By SPENCER BATES
ALLEGANY — It did not take long for the No. 6 seed Allegany-Limestone softball team to establish itself in its 14-2 Section 6 Class B Quarterfinal victory over No. 14 seed Newfane, controlling the affair from start to finish, eventually bringing the run rule into effect.
The Gators, by all statistical margins, put on a complete team performance. Their 11 hits far outweighed the two of their opponents. The impeccable 16 strikeouts starting pitcher Kailey Truman was able to tally outnumbered just the four strikeouts the Panthers got. And with a tidy defensive effort, they did not pick up an error while the visitors struggled, recording six.
“We got the job done, and that’s all you can ask for in the playoffs,” A-L coach Kaelyn Arnold said. “A win is a win here.”
Offensively, A-L got off its mark quickly, scoring three runs in the first frame, all coming with two outs on the board. Granted, the hosts were given some assistance as a number of passed balls allowed for open paths from third to home plate.
And while the number of passed balls they were able to benefit from dropped, the two-out offense the Gators generated continued to be a theme as a significant number of the hits and runs the hosts managed came with two outs on the board.
Of course, any offense is good offense and Arnold will take the runs wherever her team can get them. Still, she noted how as her team continues through the postseason, those opportunities to feel-out pitchers and start to connect on the bats later in innings or in games will become less and less.
“I told my girls, we faced a little bit faster of a pitcher, last game compared to this game, and it’s about how we adjust,” Arnold said. “We got to adjust early. We didn’t do that right away, but we adjusted at the very end. So, that helped us out a little bit, but especially when we’re playing next week, we got to go right away, (whether it’s) a fast pitcher or a slow pitcher.”
Allegany-Limestone’s Peyton Truman (9) swings at a pitch. (Spencer Bates)
Ultimately, what had allowed A-L the time to figure out the pitching situation of its opponents was the strong pitching performance it got from Truman.
Dicing through the Panthers’ lineup, Truman had a no-hit bid going through the fifth inning of the affair, a single and double in the sixth ending up the possibility of a shutout.
Truman has had her ups and downs throughout the campaign, but lately, as Arnold acknowledged, she has truly found a vein of success.
“She’s starting early, and we’re getting ahead in the counts, and that’s really, really helping her,” Arnold said. “I mean, she’s doing a great job. She’s working her tail off right now for us. She’s doing everything we’re asking.”
The Gators’ offense hit a momentary stall through the second and third innings, but picked right back up in the fourth, in which they scored four. They added another run to their tally in the fifth, but the Panthers were able to distance themselves from the run rule in the top of the sixth with two runs of their own. But, the hosts bats were hot and put the game out of reach with six runs in the bottom of that frame, forcing an early end to the affair.
Abby Peck led the Gators offense from the leadoff spot, finishing 2-for-5 with two runs and an RBI. She found herself helped along the way by Kennedy Honeck (3-for-5, run, RBI), Summer Rhow (2-for-5, run 2 RBI) and Truman (2-for-4, 2 runs, 2 RBI).
With the win, and due to other results in the Class B bracket, the Gators’ season at home has reached its end as they will hit the road to face No. 2 seed Fredonia, a fellow CCAA Div. I league member who handed A-L two of its losses this season, in the Semifinals on May 27 at 5 p.m.
Arnold will hope that what she has learned about her side through their two postseason victories comes through again in five days time as they will seek to book their spot in the Section 6 Final with a victory over the Hillbillies.
“I know I’ve said it 1,000 times, but the resiliency (with this team is special),” Arnold said. “I told them, every team’s coming in and they want to win, so we just got to fight. Every game’s a battle from here on out.”
AT ALLEGANY
R H E
Newfane 000 002 X 2 2 6
Allegany-Limestone 300 416 X 14 11 0
New: Schaughnessy (4 SO, 8 BB) and Tower
A-L: K. Truman (16 SO, 5 BB) and P. Truman
