Gowanda Small Town Times

Gowanda has had an exceptional post-season so far. Now three days into the first full week of Sectionals playoff games, no Gowanda team has lost a game. Baseball, Softball and the boys and girls lacrosse teams have all posted wins.

The Gowanda Varsity softball team has been particularly motivated this season. After losing two close games to Silver Creek and one to Randolph that cost them a 1st Place finish in their division, the coach commented that they should have won all of their league games and would have, if not for critical errors. The team entered the playoff eager to prove that they were as good as anyone. Gowanda also had some extra incentive in the game as the championship round games were already scheduled to be played at Gowanda’s Lady Panther Park and they were determined to make it into that game.

Having taken down #2 Randolph in the Pre-Quarter round, #7 seeded Gowanda set its sights on a #6 Silver Creek team that had just rolled over #2 Wilson 22-2. The game started out very tight with no score through two innings. In the 3rd inning Silver Creek got on the board first with a single run. That 1-0 lead didn’t last long as Gowanda ran up
three runs in the next inning. Gowanda’s 3-1 lead held up into the 5th inning where they added a pair of runs to their total. Silver Creek countered those two runs in the 6th, but that is where they were stopped. Gowanda came away with a 5-3 win. Leading the Gowanda offense were Addison Kota (2 runs, 1 double) and Ella Luther (1 run, 2 RBIs).
Holland Browning and Corrina John each also scored single runs in the game. Additional support came from Kailyn Farner (2 RBIs) and Jada Geiger (1 RBI). Kota also pitched a 3-hitter for Gowanda with 5 walks and 4 strikeouts.

The Gowanda Varsity boys lacrosse was also in action in the 24th. Seeded 5th, they had a Quarter-Final game at #4 Medina. Gowanda came out strong building a 10-6 lead in the first half. That momentum carried into the second half with Gowanda adding 6 to their score against 3 for Medina. The 16-9 win sends them into a Semi-Final game against the #1 seed, East Aurora. Winter Rivera led Gowanda scorers with five goals and two assists. Adding three goals each were Ha’tsihgahdo:d Stevens, Nakotah Jackson and Cashis Montour. Rounding out the Gowanda scoring were Ethan Steep rock (1 goal, 2 assists) and Jessup Stevens (1 goal). In goal Faolan Quinn made 10 saves on 19 shots.