Gowanda Small Town Times

Photo: The Gowanda softball team greets Addison Kota (#2) at home plate after her 4th homerun of the season. Kota additionally pitched a one hitter in the game as Gowanda rolled over Brocton 14-1. Also scoring on the play was Emily Pound (#20).

May 3 continued to cold and damp weather that has marked the early days of the month. Again several sports had game called off on the day. For the Gowanda Varsity teams only Softball and boys lacrosse got in their scheduled games.

What had originally been scheduled as an away game at Brocton was moved to the artificial surface of Gowanda’s Lady Panther Park due to field conditions at Brocton. As the designated away team, Gowanda batted first and started out hot. Addison Kota led off with a single just off the glove of the Brocton left fielder. Gao:Wisa:S “Wassy” Stevens followed with an RBI double scoring Kota. Next up was Jada Geiger with a single courtesy of a errant throw to first base that also allowed Stevens to score. Geiger later scored on a Holland Browning single. Brocton went down in order in the bottom of the inning including two strikeouts.

Gowanda had a huge 2nd inning. Kota, Stevens and Geiger all scored again in the inning along with teammates Kailyn Farner, Corrina John, Emily Pound, Ella Luther, Holland Browning and Lily Bobseine, all on a single out. Stevens tripled in the inning as did Farner. Farner’s triple came on her second at bat in the inning going over the Brocton right fielder scoring for 2 RBIs. Again, Brocton was retired in order in the bottom of the inning including another pair of strikeouts.

With Gowanda leading 11-0 to start the 3rd inning, Emily Pound was walked to start things out. That brought up Addison Kota for the third time at bat. For the fourth time this season, Kota pounded the ball over the fence. As she completed her romp around the bases all of her teammates poured on to the field (pictured above) to greet her at home plate. Brocton finally got on base in the bottom of the inning. Their lead batter hit a ball that went just barely off the Gowanda center fielder’s glove. The Gowanda defense closed out the inning not allowing Brocton to score.

Both teams scored single runs in the 4th inning. That took the score from 13-0 to 14-1. There would be no more runs scored and the 10-run rule ended the game after the 5th inning as the sky was darkening as rain approached.

Gowanda pitcher, Addison Kota stuck out nine and walked one in a one hitter. Powering the Gowanda attack were Addison Kota (2 runs, 3 RBIs), Holland Browning (2 runs, 2 RBIs), Emily Pound (2 runs, 2 RBIs) and Gao:Wisa:S Stevens (2 runs, 1 RBI). With a run and 2 RBIs each were Kailyn Farner and Lily Bobseine. Corrina John and Hailey Christopher each contributed single runs.

Over at Gowanda’s Hillis Field the Gowanda boys lacrosse team had their hands full with East Aurora. The game went scoreless for nearly three minute before East Aurora surged into a 5-0 lead by the middle of the first period. Gowanda finally got on the board with 4:40 left in the quarter as Ethan Steeprock scored. By the end of the opening period the score was 7-1. It grew to 12-1 before Winter Rivera scored with 4:45 left in the half. The halftime Gowanda deficit was 14-2. Gowanda never scored in the second half as East Aurora added 3 goals and 2 goals, respectively, in the 3rd and 4th quarters. Also figuring in the 19-2 Gowanda loss was the East Aurora goal tender. He stopped of 12 of the 14 Gowanda shots that he faced.

May 2 2023 was a drizzly day in the 40’s as the month continued its damp start. With the exception of the girls Varsity lacrosse team, all sports were either cancelled or postponed due to the weather.

The girls lacrosse team had a non-league game at Niagara-Wheatfield. As has been the case on several occasions, the 1st half was one-sided. By halftime the score was 12-1 with Niagara-Wheatfield in control. The game ended in An 18-2 score. No individual Gowanda stats were available from the game.

On the first day in May 2023, the only Varsity team playing was the Gowanda Varsity boys lacrosse team. They had to travel all the way to Fairfield, Pennsylvania for their game. It proved to be quite a battle.

Gowanda played Fairfield even through the first two quarters of the game to an 8-8 tie at the intermission. Things tightened up and became more defense-oriented in the second half with few goals being scored. In the end, Gowanda came up one goal short taking a 15-14 loss.

Powering the Gowanda offense were Winter Rivera (5 goals, 5 assists) and Ha’tsihgahdo:d Stevens (5 goals, 1 assist). Nakotah Jackson added 2 goals and an assist to the effort. Contributing 1 goal each for Gowanda were Nate Warrior and Winter Mentley-Peters. In goal, Faolan Quinn made 8 saves. Freshman, Alanson Stafford spent just a limited time in goal, but managed to make a save on the only shot he faced. Gowanda coach, Justin Gill, commented “Evan Fort was huge at the faceoff once again”. Fort won 17 of the 27 draws in the game.

Photo: Gowanda’s Tyler Smith (#15) slides into home to tie the April 29 home game versus Roy-Hart in the 7th inning. Smith scored on a Logan Ruff sacrifice bunt. Seen in the background, heading to 3rd base, is Carter Capozzi (#21).

A cool and often damp end to April didn’t interrupt the sports schedule. With the exception softball, with no scheduled games, all off the Spring sports teams saw their last action of the month.

Saturday, April 29, saw the best Gowanda effort of late April. The Gowanda Varsity baseball team hosted Roy-Hart for a non-league game. Both teams came into the game with a 6-1 overall record that proved to be as close as might be expected.

Gowanda took an early lead in the 1st inning as both Alex Pachucinski and John Ondus scored after being put on base via walks. Pachucinski had stolen both 2nd and 3rd base before he and Ondus both scored on a Carter Capozzi two RBI double. After a scoreless 2nd inning, Roy-Hart rallied back to tie things at 2. Gowanda pulled back into a lead at 4-2 with Drew Shull and Blake Herman scoring in the 4th inning. Both teams added single 5th inning runs leaving Gowanda still up by two runs. Roy-Hart scored one in the 6th and two runs in the top of the 7th inning, taking their first lead of the game. In the bottom of the inning, Gowanda’s leadoff batter, Tyler Smith, was walked. Tyler (pictured above) scored on a Logan Ruff bunt while Ruff was being thrown out at 1st base. Going into extra innings tied at 6, the game tightened up going scoreless for two innings. The stalemate was broken in the 10th inning as Roy-Hart, with bases loaded, scored just a single run. Gowanda needed a run to tie or two to win in the bottom of the inning. They got those two runs on a ground out and an RBI double by Cole Herman. That ended the game with a 8-7 win.

Gowanda’s boys and girls Varsity lacrosse teams both had tough outings to end the month. Starting on April 28 when the boys hosted Salamanca. In took just 13 seconds for Salamanca to get an opening goal and they were up 3-1 before Ha’tsihgahdo:d Stevens scored with 8:28 left in the 1st quarter put Gowanda on the board. Gowanda ended the quarter down 7-1 and 12-3 at halftime. The 3rd quarter was Gowanda’s best of the game as Stevens, Cashis Montour and Evan Fort all scored in the period. The game eventually ended in a 19-8 Gowanda loss. Leading the Gowanda offense were Ha’tsihgahdo:d Stevens (3 goals, 3 assists) and Nate warrior (2 goals). Also scoring a single goal for the team was Jessup Stevens. Gowanda’s main goalie, Faolan Quinn, faced 21 shots making 5 saves. Also in goal, Alanson Stafford made 1 save on 4 shots.

On April 29, the Gowanda Varsity girls lacrosse team hosted Lewiston-Porter. Their ongoing issues continued as they fell into an 11-3 hole by halftime. In a closer final half, Lew-Port slightly increased their lead outscoring Gowanda 6-4. The Gowanda scoring was led by 8th grader, Cadence Luther, with 3 goals in the 17-7 loss. Also scoring for the team were Ke’ya Stevens (2 goals, 1 assist), Alaina Kaczmarczyk (1 goal) and Aurora Stevens (1 goal). In goal for the Gowanda girls was Nina Coulon who made 5 saves on 22 shots. While the goal total for the Gowanda girls remains low, they remain very effective on the few shots they take. In this game, Gowanda scored on 7 of their 15 shots on goal.

In other sports news, Gowanda track was represented at the Dunkirk Invitational on April 28. In tough competition, the Gowanda boys were 15th of 16 teams scoring 2 points. In 16th place was Springville with a single point. With a Top 10 finish for the Gowanda boys was Chase Bolen (7th, 1600m, 5:01.11). The Gowanda girls finished 10th Place of 16 teams with 15 points. Gowanda girls with Top 10 finishes in an event were Crissa Scanlan (7th, shot put, 28-11; 3rd, discus, 83-5), Autumn Pupo (5th, 800m, 2:40.71; 8th, 1500m, 5:45.16) and Rhianna Woods (16th, 100m dash, 14.53; 7th, 200m dash, 29.72; 14th, long jump, 12-9.50)

Finally, Week 2 results are in for the Spring trap season and Gowanda is still in their usual spot in 1st Place in 1A Conference 11. Gowanda’s Week 2 score was 880.50 for a season total of 1,790.50. That slightly increased their lead over 2nd Place Hammond Central School who scored 862.50 in Week 2 for a total of 1,718.50. Tied for 2nd Place in conference with a Week 2 score of 47.50 were Gowanda’s Daniel Stang and Zayne Laskey. Their score was just short of Mason Bush’s (Penn Yan Academy) 1st Place score of 48.00. Other Top 10 Gowanda boys were Daniel Humphrey (#6 tie, 45.00) and David Dirienzo (10th, 44.00). On the girls side, Gowanda’s Maddison Smith was #2 in conference with a score of 41.00.

Baseball 7-1, 5-1

Monday, April 24

Jamestown at Gowanda
Gowanda 16, Jamestown 4

Wednesday, April 26

Gowanda at Jamestown
Gowanda 14, Jamestown 1

Saturday, April 29

Roy-Hart at Gowanda
- non-league -
Gowanda 8, Roy-Hart 7 9 innings

Softball 7-4, 4-1

Monday, April 24

Falconer at Gowanda
Gowanda 3, Falconer 9

Tuesday, April 25

Gowanda at Pine Valley
Gowanda 11, Pine Valley 3

Thursday, April 27

Randolph at Gowanda
Gowanda 3, Randolph 1

Boys Lacrosse 4-4, 4-2

Wednesday, April 26

Gowanda at Tonawanda
Gowanda 18, Tonawanda 4

Friday, April 28

Salamanca at Gowanda
Gowanda 8, Salamanca 19

Girls Lacrosse 0-8, 0-4

Monday, April 24

Gowanda at Clarence
Gowanda 2, Clarence 20

Wednesday, April 26

Lancaster at Gowanda
Gowanda 2, Lancaster 21

Saturday, April 29

Lew-Port at Gowanda
GowandA 7, Lew-Port 17

Track

Tuesday, April 25

Gowanda at West Valley
Boys
Gowanda 77, West Valley 60
Girls
Gowanda 74, West Valley 41

Friday, April 28

Gowanda at Dunkirk Invitational
Boys
1st Hamburg 107.6
15th Gowanda 2
16th Springville 1

Girls
1st East Aurora 139
10th Gowanda 15
14th Maryvale 1

Trap

Week 2 score & Season total
1A Conference 11
Gowanda High School 880.50 1,790.50
Hammond Central School 862.50 1,718.50
Penn Yan Academy 758.00 1,539.50
Alexandria Central High School 739.50 1,490.50
Granville Jr/Sr High School 762.50 1,451.00
Columbia High School 522.00 1,103.50
Potsdam High School 326.00 608.50