Sports Snippets: May 21, 2023

COMPILED By WRILEY NELSON

Laurens/Milford Softball Defeats Roxbury

MILFORD—Laurens/Milford softball beat Roxbury 13-5 in the opening game of the Weir/Chase Tournament, formerly called the Milford Tournament, on May 13. Bella Garlick hit a double and drove in two RBI. Brooke Mann earned the win in the circle after striking out nine batters in four innings.

Cooperstown Softball Crushes Clinton

COOPERSTOWN—The Cooperstown Central School softball team beat Clinton 18-4 on May 15. The Hawkeyes racked up two triples and seven doubles. Katie Crippen hit a triple, three doubles and three RBI. Dani Seamon made four hits and four RBI. Savannah Kirkby hit five RBI. Emerson Lippitt earned the win in the circle, striking out five and allowing five hits. Cooperstown moved to 11-2 for the season and 8-1 in the Center State Conference.

Unatego/Franklin Baseball Defeats Norwich

OTEGO—Unatego/Franklin baseball defeated Norwich 4-3 with a walk-off on May 15. Norwich tied the game at 3-3 in the top of the seventh, but U/F ended the game with a run in the bottom of the inning. Logan Utter went 3-for-4, including a triple and a home run. Xander Johnson struck out 14 over six innings for U/F. Brayden Nichols earned the win.

Cooperstown Baseball Falls to Clinton

COOPERSTOWN—Cooperstown baseball dropped a game to Clinton, 8-5, on May 15. Clinton earned the Center State Conference Division II championship. The Hawkeyes scored four runs in the sixth inning but were unable to make up an early 8-1 deficit. Frank Panzarella took the loss after giving up eight runs in four innings. Cooperstown moved to 5-7 for the season.

CV-S/SS Softball Falls to Middleburgh

CHERRY VALLEY—Cherry Valley-Springfield/Sharon Springs softball fell to Middleburgh in an 18-15 seesaw on May 15. CV-S/SS led 8-4 after three innings, but Middleburgh scored 12 runs in the sixth inning. Although the Patriots managed a six-run seventh inning, the comeback effort came up short. Ari Bosc hit two triples. Mia Dubben struck out 11 over seven innings and hit a double.

Cooperstown Golf Beats Sherburne-Earlville

COOPERSTOWN—CCS golf defeated Sherburne-Earlville 169-174 at Mountain Top Golf Course on May 15. Senior Max Jones and junior Charlie Lambert earned medalist honors, each shooting a four-over 40 on the front nine. Eighth grader Brayden Sentz shot 42.

SUNY Oneonta Track and Field Compete at Utica CNY Meet

UTICA—The SUNY Oneonta men’s and women’s track and field teams competed in the Utica Central New York Fast Chance Meet on Sunday, May 14, their final tune-up before the All-Atlantic Region Track and Field Conference Regional Championships. The meet allowed athletes to qualify for regional and national meets. Junior Olivia O’Donnell of Oneonta placed fourth in the women’s 1,500m with a time of 4:58.33. Senior Hannah Jackson took fourth in the women’s hammer throw and senior Miles Moliterni placed second in the men’s. Freshman Cliff Biehl took third place in the javelin.

Oneonta Softball Trounces Bainbridge-Guilford

ONEONTA—Oneonta High School softball defeated Bainbridge-Guilford 12-5 on the road on May 16. Abbie Platt hit a home run for OHS. Madie Dening and Maleah Brockington both hit three RBI.

Cooperstown Baseball Falls to West Canada Valley

COOPERSTOWN—The Cooperstown High School baseball team lost 6-4 to West Canada Valley at home on May 16. Ethan Toulson and Frank Panzarella each had two hits. Ethan Kukenberger took the loss after pitching three innings.

Morris/Edmeston Smashes Heuvelton

MORRIS—J.J. Benjamin, of Morris/Edmeston, threw a no-hitter in M/E’s 10-0 victory over Heuvelton on May 16. Benjamin struck out 15 over seven innings. Kyle Ough hit a two-run homer in the first inning. M/E will face Schenevus in the quarterfinal round of the Section IV Class D tournament on May 22.

Cooperstown Golf Defeats Owen D. Young

SPRINGFIELD—Eighth grader Brayden Sentz shot an eight-over 43 to lead Cooperstown Central School against Owen D. Young/Richfield Springs on May 16. The Hawkeyes won the Otsego Golf Course match 181-219.

Cooperstown Track Teams Place Second in Championship

COOPERSTOWN—The Cooperstown Central School varsity track and field teams competed at the Center State Conference Division III Championship on May 16. Both the boys and girls teams took second place in a field of five schools. Both Sauquoit Valley teams won. Senior Claire Jensen won the 200m and 400m races, and was part of the winning 4x100m and 4x400m relay teams. Junior Margaret Raffo won the 3,000m. Sophomore Annelise Jensen placed second in the 800m. Sophomore Polly Kennedy took third place in the 400m hurdles. Senior Braeden Victory and sophomore Allison Swart placed second and third in the high jump. Eighth grader Nora Craig took third in the pole vault. Junior Riley Green placed second in shot put and second in discus. Junior Elizabeth Hughes took third in discus. The 4x800m relay team placed second.

On the boys’ side, junior Cooper Hodgdon won the pole vault, placed second in the 400m hurdles and took third in the 110m hurdles. Sophomore Cooper Bradley won the high jump and took second in the 110m hurdles. Senior Simon Hurysz placed second in the 200m and third in the 100m. Senior William Pernat took third in shot put and discus. Freshman Ryles Shelton finished third in the long jump.

Three Red Dragons Named All-SUNYAC

ONEONTA—Three SUNY Oneonta baseball players were named to All-SUNYAC honors, the State University of New York Athletic Conference announced on May 16. Seniors Jake Barrett and Sean Liquori earned first-team selections, while junior Devin Rooney was selected for second-team honors. Third baseman Barrett led Oneonta in most offensive categories and started in 33 of the 34 games he played. He led the team and was third in the conference with a .392 batting average. His 49 hits, 31 RBI, 11 doubles and four home runs led the Red Dragons. He was second on the team with 28 runs, two triples and eight stolen bases. On defense, Barrett had 56 assists, 18 putouts and a .914 fielding percentage. The 2023 season included Barrett’s 100th career hit; he finishes with 108 total.

Liquori earned his second all-conference honor. The utility player was a solid pitcher and hitter, starting 12 games on the mound and batting in 36 games. Liquori pitched 59.1 innings with a 4.55 ERA and 39 strikeouts. He finished the season with two complete games, including a complete-game shutout of Brockport on April 7. Liquori held the 217 batters he faced to a .249 batting average. On offense, Liquori batted .308, with 24 hits, 15 runs, 36 RBI, three doubles and three home runs.

Rooney’s 2.18 ERA was the league’s lowest. He finished the season with a 5-2 record. Rooney pitched 57.2 innings with 51 strikeouts and held the batters he faced to a .238 batting average. Oneonta finished the season with a 25-15 record, its best since 2010. 

Delhi Defeats Oneonta in Sectional Tennis Final

ONEONTA—The Oneonta doubles team of Jayden and Tyler Zakala defeated Union Springs before falling in straight sets to Tabor and Risdon Reed of Delhi in the Section IV Class C-D East final on May 16. Both the Reeds and the Zakalas will advance to the state qualifier match.

Cooperstown Softball Downs Sauquoit for Title

COOPERSTOWN—The Cooperstown Central School softball team took the Center State Conference Division II title with a 10-1 victory over Sauquoit Valley on May 17. Dani Seamon struck out 10batters in a two-hitter and hit a home run, a double, and two RBI. Sophia Hotaling hit a triple and Katie Crippen hit two doubles. Sophomore Emmy Lippitt added an RBI and scored two runs. The Hawkeyes moved to 12-2 overall and 9-1 in CSC. Cooperstown and Westmoreland split their regular-season games, but Westmoreland’s loss to Mount Markham opened up the title to the Hawkeyes.

Cooperstown Baseball Falls to Sauquoit Valley

COOPERSTOWN—Cooperstown High School baseball made a strong late-game comeback attempt but fell short in a 7-6 loss to Sauquoit Valley at home on May 17. Senior Ethan Kukenberger took the loss on the mound after giving up six hits in four innings. Cooperstown fielders made four errors. Junior Kalen Dempsey went 2-for-4, bringing in three runs in the bottom of the seventh. The Hawkeyes moved to 5-9 overall and 5-7 in CSC.

Cooperstown Golf Wins Meet

COOPERSTOWN—The Cooperstown golf team defeated Sherburne-Earlville and Mount Markham in a Center State Conference South Division meet at Leatherstocking Golf Course on May 17. Senior Max Jones won honors with a six-over 41 on the front nine. The Hawkeyes finished at 179, while S-E shot 199 and Mount Markham shot 260. Cooperstown moved to 8-2 for the season.

Cooperstown Tennis Players Win Titles

UTICA—The Cooperstown tennis team competed in the Section III Class C-2 finals at the Utica Parkway on May 17. Although the Hawkeyes lost the team title to Sauquoit Valley by a point, 83-82, several players earned individual honors. First-singles player Gunter Weldon, a freshman, defeated Sauquoit’s Bryan DeGeronimo 6-0, 6-0 in the finals. The first doubles team, seventh-grader Henry Ayers and senior exchange student Albert Caulier, beat opponents from Hamilton. Second doubles, sophomore Alexis Wolfe and junior Charlie Lambert, beat a Sauquoit team. Weldon, Ayers, Caulier, Wolfe and Lambert will advance to the State Qualifying tournament, also at Utica Parkway, on May 23.