Herkimer College heading to softball nationals; baseball takes aim this weekend
HERKIMER - With a pair of wins Thursday afternoon, the Herkimer College Generals will be returning to the NJCAA's Division III national softball tournament.
This weekend, the school's baseball team is pursuing a bid as the spring programs are enjoying continued success under their new coaches.
By beating Onondaga Community College 4-3 and 7-1 at home Thursday, the softball Generals earned the Region III-B championship, one of two titles and automatic bids awarded by Region III each year, and a spot in the eight-team national tournament Herkimer hosts next week at Carrier Park in Syracuse.
"I'm glad to get it done in one day and that we didn't have to come back for a second day," Friend said, referring to a potential ti-breaking third game that would have been played Friday. The Generals had won their semifinal series in three games over two days over the weekend.
Herkimer is 27-7 and ranked ninth in the nation in its first season under Friend. The program's 10th consecutive regional title extends a streak that started under PJ Anadio who left after the 2022 season and took the coaching position at the College of Saint Rose.
The Generals had been seeded third overall and second in the region's B playoff division. Herkimer won its semifinal series 2-1 at home against Monroe Community College. Onondaga went on the road and swept two games Saturday at Niagara County Community College, the No. 2 overall seed.
Corning Community College, the top overall regional seed and the runner-up at last year's national tournament, defeated Hudson Valley Community College 4-3 and 8-0 Thursday in the III-A championship series. Corning (35-8) had swept Mohawk Valley Community College in its semifinal series.
Herkimer pulled out a 4-3 win in Thursday's first game after Onondaga tied the score in the top of the seventh inning. The Generals completed the sweep with a 7-1 win in Game 2.
In Game 1, the Generals took a 3-1 lead to the seventh and allowed two runs in the top of the inning before standing a third Lazer at third base to end the inning.
Freshman catcher Danielle Filapello singled with one out and remained at first base with two outs. Naomi Cohen singled to extend the inning and move the winning run into scoring position, and Kelsey Richardson followed with a hit that sent Filapello home to end the game.
"That's the same thing we've been doing all season," Friend said of shaking off the Onondaga rally.
Herkimer had taken a 3-1 lead with three runs in the bottom of the third inning but that score went unchanged until the seventh.
Playing as the away team in the second game, the Generals struck in the third inning again. Herkimer tallied five runs with one out in what had been a scoreless game and knocked Onondaga's starting pitcher out of the game. Louise Dassy and Madison Prior, the last two batters in the Herkimer lineup, started the big inning with a hit and a walk, and Angeline Montanez drove in the first run with a single one out later. A second run came home on a misplay in the outfield on the play.
Olivia Friend, Filapello and Alexys Rosick delivered successive run-scoring hits ahead of Onondaga's pitching change.
Herkimer loaded the bases in the fourth inning, failing to score but prompting another Onondaga pitching change.
The Lazers (20-21) plated a run in the bottom of the fifth but the Generals came back with two in the top of the sixth before Prior, the winning pitcher in Game 1, relieved starting pitcher Jordan Cole and closed out the sweep. Filapello drove the runs home with a two-out hit, and Prior, the most valuable player of the Region III-B playoffs, worked through loading the bases in the bottom of the inning and pitched around a two-out hit in the seventh.
Prior, a first-team regional all-star along with Montanez, was joined on the tournament all-star team by Filapello and Olivia Friend, the coach's daughter.
Baseball Wins Opener
Tre Mariano drove pinch-runner Joe Ragone home with a one-out single in the 10th inning Friday afternoon and the Herkimer College Generals opened defense of the Region III tournament title they won last year with an 8-7 win over Hudson Valley Community College.
The double-elimination Final Four tournament is being played at Auburn's Falcon Park for the first time this year after Herkimer had hosted the tournament in Little Falls for several years. Auburn and Cayuga Community College have also been awarded the Division III national tournament starting next year.
The Generals (35-5), seeded first, scored first but trailed 4-2 entering the bottom of the seventh inning. Mariano tied the game with a two-run single and scored the go-ahead run on a passed ball.
Joel Hayner pitched into the eighth inning on 98 pitches before turning a 5-4 lead over to Colin Skermont, Herkimer's freshman left-hander from Whitesboro.
Hudson Valley (27-18) tied the game with a run on an error in the top of the eighth. Felix Larose broke that tie with a home run in the bottom of the inning for Herkimer which added a second run on a wild pitch.
Michael Talavera tied the game by driving two runs home with his one-out triple in the top of the ninth inning. Talavera came home on a fly ball but was called out on appeal for leaving third base too early.
Herkimer loaded the bases and failed to score in bottom of the ninth. Cooperstown High School graduate Kendall Haney singled leading off the 10th inning and Joe Ragone ran for him. Ragone advanced and the Dakota Britt was intentionally walks. One out later, Mariano delivered the hit to end the game.
Niagara County Community College and Erie Community College played Friday's second game. In anticipation of rain in Saturday's forecast, the winner's bracket semifinal has been moved from Saturday's first game to Friday's nightcap with Herkimer scheduled to take the field again at approximately 8 p.m. against the winner of the game between Erie and Niagara County; the winner of the late game advances to the championship round scheduled for Sunday.
Herkimer advanced to the Final Four by sweeping its best-of-three series against Finger Lakes Community College, winning 8-7 and 6-0 at Veterans Memorial Park in Little Falls Saturday. The Generals, ranked seventh nationally, have won 13 consecutive games and 29 of 31 since the start of April.
This article originally appeared on Times Telegram: Generals advance to softball nationals; baseball takes aim this weekend
