Gowanda Small Town Times

Photo: Gowanda;s Holland Browning (#4) beats the ball to 1st base in the 6th inning of the team’s home game against Randolph. She went on to steal 2nd base before getting thrown out going to 3rd.

Randolph was at Gowanda for a Varsity softball game on April 27. This was the only Varsity game played on the day. A quick start was pivotal in deciding this important CCAA East 1 match-up. In the 1st inning, Randolph’s first three batters managed only a double just over the Gowanda center fielder. In the bottom of the inning, Gowanda’s leadoff batter, Jada Geiger, opened with a double just inside of 3rd base. Aubrie Heron took her place at 2nd base as a designated runner. Gao:Wisa:S “Wassy” Stevens was up next. Her hit fell between two Randolph players who nearly collided in right field for a double. With a pair of runners on base, the Randolph pitcher recorded a strikeout for their first out in the game. Hailey Christopher brought Heron home with a RBI single. Then Holland Browning made it to 2nd base as the Randolph throw to 1st missed, which also allowing Stevens to score. Christopher also scored in the inning on another Randolph miscue. The Randolph catcher tried to catch Christopher, who had taken a big lead-off, at 3rd base. Just as Christopher made it back to the base, the pickoff throw hit her in the back and was deflected into the infield. That was all that Christopher needed to steal home.

Gowanda would not score another run in the game, but the Gowanda defense came up big to save the game. Gowanda pitcher, Addison Kota tossed a complete game with 6 strikeouts and nearly picked up her 4th home run at Lady Panther Park on the season. She had a 2nd inning hit that hit the wall in center field about half way up for a double. Randolph managed only one run in the game in the 3rd inning with a walk and a double. In an exciting conclusion to the game, Randolph had the tying runs on base in the 7th inning with one out. Then Lily Bobseine fielded a hit at 1st base in time to make the out at 1st and also make the throw to 2nd base for the third out and a 3-1 Gowanda win .

Photo: Gowanda’s Ke’ya Stevens scores against Lancaster on April 26 at home. She scored both goals for the team in a 21-2 losing effort.

April 26 found the Varsity baseball and girls lacrosse teams playing at home while boys lacrosse was at Tonawanda.

Gowanda pitcher, Alex Pachucinski, held Jamestown to a single run at Jamestown in a runaway victory. After beating the same team two day earlier 16-4, Gowanda gave another dominant performance taking a 14-1 win. Pachucinski went the distance in a 4-strikeout one-hitter. Gowanda scored 10 runs in the first three innings before a Blake Herman Grand Slam homer put Gowanda up 14 in the 4th inning. Jamestown ruined the shutout scoring a single run in the bottom of the inning. It was not enough to avoid the 14-1 loss. Also standing out for Gowanda were Tyler Smith (a double and 4 RBIs), Cole Herman (a double and 3 RBIs) and John Ondus (a single and 3 RBIs).

The Gowanda Varsity boys lacrosse team also won big on the 26th in a game played at Tonawanda. Scoring 9 goals in each half, Gowanda rolled to an 18-4 win. Leading the team were Winter Rivera (6 goals, 8 assists), Jessup Stevens (3 goals) and Nakotah Jackson (3 goals, 2 assists). Also scoring for Gowanda were Ha’tsihgahdo:d Stevens (2 goals, 3 assists), Cashis Montour (2 goals, 1 assist), Winter Mentley-Peters (1 goal, 1 assist) and Seneca Mohawk (1 goal). Credited with single assists for Gowanda were Jaxstin Johns and Kaiden Spruce. In goal for Gowanda, Faolan Quinn made 5 saves on 8 shots on goal. In the blowout, Freshman goalie, Alanson Stafford, also saw some time in goal. He made 3 saves on 4 shots on goal.

The Gowanda Varsity girls lacrosse team continued to struggle. Their problems on offense are only compounded by the loss of Chloe Luther, who is out with a knee injury. In a game that was played almost entirely in their own end, Gowanda only had 5 shots on goal for the entire game. Gowanda’s Ke’ya Stevens did manage to score 2 1st half goals in the effort. The first of those coming six minutes into the game taking the shot as she was falling towards the goal. A 14-2 halftime deficit would eventually give way to a 21`-2 final loss. Gowanda goalie, Nina Coulon faced an onslaught of 33 shots on goal making 12 saves.

April 25 was a bit slower for sports than most Spring days. There were no home games for Varsity with the track team and girls softball were both on the road.

The Varsity softball team was at Pine Valley. An 11-3 Gowanda win was reported, but no individual stats are available at this writing.

The boys and girls track teams were at West Valley with wins reported for both teams. The boys finished on top 77-60 while the girls blew past West Valley 74-41.

Below are the individual highlights for both Gowanda track teams as reported by the school.

BOYS TRACK
Mason Wilson: 1st in 110 Hurdles & 400 Hurdles,
Tim Rasey: 1st in 100m & Shot Put, 2nd in 200m & High Jump (all PR),
Aiden Ackley: 2nd in 100m (PR) and PR in Shot Put,
Edo Comenga: PR in 100m, 200m & Long Jump,
Connor Ribblett: PR in 100m & 200m,
Brayden Lee: PR in 100m & 400m,
Owen Farner: PR in 1600m, 3rd in 3200m (PR), 1st in Pole Vault,
Ethan Bachek: 3rd in 400m & Pole Vault,
Chase Bolen: 1st in 400m & 800m (PR),
Derek Milne: 2nd in 400m (PR), 3rd in Long Jump & Triple Jump,
Sam Latimore: 2nd in Discus (PR) & Pole Vault,
The 4×400m Relay was 1st and took 6.3 seconds off their time from last week.
Runners were: Derek Milne, Mason Wilson, Ethan Bachek and Chase Bolen.

GIRLS TRACK
Alexia Harvey took 2nd in 100m with a PR
Crissa Scanlan took 1st in discus and shot put
Rhianna Woods had a personal best in 100m and long jump
Destiny Golden had two PRs in 100m and long jump
Calie Hudson had two PRs 800m and long jump
August Krebs had two PRs discus and shot put
Autumn Pupo had two PRs 1500m and 800m
Next meet will be the Dunkirk Invite (April 28) where the top 2 of each event will represent Gowanda.

Photo: Gowanda’s Lily Bobseine, #33, is seen heading for home base in the 4th inning vs. Falconer. The resulting collision would see both Bobseine and the Falconer catcher down on the ground for several minutes while being attended to. Bobseine would be called out on the play and both players did eventually return to the game.

April 24 was a cold day that never made it out of the 40s. Both the Gowanda Varsity baseball and softball teams had home games just across from the high school building while the Varsity girls lacrosse team traveled to Clarence. It was a rough afternoon for all except for the baseball team.

At the baseball game, Gowanda played host to a Jamestown team that had a terrible 1st inning. Several times during the inning Jamestown’s throws to 1st base were off target allowing Gowanda runners to have a field day on the bases. The Jamestown pitcher faced 16 batters, giving up 4 walks, before escaping the inning. Just one example of the comedy of errors came when two Gowanda runs scored on a Brayden Smith bunt for a single as the catcher overthrew 1st base. At the end of the inning, Gowanda was up 10-0.

The game would be called in the 5th inning under the 10-run rule with Gowanda picking up an additional 6 runs to 4 for Jamestown. Leading the Gowanda offense was Cole Herman (2 for 3 with four RBIs), John Ondus (3 for 4 with two RBIs), Tyler Smith (3 for 3 with two RBIs). Blake Herman and Brayden Smith were both 2 for 2 with two RBIs. Cole Herman and Drew Shull combined on a five-hitter with eight strikeouts and nine walks for Gowanda.

Falconer was at Gowanda on the 24th for a non-league Varsity softball game. The leadoff batter for Falconer singled and scored as the next batter doubled. A strikeout followed by a double play from 1st to 2nd base brought Gowanda up to bat. After the first two Gowanda batters registered outs, Addison Kota was at bat driving the ball over the fence in center field. That made her total for the year now 3 That tied things at one after one inning. The second inning went scoreless. After 3 walks and a pair of singles in the 3rd inning, Gowanda swapped out their pitcher putting Lily Bobseine on the mound. She would give up an RBI single before locking down three straight strikeouts ending a 3-run Falconer inning. Gao:Wisa:S “Wassy” Stevens singled in the bottom of the inning and would eventually score on a Kailyn Farner single. That was all Gowanda managed as Falconer used three straight strikeouts to end the inning with 3 Gowanda runners on base. Things tightened up at that point and two scoreless inning followed. In the 4th and 6th innings, Gowanda again left 3 runners stranded on base. With Falconer adding four runs onto their total in the 6th inning Falconer held a 8-2 lead going into the final inning. Gowanda went with a third pitcher in the 5th inning putting in Hailey Christopher. After striking out the first batter she faced, she would give up three singles before escaping the inning with just a single Falconer run scored. In the bottom of the inning it was Addison Kota hitting a double to deep left field to start things off. The next two Gowanda batters would fly out. Kots came home on a Holland Browning double to just left of center field. That was all Gowanda could manage as the game ended in a 9-3 loss. Addison Kota led the Gowanda attack with a home run and a double. Also featured in the Gowanda offense were Emily Pound (a double), Jada Geiger (3 hits, including a double). Holland Browning (a double) and Lily Bob seine (a double).

The Gowanda Varsity girls lacrosse team had their hands full at Clarence. They were down 15-1 by halftime. Gowanda added another goal in the 2nd half while Clarence padded their score with five for a 20-2 final. Gowanda goals were scored by Aurora Stevens (1 goal, 1 assist) and Ke’ya Stevens (1 goal). Once again, Gowanda’s Freshman goal keeper, Nina Coulon, faced a barrage in the game. In a valiant effort, she did come up with 15 saves on 35 shots on goal.

The Gowanda Trap team has started the Spring season an just released to following report for Week 1:

We are pleased to announce that we are in first place for score week 1!!!

It was a very close score to the number 2 team, Hammond Central 910 to 856. The rest of the scores are below.

We have 2 athletes in the top 100 in NYS out of 2,883 kids shooting this season, 6 male athletes in the top 25 in our conference and 1 female. We currently have the number 1 athlete in male and female within our conference!!!

NYS Stats (out of 2,883)
Daniel Stang Ranked 17th in NYS
Zayne Laskey Ranked 37th in NYS
Madison Smith Ranked 19th in NYS for female athletes

Conference Stats M/F/Overall (out of 138)
Daniel Stang Ranked 1st
Zayne Laskey Ranked 3rd
Braydon Boler Ranked 8th
Daniel Humphrey Ranked 8th
DJ Dirienzo Ranked 12th
Sam Latimore Ranked 16th
Drezden Spire Ranked 34th (overall)
Max Hansen-Ivett Ranked 41st (overall)
Sully Griffith Ranked 49th (overall)
Maddison Smith Ranked 1st for F and 16th overall