Guide to Section 4 softball tournament: Top storylines and teams to watch

The road to Horseheads – and beyond – begins this week for Section 4 softball hopefuls.

Yes, Horseheads’ Holding Point Recreation Complex it will be for this year as the long-time Section 4 tournament venue, BAGSAI Complex adjacent to SUNY-Broome, undergoes extensive renovations.

The ultimate destination is Moriches Athletic Complex (Suffolk County) for June 9-10 NYSPHSAA semifinals and finals.

Here, a smattering of storylines to eye as the elimination portion of the season unfolds.

More: Section 4 2023 softball tournament seeds, schedule, game information

Section 4 states case repeatedly

History suggests that a final-game victory is in store for at least one of Section 4’s five teams that advance to state tournament competition.

The last time Section 4 was denied a state championship was 2012. Given no tournaments contested in 2020 or 2021 (COVID-19), that means eight successive seasons bringing home available state titles.

From 2013 through 2022, Section 4 generated 14 state championships. The all-time harvest came in 2016, when Binghamton, Maine-Endwell, Elmira Notre Dame and Deposit picked up championships.

In fact, prior to being blanked in 2012, Section 4 programs had strung eight consecutive seasons with at least one state champion.

New York shifted to a five-classification system for softball from a four-class system in 2004.

Maine-Endwell coming off STAC title

Maine-Endwell’s twice-beaten Spartans would appear prepped, ready and hungry to make a go at something memorable in Class A.

Fresh off a Southern Tier Athletic Conference championship, the Spartans set out as No. 2 seed back of Vestal in a four-team bracket.

The 17-2 Spartans’ losses were served up by Vestal on April 24 and Liverpool on May 6, each by one run. Last season, M-E’s hopes were derailed by Vestal, 9-7, in a sectional final which the Golden Bears led by 9-0 early and barely slid into finality before lack of daylight prompted suspension.

“Our team is capable of a lot,” said M-E coach Karleigh Eaton. “We’ve looked forward to this group for years. We were a young team last year and we talked a lot about this year being a refinement year for us, learning more of what we need to do and adjustments that we need to make. I think they’ve done a great job this year refining their skills and working together as a team to score runs to support our pitchers.”

Said ace pitcher Olivia Lewis: "When we put piece-by-piece together it’s a really positive outcome. We have a lot to look forward to.”

M-E and Vestal face familiar semifinal foes. The Golden Bears host a Horseheads team that surged to the STAC West title and M-E is home against Union-Endicott.

Elmira-Corning to meet for AA title

With the New York State Public High School Athletic Association expanding to six classes in seven sports starting in 2023-24, get set to see a lot of Elmira against Corning in sectional finals. They are the only two AAA teams in Section 4 and softball is among the sports that will have six classes.

This year they were the only AA postseason qualifiers in Section 4, putting them into the championship game.

Corning (8-5-1) earned the top seed, thanks in part to a season sweep of its two games against second-seeded Elmira (6-8). Corning overcame a 7-4 deficit for a 13-11 in their first meeting, where a baserunning error on a home run cost the Express a chance to tie the score in the final inning.

Last year the Hawks fell to now Class A Horseheads in the sectional final. In 2019, Corning won the Class AA state championship.

Chenango Valley seeks repeat

Top-seeded Chenango Valley seeks to successfully defend its Class B sectional title beginning May 23 against Waverly or Oneonta.

The 2022 Warriors defeated Owego in a scintillating eight-inning contest, with Kate Hope belting a ball to center to score the decisive run and Maddie Trisket coming in to close up matters in the circle.

That pair remains most conspicuous for Chenango Valley – Hope as leadoff batter and Trisket as No. 1 pitcher. CV has had its two losses dealt by Maine-Endwell. No shame there, for sure.

CV proceeded to last spring’s state final before falling to Ichabod Crane (Valatie, Columbia County).

State powers Edison, Notre Dame top seeds in C

Class C top seed Thomas A. Edison, from Elmira Heights, and second-seeded Elmira Notre Dame are two of the top small-school programs in New York, with 20 sectional championships and five state titles between them.

Notre Dame holds the edge with 14 Section 4 titles to go with state championships in 2011 and 2016. Edison has the advantage with three state titles (1991, 2014, 2019).

The Crusaders swept the teams' meetings during the regular season, 9-1 and 5-3, on the way to a third consecutive Interscholastic Athletic Conference tournament title. END hasn't lost an IAC game since 2019 and last year made it to the sectional final before running into Greene pitching buzzsaw Olivia Kennedy.

Notre Dame's battery of hard-throwing right-hander Olivia Switzer and power-hitting catcher Lawson Bigelow is among the best in Section 4. TAE counters with a high-powered offense that has scored at least 10 runs in 11 of its 16 games.

Class C is deep beyond its top two seeds.

Greene (12-3) was the state runner-up last year and remains a title contender despite the graduation of Kennedy. The Trojans beat Deposit-Hancock, 1-0, last week in the MAC championship game behind a six-hitter from current pitching ace Payton Yahner.

Fourth-seeded Union Springs (16-2) is coming off a 2-0 win over Tioga in the IAC Small School final and features some of the athletes who made a run to the Class C state final in basketball two months ago.

Familiar territory for D-H

Deposit-Hancock is, unsurprisingly, again the team to beat in Class D. The defending champion opens sectional play May 23 against Marathon or Richfield Springs.

Deposit-Hancock, the lone Section 4 representative sitting atop New York Sate Sports Writers Association rankings, last season rang up the combined forces’ first state title with an 8-1 victory over Oriskany. That marked Deposit’s seventh state championship. Kaitlyn Macumber has dominated at the mound and plate for Deposit-Hancock.

The No. 2 Class D seed is Southern Cayuga.

Follow Andrew Legare on Twitter: @SGAndrewLegare. Follow Kevin Stevens at @PSBKevin. To get unlimited access to the latest news, please subscribe or activate your digital account today

This article originally appeared on Binghamton Press & Sun-Bulletin: Guide to the 2023 Section 4 softball tournament