Section 4 softball teams go on to the Class A and B state final four
Article excerpt
Maine-Endwell and Susquehanna Valley advanced to the Class A and B state final four of the 2026 NYSPHSAA softball tournament after defeating Section 6 opponents. The two Section 4 teams' victories move them within striking distance of competing for state championships. Both programs now prepare for the next round as they aim to reach the championship games later in the tournament.
ROCHESTER, N.Y., Susquehanna Valley (21-3) and Maine-Endwell (19-5) emerged as this year’s state semifinalists in the 2026 New York Public High School Athletic Association (NYSPHSAA) softball tournament after securing 21-11 and 13-5 victories over Section 6’s Alden (16-2) and Depew (16-6), respectively, at Gates-Chili High School on June 6.
Susquehanna Valley and stepping up to the plate
The highly offensive matchup between Susquehanna Valley and Alden resulted in the Sabers collecting 23 hits and the Bulldogs hitting 13. Leading Susquehanna Valley was Rianne Moelder with four runs, four hits and two RBIs, and Danica LaBarre, who hit three home runs and drove in five with four hits.
What looked like a potential nine-inning game, due to Alden’s 2-0 sixth inning that put the Bulldogs within earshot of tying the game and the score at 13-11, turned into an 8-0 batting frenzy, sparked by Susquehanna Valley’s Kylee Richardson, who leads the team with a .566 batting average, and bolstered by LaBarre and Moelder, who each homered in the stand-out inning.
Despite Susquehanna Valley entering its Final Four matchup against the 2025 Class B state champion Chatham (Section 2) with little precedent to draw from since its 2018 semifinal run, the Sabers undoubtedly house a team full of hitters who have averaged 30 plate appearances and 10 hits per game so far this season, and harness a kind of hitting power that have had teams like Alden huddled at the mound on more than one occasion.
Maine-Endwell gets another go at a state final appearance
Senior Isabel Hunter led the Spartans with three runs, four RBIs and 2 hits, including a homer out to left field, which capped a shutout, 5-0 lead by the second inning. Senior Kaylee Hurba and junior Tessa L’Amoreaux, who, along with Hunter, remain the only players to share experience winning the state championship (2023), had two runs, two hits and one RBI each.
Freshman Harper Eagan and sophomore Olivia Virgil managed to keep Maine-Endwell out of Depew’s reach, despite a rough third inning that had a Wildcat on all three bases on three separate occasions. Eagan earned three hits and three RBIs, while Virgil scored two runs, had three hits and one RBI.
The Spartans reenter the state Final Four for the second straight season and will be looking to avenge last year’s 4-0 shutout loss to Miller Place.
Up next: Maine-Endwell will face Section 2’s Averill Park (20-4) at 10 a.m. in the Class A regional final, and Susquehanna Valley will take on Section 2’s Chatham (22-2) in the Class B regional final at 4 p.m. at Greenlight Grandslam Park in Binghamton on June 12. Windham-Ashland-Jewett and Deposit-Hancock, the other two Section 4 softball teams continuing in the tournament, will play at 11:30 a.m. and 5:30 p.m in the Class D and Class C regional finals.
This article originally appeared on Binghamton Press & Sun-Bulletin: M-E and SV softball teams advance to the state final four