Gowanda Small Town Times

The Section 6 Class C Final was held on May 31, 2025. Rainy weather in the 50s caused the game to be moved from Diethrick Park to Hamburg High School which had an artificial surface on their field. Despite the weather, the game started, on schedule, at 11 a.m. Gowanda, as #2 seed, played the visitors role against #1 Frewsburg.

After securing an initial out, the Frewburg pitcher walked the next four Gowanda batters. That scored Kyan Austin and gave Jaden Fish a walk-in RBI for Gowanda. A meeting on the mound followed. At the conclusion of that, the officials sent the game into rain delay.

It was an hour later, just after noon, when the game resumed. With the bases still loaded from previous play, Gowanda’s Drew Kota brought Carter Capozzi home while being thrown out at 1st base. A third out followed and Gowanda had a 2-1 lead that lasted through the 3rd inning.

Gowanda’s lead-off batter in the 4th inning was Jaden Fish. He smashed the ball down the 3rd base line just over the 3rd baseman’s reach for a single. A Madden Lay ground ball into center field eventually brought Fish home. That would be the last run scored in the game.

Pitching for Gowanda was Blake Herman who had a nearly flawless day. He gave up no walks on the day while retiring Frewburg batters 1-2-3 in order in every inning except for the 4th, giving up a double to Frewsburg’s second batter in the inning.

When it was all over, Gowanda had a 3-0 win and a Section 6, Class C Championship. Next up for Gowanda is the Far West Regional game at 11 a.m. on June 7 against the Section V champion at Dwyer Stadium in Batavia.

On May 29, 2025 the Gowand Varsity baseball team played at home for the last time this season. On hand for this Semi-Final playoff game was Portville. After 2-1/2 innings of scoreless play, Gowanda got things going. Blake Herman was hit by a pitch after both Landon Ashley and Brayden Smith had singled. Next up was Kyan Austin who was missed at 1st base allowing Ashley and Smith to score. Herman also made it home giving Gowanda a 3-0 lead. Portville narrowed that to 3-1 in the 4th inning, but would not score again in the game. A pair of runs in the 5th inning and three more in the 6th gave Gowanda a 8-1 win.

Gowanda pitcher, Carter Capozzi, seen here in the 3rd inning, had a 5-hit, 6-strikeout performance giving up just 1 run. With Gowanda up 5-1, he was replaced after five innings. Blake Herman took the mound for the 6th inning followed by Noah Lauer for the 7th.

Landen Ashley scores the first run of the game for Gowanda in the 3rd inning.

Above, left, Brayden Smith (#21) heads home. Seen in the background is Blake Herman (#27) heading for third. An errant throw to home base allowed Herman to continue on to score. Above, right, Herman comes in for a landing at home base.

The Gowanda Varsity baseball team opened their playoff run at home on May 27, 2025. Their opponent was Chautauqua Lake. Gowanda’s Kyan Austin and Carter Capozzi both scored in the 1st inning to give the hosts an early lead. In a wild 2nd inning, aided by a pair of early walks, Gowanda heaped an additional five runs onto their total. The 3rd inning was scoreless and the teams traded single runs in the 4th. After getting three 5th inning walks in a row, Gowanda scored three more times to push the margin to 11-1, ending the game at that point with the 10-run rule. The win marked Gowanda coach, Tim Smith’s, 300th win at Gowanda.

Kyan Austin(#9) scores for Gowanda in the 1st inning. In the background, you can see Carter Capozzi (#2) heading to third. He later scored giving Gowanda a 2-0 lead. Austin totalled two hits, two runs and 2 RBIs in the game.

Blake Herman, seen here, pitched the first three innings for Gowanda. With the score 7-0 at that time he was replaced by Seth Geiger to finish the game. The pair combined for a 4-hit, 10 strikeout performance.

Gowanda’s Blake Herman races home early in the 4th inning while Kyan Austin was being throw out at 1st base. He had a triple, an RBI and scored twice in the game.

baseball 17-3
softball 9-8
boys lacrosse 12-3
girls lacrosse 13-4

Monday, May 19

baseball at North Collins
Gowanda 3, North Collins 0
Gowanda 0 0 2 0 1 0 0 | 3
North Collins 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 | 0

softball at North Collins (non-league)
Gowanda 12, North Collins 4

girls lacrosse vs. Springville Quarter-Final
Gowanda 13, Springville 4
Springville 1 1 0 2 | 4
Gowanda 5 3 3 2 | 13
Karice John 4 goals, 1 assist
Felicia Scanlan 3 goals
Ainsley Horth 2 goals
Envy Cross 2 goals
Lilliana Pierce 2 goals
Lilly Scanlan 5 assists
goaltending
Nina Coulon 2/6

track at Clymer
boys
Gowanda 24, Clymer 112
Maddox Hudson 1st(100m hurdles, 18.0; long jump, 17-8.25), 2nd(high jump)
Owen Farner 2nd(400m hurdles), 3rd(100m hurdles)
Brendin Diebel 1st pole vault), 3rd(1600m)
JJ Whipple 3rd(triple jump)
girls
Gowanda 24, Clymer 108
Rhianna Woods 1st(100m, 13.5; 200m, 29.0)
Elizabeth Malek 1st(100m hurdles, 17.8)
Raelin Smith 2nd(400m hurdles)
Isabella Degolier 2nd(high jump)
Leona Henhawk 3rd(800m)
Degaswined John 3rd(3000m)

Tuesday, May 20

softball vs. Maple Grove Pre-Quarter-Finals
Gowanda 14, Maple Grove 3

boys lacrosse vs. Depew Quarter-Finals
Gowanda 33, Depew 2
Depew 2 0 | 2
Gowanda 22 11 | 33
Winter Rivera 15 goals, 7 assists
Trelin Warrior 6 goals, 4 assists
Donald Stevens Jr 3 goals, 3 assists
Jessup Stevens 3 goals, 2 assists
Ha’tsihgahdo:d Stevens 2 goals, 6 assists
Herb John Jr 2 goals
Cashis Montour 1 goal, 2 assists
Dustin Mohawk 1 goals
Hodaweo:je’ John, 1 assist
Jaxstin John, 1 assist
Ethan Steeprock, 1 assist
Nathan Warrior, 1 assist

Wednesday, May 21

baseball vs. Dunkirk
- rainout -

girls lacrosse at Salamanca Semi-Final
Gowanda 2, Salamanca 13
Gowanda 0 0 1 1 | 2
Salamanca 6 4 2 1 | 13
Isabella Gill 1 goal
Karice John 1 goal
goaltending
Nina Coulon 10/23

Thursday, May 22

softball at Barker Quarter-Final
Gowanda 2, Barker 3
Gowanda 0 0 0 1 1 0 0 | 2
Barker 3 0 0 0 0 0 x | 3

Thursday, May 22

boys lacrosse vs. Akron Semi-Final
Gowanda 13, Akron 14
Akron 5 9 | 14
Gowanda 8 5 | 13

Friday, May 23

baseball vs. Hamburg
- cancelled -

Saturday, May 24

baseball vs. Franklinville
Gowanda 15, Franklinville 0
Franklinville 0 0 0 0 0 | 0
Gowanda 4 2 9 0 x | 15

CCAA Track & Field Championships 2025
at Falconer, NY
- 18 schools -
Gowanda Top 10 finishes
boys
Chase Bolen 2nd(3200m run, 10:08.57), 5th(1600m run, 4:52.13)
Owen Farner 7th(400m hurdles, 1:03.41; 3000m steeplechase, 11:41.62)
Reginald Irion 8th(200m dash, 24.53)
Maddox Hudson 8th(long jump, 18-4.5)
4×800m relay team 5th, 9:26.35
girls
Isabella DeGolier 3rd(high jump, 4-10)
Elizabeth Malek 6th(100m hurdles, 18.12)
Rhianna Woods 7th(100m dash, 13.33; 200m dash, 28.10)

The bracket for the Class C Sectional baseball playoffs is out. The following game schedule is listed:

Saturday, May 24

- Pre-QuarterFinals
Game 1
#8 Randolph vs. #9 Maple Grove

Game 2
#6 Portville - bye -

Sunday, May 25

- Pre-QuarterFinals
Game 3
#7 Chautauqua Lake vs. #10 Barker

Tuesday, May 27

- QuarterFinals
Game 4
#1 Frewsburg vs. winner Game 1

Game 5
#4 Falconer vs. #5 Westfield

Game 6
#2 Gowanda vs. winner Game 3

Game 7
#3 CSP vs. winner Game 2

Thursday, May 29

- SemiFinals
Game 8
winner Game 4 vs. winner Game 5

Game 9
winner Game 6 vs. winner Game 7

Saturday, May 31

- Finals
- at Diethrick Park
winner Game 8 vs. winner Game 9