SECTION IV SOFTBALL: WAVERLY BATTLES PAST SCRAPPY TIOGA, 5-3 (May 9, 2026)

By TIM TAYLOR
Valley Sports Report
WAVERLY — The Tioga and Waverly softball teams outlasted Mother Nature here Saturday afternoon, then the Wolverines prevailed in a non-league clash with the Tigers by a 5-3 score.

It was the seventh consecutive victory for Waverly.

“They played well,” said Waverly coach Brent Doane. “We've been playing pretty good ball for the last few games, which is exciting because we're heading into that time of the year where you hope you're playing your best ball. We still haven't played error-free as much as I'd like to, but we're getting better and better defensively.

“Offensively, these last probably four or five games, we've really started to put it together, getting some clutch hits, some timely hits, getting some leadoff hitters on base at different times, so it's been fun to watch. And then, the growth in the circle with Taylin and Ayla (Wheeler), they both have done a nice job getting better and better every time they get out there.

“I think some of the ups and downs that we've had early in the season was just simply getting a rhythm,” Doane said. “With the poor weather and then the reschedules, and makeups and stuff, it's hard to sometimes get into that rhythm.”

Although they came up short, the youthful Tigers played well for the most part.

“We started off with a couple errors, which tends to be our ball game sometimes,”said Tioga coach Stephanie Hills. “We start off with the errors and have to dig back, but they didn't give up. They played all seven innings and I'm proud of them.”

The Tioga lineup was also missing a pair of starters in first baseman Vanessa Tunnicliff and outfielder Kyah Nelson.

“We've got two out with injuries that are normally starters for us, but we were able to pull in some of our JV girls that are stepping in and holding their own,” Hills said.

The experience of playing up will be a plus for the future.

“We're a young team anyways, so it helps to have the numbers to build them for the next couple years,” Hills said.

With the rain subsiding, except for a few sprinkles here and there, Waverly struck early and never trailed although the Tigers stayed in the game to the end.

Taylin Gonzalez retired the side on two infield pop-ups and a strikeout to start the game, then helped her team grab a 2-0 advantage in the bottom half of the first inning.

Lecksie Douglas started things off with a single, stole second, advanced to third on a wild pitch and scored on Maddie Cron’s ground out. Gonzalez added a single, but found herself standing at third due to a fielding error following her hit. Hannah Carpenter’s sacrifice fly to center plated Gonzalez for the second run.

Tioga answered with a run in the second when Kate Kithcart led off with a single, moved to second on a passed ball and third on Lilly Mezzatesta’s ground out. She scored when Irie Lynch was thrown out attempting to steal second.

The Wolverines extended their lead back to two in the third after Douglas led off with a single, stole second, advanced to third on a passed ball and scored on Cron’s base hit.

The Tigers responded with another run on a two-out rally in the fourth. Following singles by Kithcart an Mezzatesta, Lynch and Olivia Shugars drew walks with Shugars picking up an RBI after surviving an 0-2 count. Gonzalez regrouped to strike out the next batter on four pitches and avoid any further damage.

Hanging on to a one-run edge, Waverly picked up a pair of runs in the home half of the fifth to build a 5-2 advantage. Cron belted a lead-off triple and scored on a double by Gonzalez, then Gonzalez on a one-out single from Paige Bubniak.

Kithcart retired the final five batters she faced, but Tioga was only able to get one run back in the final two innings.

The Tigers came away empty in the sixth despite loading the bases on a walk, error and hit batter with two away.

In the seventh, with the outfield playing in, slap hitter Bri Lounsbury swung away and launched a triple over the outfielders. She scored on RaeAnne Feeko’s fly out to center. Gonzalez retired the final two batters on ground outs to secure the win.

Kithcart was 2-for-4 with two runs to lead Tioga at the plate. She struck out eight and scattered nine hits in the circle, allowing three earned runs. Lounsbury and Mezzatesta added one hit apiece with Lounsbury scoring the other run, and Feeko and Shugars tacking on one RBI each..

Cron was 2-for-3 with a run and two RBI; Douglas went 2-for-4 with two runs; Gonzalez contributed a hit, two runs and an RBI; and Ayla Wheeler was 2-for-3. Bubniak added a hit and an RBI; Carpenter drove in a run and Delaney Wheeler tacked on a hit.

Gonzalez struck out six and walked six, but only surrendered four hits.

Both teams head into the final week of the regular season with 11-4 records.

Waverly leads the STAC Central Division with a 9-3 record and is a half-game ahead of Owego (8-3). The River Hawks are favored to win against Seton Catholic (0-9) and force a one-game playoff for the division title.

Tioga closes out the regular season with a home-and-away series against rival Union Springs.

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PHOTOS BY TIM TAYLOR.

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