-3 with a homer, three runs and two RBIs for the Warriors (12-7). Colsten Beers doubled and drove in three runs.
Virgil pitched the final 4 1/3 innings and gave up three runs on three hits.
Up next: Maine-Endwell (12-5) takes on either the Section 10 or Section 7 champion June 7 at either SUNY Plattsburgh or St. Lawrence University.
Class B: Susquehanna Valley 10, Edison 5
Susquehanna Valley broke a 5-5 tie with four runs in the fourth inning to top Elmira Heights’ Thomas A. Edison for the second year in a row in the Class B sectional final. The Sabers captured the 16th sectional championship in program history.
Sabers pitcher LilliOnna D’Introno finished with a five-hitter after giving up three runs in one inning Saturday. She struck out 12 and walked one.
SV leadoff batter Rianne Moelder went 2-for-2 with four runs, two walks and an RBI. Norah Schneider and Kylee Richardson each had a double and two RBIs. Kiana Cipolla was 2-for-3 with a double and an RBI.
Kailey Ripley homered, doubled and drove in four runs for Edison (18-4). Her two-run homer in the third knotted the score at 5-5.
Up next: Susquehanna Valley (16-2) will play either Section 5 champion Bath Haverling or Section 6 champ Fredonia at 11:30 a.m. June 7 at Grand Island High School.
Class C: Deposit-Hancock 7, Tioga 1
Deposit-Hancock rolled to its 11th consecutive sectional title, a streak that started in 2014 and includes six championships for Deposit as a solo team.
The Eagles are chasing a fifth consecutive state title after winning in Class D in 2019, 2022, 2023 and 2024.
Addison Makowski tossed a three-hitter with 14 strikeouts and one walk in Saturday’s victory. In three sectional games, Makowski pitched 26 innings, struck out 47, gave up seven hits, one run, and one walk.
Sarah Gross went 3-for-3 with a three-run homer, a double and four RBIs. Olivia Johnston was 2-for-3 with two runs. The Eagles led 7-0 after two innings.
McKenzie Williams homered for Tioga (15-4) in the seventh inning.
Up next: Deposit-Hancock (19-2) will play Section 3 champ Sandy Creek (17-2) at 5 p.m. June 5 at Greenlight Networks Grand Slam Park.
This article originally appeared on Elmira Star-Gazette: HS Softball: Corning, Horseheads, Sus Valley, M-E, Deposit-Hancock claim Section 4 titles
Reporting by Andrew Legare, Elmira Star-Gazette / Elmira Star-Gazette
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
