STAC SOFTBALL: ELMIRA RALLIES FOR 12-11 WIN OVER WAVERLY (April 18, 2026)

Valley Sports Report
WAVERLY — Elmira used a five-run rally in the sixth inning to rally for a 12-11 win over Waverly here Saturday afternoon in STAC softball action.

"We have to do a better job holding leads when we have them," said Waverly coach Brent Doane. 

"We had several mental mistakes that cost us big time. You can't beat good teams that way," added Doane. "We are clearly not ready yet."

Junior Hannah Carpenter belted a solo home run to lead off the bottom of the second inning.

Eighth-grader Paige Bubniak followed with a single, and freshman Ayla Wheeler worked a one-out walk. Bubniak and Wheeler both ended up scoring on passed balls to give the Wolverines a 3-0 lead.

The Express answered with three runs in the top of the third inning to tie the game at 3-3 lead, but the Wolverines had an answer of their own with three runs in the home half of the inning to take a 6-3 lead.

After trading runs in the fourth inning, Elmira scored twice in the top of the fifth to close the gap to 7-6.

In the bottom of the fifth, junior Kaiya Horton belted a two-run double and scored on an RBI single by junior Lecksie Douglas to make it 10-6.

The Express scored five runs in the top of the sixth to take an 11-10 lead, then tacked on another run in the seventh inning to extend its lead to 12-10.

In the bottom of the seventh, Ayla Wheeler led off with a single, and moved to second when Horton reach he'd on a dropped third strike.

With two outs, senior Maddie Cron ripped an RBI double to trim the deficit to 12-11, and put runners on second and third, but a strike out of the next batter ended the game.

Cron had four hits, including three doubles, and scored one run, while Bubniak singled three times and scored three runs, and Horton doubled and singled, and scored two runs.

Carpenter homered, scored one run, and drove in oner run for the Wolverines, while Ayla Wheeler singled and scored two runs, Douglas added a single, and Gonzalez and Delaney Wheeler each scored one run.

Waverly, now 2-3, returns to action Monday against Seton Catholic at the BAGSAI Softball Complex — the first of six games for the Wolverines next week.

"Hopefully,  we can bounce back quickly," said Doane. "We have a tough stretch coming up with games every day Monday thru Thursday, then a doubleheader Saturday."

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IN PHOTO: Waverly's Madison Cron. ... VSR STOCK PHOTO.

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