ELLICOTTVILLE — Facing a division rival for a third time can be tricky. Matt Finn’s Ellicottville softball team sought to cool any nerves right away.
The Eagles jumped on rival Franklinville in the bottom of the first inning in Tuesday’s Section 6 Class D semifinal, loading the bases with two hits and a walk before the Panthers could record an out. That quick start netted two first-inning runs after a pair of RBI groundouts.
Ellicottville would never trail as it took the victory 7-1, giving more than enough run support to pitcher Katie Lafferty’s two-hitter.
The Eagles will face No. 2 Forestville (12-3) in the championship Friday night (7:30 p.m.) at Olean High School, looking to secure a repeat sectional title. It’ll be the Eagles’ third sectional final trip in the last four years.
“I think the girls have high expectations this year,” ECS coach Matt Finn said. “After last year, they think we could do something this year. You hate to go too far, one game at a time, but really you’re thinking let’s get there.”
Lafferty only faced two base-runners (one hit and one error) until the seventh inning. She struck out six batters.
“She was hitting her spots pretty well today,” Finn said. “A couple of the Franklinville players, we’re like, ‘if we do this maybe, it’ll work’ and she’s actually finding a nice groove. She dialed in today.”
At the top of the Eagles’ order, Ande Northrup, went 4-for-4 with two doubles.
“I kept saying just stay hot, just stay hot — and then she did,” Finn said, “Hitting the middle of the ball, a couple of them were knuckleballs. I mean, she made such solid contact every time up today. It was fun”
Ellicottville totalled 11 hits. Lafferty went 2-for-4 with an RBI and a double and Teaghan Finn (two RBI) and Drew Ficek added two hits each.
Down to their last outs trailing 7-0, Franklinville put the first two batters of the seventh inning on first and third with a Hailey Rzucek walk and Abby Chase single. A run would score, but at a cost Ellicottville gladly took: Lafferty and catcher Riley Whitmer recorded a strike ‘em out, throw ‘em out double play. A pitch later and Lafferty fielded a soft ground ball near the rubber and threw to Courtney Marsh for the final out.
“She had her ‘A’ game going,” Franklinville coach Jeff Haskell said of Lafferty. “We tend to be kind of cyclical and when one girl opens it, we tend to hit better. We’ve been a rally team all year. We’ve been kind of a big inning team all and we didn’t have that big inning.”
For Franklinville, pitcher Kaelyann Graves-Decker struck out 10 to just two walks.
In the bottom of the fourth, Graves-Decker took a hard line drive to the chest on what would be an RBI single for Teaghan Finn. The pitcher went straight to the ground and took some time to get up, with help from her coaches after umpires called time and Finn came over from first to check on her opponent in a sign of sportsmanship.
But despite the score, Graves-Decker remained in the game. She showed toughness, and some of why Haskell has confidence in his young team to build on this 8-9 season.
“It was unbelievable,” Haskell said. “She took a heck of a shot and she’s gotten so much better in a year and we can’t wait to see what comes from her. But to battle back, I mean that was a heck of a shot she took but she didn’t let up any, had a good solid game and we expect big things from her coming back.”
Last week, the Panthers won a playoff game for the first time since 2018, star pitcher Ally Haskell’s senior year.
“That was a big step,” Jeff Haskell said. “We’ve got some girls playing travel ball and with our pitchers, we have an eighth grade pitcher and a sophomore pitcher. If we follow their lead, we’ll be in great shape.”
