By SPENCER BATES
OLEAN — In a battle between the only two remaining undefeated sides in the CCAA Div. I, the Olean and Allegany-Limestone softball teams put on a show, with the former pulling off a come-from-behind 9-6 victory.
Entering the affair, the Huskies found themselves sitting with a 3-3 record, dropping their first three games of the season against opposition meant to test the mettle of their younger squad. But after those initial losses, Olean managed to hit the ground running in league play, winning three straight by a combined score of 39-1.
As for the Gators, they took to the turf in Olean with a perfect record in tow. Having won their first seven contests in a row, two of which coming against CCAA Div. I opposition, the visitors were looking to establish themselves as the top dogs in the league.
A goal they looked likely to accomplish early as they saw four players get on base with three hits and jumped out to an early 2-0 advantage after one inning of play.
Olean did manage to match its guests with a near-identical half inning in the bottom of the second — scoring two runs on three hits and getting a fourth batter on-base via an error — but A-L, over the third and fourth innings, managed to rebuild their early advantage with a 6-4 scoreline going in their favor over halfway through the fixture.
However, Olean coach Steve Anastasia was unshaken at the sight of his team’s opponents scoring early and often, because, according to him, he knows his team has the resilience it takes to battle back.
“We got down early, and I just told them, let’s keep chipping away, keep it close,” Anastasia said. “I knew it was going to be a game like this. I actually told the girls they’re going to score at least six runs, so we have to score more than six.”
A statement, Anastasia noted, that ended up making him “look smart out there” as the Gators’ offense ground to a halt once they hit six runs. And it was then, after biding their time and not allowing the game to run away from them, that the Huskies struck.
Olean’s Ari Finch (11) connects on a pitch for a ground ball. (Spencer Bates)
Scoring five unanswered runs over the fifth and sixth frames, the hosts managed to storm back and solidified their position at the top of the league, maintaining their perfect record against CCAA Div. I opponents.
“I love the fight in our girls,” Anastasia said. “I love that the young girls, the bottom of the order, did their job. We’re starting to come together really well as a team.
“Even in the games we lost, if you look back, we never gave up. … But now, we’re getting the key hits. (Allegany-Limestone) got them early, we got them late. We gave them some extra outs early, they gave us some extra outs late. You just got to stay in and battle, that’s basically the message.”
For both sides, a major key in the game was set to be the performances of their pitchers. Olean’s Emma Edwards and A-L’s Kailey Truman have each been great for their respective sides so far this season. Unfortunately, both teams found consistent pitching hard to come by as the aces both wound up fighting through injuries.
For Edwards, who finished the night with seven strikeouts and three walks, her injury was picked up in the first inning after being hit by a pitch.
A-L coach Kaelyn Arnold admitted also that Truman, who finished with one strikeout and four walks, “didn’t have her best” on the night as she worked through an injury she picked up prior to the Olean matchup.
But on the flip side of things, while the pitching was not flawless, the bats from both sides took their opportunities to rack up the hits, the Gators connecting for 12 and the Huskies for eight.
Allegany-Limestone’s Kailey Truman (10) winds up a pitch. Truman recorded one strikeout for the Gators in the loss to the Huskies. (Spencer Bates)
And according to Anastasia, this played right into his team’s hands, as a big focus for him and his squad in the buildup to the affair against A-L was having efficient at-bats.
“They don’t have to field if you strike out,” Anastasia said. “If you get two strikes, shorten the swing and just make contact. Let the ball do the work, let them make a mistake. We’ve worked a lot on that and our girls are really playing well now.”
Olean was led by Anna Bates and Amelia Jones offensively. The former finished 2-for-4 with a home run, three runs and three RBI, while the latter went 3-for-3 with two runs and two RBI.
As for A-L, it was Taylor Foster leading the charge at the plate, going 3-for-4 with a home run, two runs and an RBI.
“She just started to get hot,” Arnold said of Foster. “At the beginning of the season, she wasn’t really hitting as well as we knew she could. And now, she’s opening up. So I think from here on out, for the rest of the season, she’s going to really thrive.”
But unfortunately for Arnold’s side, while it managed to generate the greater number of hits, it was their struggles defensively that hurt them.
“We had a lot of errors today, we got to clean that up,” Arnold said. “That’s the only way we’re going to beat good teams like (Olean). We were back-and-forth the whole game, we still stayed in it, but we just got to clean up the errors.”
And the offense drying up late only compounded the issues the Gators were having with errors. A problem she attributed to her players showing a bit too much complacency and shock when the Olean bats started firing.
“I think we got a little bit relaxed and we weren’t used to seeing so many girls hit off of Kailey,” Arnold said. “So I think that that kind of threw us off, in a way. We just got to be on our toes, every pitch.”
Allegany-Limestone’s Taylor Foster (14) connects on a pitch. (Spencer Bates)
A-L had a chance to pull off a remarkable comeback with the tying run at the plate in the bottom of the seventh frame, but an Olean double play, kickstarted by Bates, from the catcher position, slammed the door on their crosstown rivals.
“Coming into the season, my big question was the mental part of the game, and in a game like this, we have to battle,” Anastasia said. “Hopefully they believe me now that all you got to do is hang in there and will takes over. They’re doing a great job.”
The win pushed Olean’s record on the season to a positive 4-3 and will look to continue its unbeaten run in league play in its next game, a home affair against Fredonia on April 28 at 5 p.m.
As for Allegany-Limestone, their record moved to 7-1 with the loss. It will look to get back on track at home against Salamanca on April 28 at 5 p.m.
AT OLEAN
Allegany-Limestone 202 200 0 6 12 2
Olean 021 123 X 9 8 3
A-L: K. Truman (1 SO, 4 BB) and P. TrumanOL: Edwards (7 SO, 3 BB) and Bates
