Horses, Spartans to play for title
Semifinal victories send teams to Class A final on Thursday
Katie Pryor may have been down in the count during her second at-bat Tuesday afternoon, but the sophomore No. 2 batter in Troy’s softball lineup refused to give in facing Averill Park pitcher Taylor Schoonmaker.
Pryor fouled off three pitches facing a 1-2 count to keep herself alive. The seventh offering from Schoonmaker proved to be heavenly for the Flying Horses as the sophomore shortstop slugged a grand slam to left field to help propel Troy to a 5-3 victory over the Warriors in the Section II Class A semifinals at Schalmont High School.
Pryor’s blast, her third home run this season, came with two outs in the second inning and provided the Flying Horses a 5-0 advantage.
“Honestly, I just knew I needed to hit the ball for my team. Whatever I was able to do for them, I was going to be happy with it,” Pryor said. “I ended up crushing it . ... I definitely knew it was gone.”
“Katie Pryor had a great at-bat with two strikes, fouling balls away and battling,” Troy coach Sean Geisel said. “She works hard and I was confident she would barrel a ball up. Hitting it out was a huge momentum shift for us. We couldn’t have been happier for that hit.”
“That was huge. She knows when to show up,” Troy junior pitcher Olivia Decitise said.
Decitise uncharacteristically struggled with her control as she
issued five walks, yet she found ways to work out of jams in the first, fourth and fifth. She walked in two runs in the fifth and stranded the bases loaded.
“I was just trying too hard,” Decitise said. “After the fifth inning, I thought, ‘Six more outs and that is it.’ I just got a little ahead of myself. I was trying to hit corners. I sped up a little bit and that just doesn’t work.”
Troy (19-2), the No. 2 seed, will meet No. 4 seed Burnt Hills-ballston Lake (13-5) Thursday for the championship at Luther Forest Athletic Complex. The Spartans played like the tournament’s top seed as they knocked off Foothills Council champion Queensbury, the tournament’s No. 1 seed, 8-0.
“I am so proud of this group. They have worked so incredibly hard and they just were not fazed at all,” BH-BL coach Caitlyn Rana said. “They came out and played their game. They didn’t let numbers or seedings get to them.”
“We have been working toward this,” BH-BL junior first baseman Danielle Debonis said. “This team is really young. We lost some seniors from last year, but we have worked really hard and we knew we were going to make it (to the final) since the beginning of the season.”
During this season’s Suburban Council schedule back in April, BH-BL beat Troy 2-1 in an epic struggle that lasted 12 innings. BH-BL sophomore pitcher Katie Rhodes collected the victory in a contest where Decitise struck out a school-record 27 batters.
“Rematch,” said Decitise, who allowed four hits Tuesday and upped her season’s strikeout total to 250. “I wanted a rematch. The whole point of going to sectionals was to play those teams that we lost to. We definitely were not the team at the beginning of the season that we are now. We are going to show who we are now.”
Debonis was not surprised when learning Troy would be the Spartans’ opponent in the title game Thursday.
“They, obviously, had a very successful season,” Debonis said of the Flying Horses. “I think we are ready to get after it and get the win again.”
Decitise enjoyed watching Pryor’s grand slam from the on-deck circle.
“It felt so good. I loved every moment of it, especially coming home to my team at the plate,” Pryor said.
Averill Park (13-8) cut its deficit to 5-1 in the fourth on an RBI bloop single to right from senior Molly Eaton. Abbey Nagle, who had two hits, and Bella Mahar each drew bases-loaded walks to account for the other two runs for the Warriors.
“Liv just buckled down and did what she does so often,” Geisel said. “She has grown up so much this season and that is something we’re very proud of with what she’s done.”
Burnt Hills-ballston Lake scored in every inning except the third. Debonis, who walked twice along with teammates Abbie Harper and Addisyn Knapik, ripped her fourth home run in the fifth against Queensbury senior pitcher Alexis Rogers.
“It was nice. I was not expecting that on 0-2, but I will take it,” Debonis said.
“She has produced some tremendous accolades this season,” Rana said of Rogers. “We were able to get deep into counts and she put us on with walks, which was a big deal.”