Gowanda Small Town Times

On April 11, the Gowanda Varsity girls lacrosse team hosted Springville in their home opener. Despite the damp rainy weather the team’s hot offense continued to shine.

Gowanda scored right off the opening draw and quickly built a 4-0 lead. By the end of one quarter they were ahead 6-1. The dominant performance continued into the 2nd quarter as Gowanda piled up a 13-2 halftime advantage. The 3rd quarter was another single goal period Springville while the Gowanda attack eased up a bit. The score had grown to 17-3 after three quarters. With the game well in hand, Gowanda was to get a lot of the bench into the game while also running down the clock playing a bit of “keep away’. Gowanda scored a single goal in the final quarter followed by three Springville goals as the game closed out. That brought the final tally to 18-6.

Standing out for Gowanda was Chloe Luther who outscored the entire Springville team with 8 goals and 4 assists. Also with a big game was Lily Scanlan (4 goals, 6 assists). Karice John had 2 goals in the game. Four other Gowanda players had single goals in the effort. They were Felicia Scanlan (1 goal, 1 assist), Cadence Luther (1 goal, 1 assist), Enette John (1 goal) and Ainsley Horth (1 goal). In goal for Gowanda was Nina Coulon who made 6 saves on 12 shots. Controlling the ball for most of the game Gowanda, as a team, scored on 18 of 22 shots on goal.

Meanwhile, the Gowanda Varsity baseball team found themselves in another rainy day scrimmage. In the home game against Eden the team reportedly came away with a 21-3 win.

[photo] Pictured is Emily Pound (#20) heading for home in the 1st inning of the Gowanda home softball game against North Collins. Landing on 3rd base is Aubrie Heron (#9).

The Gowanda Varsity softball was the only varsity game played on April 10. Visiting Gowanda this day was North Collins. It was a very unique game for Gowanda with Gracie Eddy pitching the whole game for Gowanda while Hailey Christopher replaced regular catcher, Ella Luther. It was a very positive showing as Gowanda locked down a shut out win in 4-½ innings.

After securing 3 outs from the first 4 North Collins batters, Gowanda went to work. A slightly off target throw to 1st base allowed the lead Gowanda batter to register a single. The bases were eventually loaded as Addison Kota was walked for the first of three times in the game. An Ella Luther double to left field drove in the first two Gowanda runs. Gowanda totaled 7 runs in the inning. Things slowed down from that point for two innings. Gowanda added single runs in both the 2nd and 3rd inning while the defense continued to shut down the North Collins batters. North Collins never managed more than four batters in an inning as the shut out continued.

It was 9-0 in the bottom of the 4th inning and the Gowanda offense got busy again. Hailey Christopher singled to start things off. After an out, Cheyanna Pasternack was walked and Aubrie Heron singled to load the bases. Sophie Bobseine singled as North Collins opted to pick off Christopher at home rather than throw to first. Alhanna Gabel was walked scoring a run for Gowanda. Another three Gowanda runs were scored before the final out was registered. Gowanda was up 13-0 heading to the 5th inning with North Collins needing to score to prevent the 10 Run Rule from ending the game. That was not to be as Gowanda retired the next three batters in order. The last of those was a hit to the pitcher for an easy toss out to 1st base.

Heading up the Gowanda offense were Corrina John (2 runs, 2 hits, 3 RBIs, 1 stolen base), Emily Pound (1 run, 2 hits) and Ella Luther (2 runs, 2 hits including a double, 2 RBIs). Also scoring were Aubrie Heron (2 runs, 1 hit), Sophie Bob seine (2 runs), Addison Kota (1 run, 1 hit, 1 RBI), Alhanna Gabel (1 run, 1 hit, 2 RBIs, 1 walk), Holland Browning (1 run, 3 hits including a triple, 2 RBIs) and Cheyanna Pasternak (1 run). Hailey Christopher a hit for an RBI). At pitcher, Gracie Eddy pitched the entire game for a no hitter shut out. n the way she had 5 strike outs and 1 walk.

[photo] Gowanda’s Jayden Fish (#12) heads home to score in the 1st inning of the April 4 home scrimmage with Brocton. Also seen running the bases is Drew Kota (#7) who also eventually scored.

On Thursday, April 4, the Gowanda Varsity baseball team hosted a 6-inning scrimmage game versus Brockton. It was a cold, wet day near 40 with heavy cloud cover. It was a strange game with full rosters going through the batting rotation and pitching & field assignment changing inning by inning.

Gowanda came out of the 1st inning up 2-0 with Jayden Fish and Drew Kota, pictured above, both scoring on wild pitches. Between the two teams a total of 6 runs scored on wild pitches. A 7-single, 8-run 2nd inning for Brocton. That 8-2 Brocton lead held up to the 4th inning where they added five runs to their total. Gowanda countered in the inning with three runs. Those being scored by Fish and Kota along with Nick Smuda.

Gowanda came up with a double play in the 5th inning limiting Brocton to just three batters for three outs. Gowanda batters also went down 1-2-3 in the inning leaving the score 13-5.

The 6th inning started with a light drizzle falling that turned into a steady light rain by the end of the inning. Brocton picked up one final run in the inning on a double and two walks. A diving catch in left field by Gowanda secured a third out and prevent another Brocton run. Brocton then closed out the game at 14-5 with three strikeouts.

[photo] Pictured is Gowanda designated runner, Cheyanna Pasternak (#7), heading for home in the 6th inning of the home opener against Ellicottville. She was base running for Ella Luther.

On March 25, the Gowanda Varsity softball team finally was back in action after a cold, snowy week had delayed the start of the season. The last remnants of snow had disappeared from the field in the hours preceding the game. This was the team’s first competition since winning the 2023 state championship as well as pitcher, Addison Kota’s, first action following an ankle injury that saw her miss the entire basketball season.

With a still taped ankle, Kota pitched four scoreless innings giving up just a single hit and striking out 9. At the end of those four innings Gowanda was up 10-0 and Kota was replaced on the mound. Four Ellicottville batters were walked in a 5th inning that saw them pile up 7 runs. Four of those runs scored on wild pitches. That tightened things to 10-7 as Gowanda came up to bat. Gowanda answered back with leadoff batter, Grace Eddy hitting a triple to get things started. That was followed by a Hailey Christopher walk. The Ellicottville defense tightened up, but both Eddy and Christopher were able to score before the inning ended.

Eddy came in to pitch the 6th and 7th innings. Ellicottville did not score again while Gowanda picked up a pair of 6th inning runs to bring the final score to 14-7.

Leading the attack for Gowanda were Audrina Huss (3 runs, 2 hits including a double, 1 RBI, 1 stolen base), Alhanna Gabel (2 runs, 2 hits, 1 RBI) and Corrina John (2 runs).

Also with strong showings were Ella Luther (a double, 1 RBI, 1 stolen base), Emily Pound (1 run, 2 hits, 1 double, 1 RBI), Addison Kota (1 run, 1 double, 2 RBI), Holland Browning (1 run, 3 hits, 1 double, 4 RBI) and Gracie Eddy (1 run, 2 hits, 1 triple, 1 RBI).

Also scoring single runs were Aubrie Heron and Hailey Christopher.

Even after a couple sunny days over the weekend, this afternoon photo from Sunday, March 24, shows a fair amount of snow still on thhe GCS softball field. You can also see the baseball field in the distance.

Spring seemed to making an early arrival. Several weeks of sunny days and pleasant temperatures had given the Gowanda Spring sports teams plenty of chances to practice as opening day approached. After a cool, but sunny, St. Patrick’s Day on March 17, the weather shifted abruptly. Light snowfalls and below freezing temperatures through the week brought a return to Winter just as the Spring sports were about to kick off.

Beginning with Wednesday the 20th, all of the Gowanda Spring sports teams had been scheduled to play their first games. In the end, only Varsity boys lacrosse played as scheduled.

The first scheduled game of the Spring season was originally to be a home game for the Gowanda Varsity girls lacrosse team. That game was postponed to Friday the 22nd before being cancelled.

A Thursday game at East Aurora for the Gowanda Varsity boys lacrosse team did managed to be played as scheduled. Details below.

A Friday Varsity softball game was cancelled. The Gowanda Varsity baseball team was scheduled for a home game on Saturday the 23rd. That was postponed to Sunday before being cancelled.

While the Varsity boys lacrosse team was the only team to play to date, it was a very exciting way to open the Spring sports season. East Aurora was able to clear their artificial turf field well enough to play on schedule. Still, the field was ringed with snow piles from the cleared field and everything else, including the beachers was still coated with snow. With temperatures in the 30s, the 7pm game under the lights got underway.

The first quarter started with 15 minutes showing on the clock, instead of the regulation 12 minutes per quarter. After Gowanda missed on their first shot, East Aurora opened the scoring just short of 1-1/2 minutes into the game. Just over 3 minutes later, Gowanda scored to tie things up. Gowanda went on to pull into a 4-1 lead by the end of the quarter.

The 2nd quarter was hard fought and the most productive one of the game. Both teams added 4 goals in the period. At halftime, Gowanda was up 8-5. The 3rd period belonged to East Aurora. The reverse of the opening quarter, East Aurora outpaced Gowanda 4-1 with two East Aurora goals coming in the last 36 seconds of the period. Heading to the final quarter the game was tied at 9.

The East Aurora surge continued into the 4th quarter. That allowed them to build an 11-9 advantage. With time running short, Gowanda finally scored again dropping the Eastora lead to a sngle goal. With 1:49 left on the clock, the teams took a final time out before the end of the game. With just 24 seconds to go Gowanda tied the game at 11 all. That brought up a 4 minute overtime period. The winning goal came with 2:13 left in the overtime period. Gowanda came away with a 12-11 win.

Leading the Gowanda attack were Ha’tsihgahdo:d Stevens (5 goals, assists) and Croix Stevens (5 goals, 1 assist). Also scoring for Gowanda were Winter Rivera (1 goal, 3 assists) and Jessup Stevens (1 goal). While not scoring, Nakotah Jackson did manage to get a shot on goal in the game.