P.O. Box 5
Afton, NY 13730
607.639.8200

New York State
Class D Champions!

Varsity Softball
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Varsity Softball Season Finale
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Seniors play pivotal roles for Afton in 9-inning win

BY JAIME A. SEBA

Press & Sun-Bulletin

UNIONDALE -- All season, seniors Brigitte Hansen, Kris Kelly and Ashley Sherman have proven themselves in so many ways as the heart of the order for the Afton softball team.  

On Saturday, they did it one last time. And it brought them another state championship.

The trio put together the decisive run as Afton defended its New York State Public High School Athletic Association Class D title with a 2-1, nine-inning victory over Section 2's Fort Ann before a crowd of more than 200 at the Mitchel Athletic Complex.

"If I had to pick a way to end, this is it," said Sherman, who finished her sixth year as the team's starting catcher. "We've been through a lot together, and it was great to be the last ones on the field."

Hansen, the No. 3 hitter in the lineup for Afton (24-3), led off the bottom of the ninth with an infield single to shortstop. Kelly followed with a hard-hit grounder down the third-base line that skipped under Fort Ann third baseman Samantha Graves' glove and into left field. Kelly reached second as Hansen sped into third, sliding in under Graves' tag.

Sherman came up next and fell behind 1-and-2 after hitting two bunt attempts foul. On the next pitch, she hit a fly ball to center field that scored Hansen with the winning run.

"I just knew I had to score," said Hansen, a SUNY Cortland-bound first baseman. "That was all I was thinking about. And ending it with me, Kris and Ashley made it really special."

Hansen, Kelly and Sherman -- who each hit above .350 this season -- have a combined 18 seasons of varsity experience. Afton has made it to the state final four in each of the last eight seasons, and the trio has been around for the most recent six.

No wonder coach Cindy Bostelman felt confident that they could lead Afton to its sixth state title.

"You couldn't have it better, could you?" Bostelman said. "My first thought was of the experience. You always want your most experienced kids in that clutch situation, and there they were."

When Hansen, Kelly, Sherman and fellow team captain Renee Kemmerer, a sophomore third baseman, lifted the state championship plaque above their heads before the contingent of about 150 that made the five-hour trip from Afton, the players became teary-eyed as they recognized what could amount to the end of an era.

"This makes it so much better," said Kelly, who will play for Mansfield University in Pennsylvania next season. "Last year was great, but we wanted to go out with a bang."

The repeat looked to be in question as the Indians, who have averaged about 11 runs per game this season, struggled to get runners on base. They took the lead in the first inning on a run-scoring fielder's choice by Kelly, but they managed only two hits from then until the ninth.

The Cardinals (20-4) put runners on base in four of the first six innings. Brittany Poissant's RBI single tied the score in the seventh.

In the eighth, Fort Ann's Ashley Scouten reached on an infield single but was stranded after a pair of running catches by Liz Akshar in center field.

"We had some really great defensive plays," Bostelman said. "We were just flat at the plate. It happens."

It didn't happen in the morning semifinal, in which the Indians defeated Second 9's Chapel Field 7-1 in a rematch of last year's title game. The Indians scored three unearned runs in the sixth inning to snap a 1-all tie. Hansen, Kelly and Lindsay Page were each 2-for-4.

Jessie Page, who won both games, pitched 16 innings on the day. She gave up seven hits and two runs to finish the season at 23-3.

AFTON 2, FORT ANN 1

CLASS D CHAMPIONSHIP