A special thank you goes to Visions Federal Credit Union for partnering with us to provide the greater Cortland County community with additional sports coverage
Homer Softball defeats Cortland in the opening round of the Section III Class B playoff tournament. (Photo provided by Timothy A. Bennett, Owner & Publisher of The Cortland Voice).
The No.18-seeded Homer Lady Trojans defeated the No.15-seeded Cortland Lady Purple Tigers in the opening round of the Section III Class B playoff tournament at the Gutchess Lumber Sports Complex Monday evening.
This was both teams’ third time playing each other this season. Cortland had won the first two games they faced each other in the regular season.
“We were excited,” said Homer head coach Christine Colasurdo. “We already played Cortland twice, so we knew it was going to be hard to win that third game. We knew everything that we were capable of. When these girls are playing well and are on, they are capable of great things. It’s nice to see them with this energy.”
The Purple Tigers started things off well, as they went up 5-0 in the first inning. However, Homer had a big fifth inning where they scored five runs to tie the game 5-5.
The Lady Trojans would then come out to score two additional runs in the sixth inning, while holding Cortland scoreless for the rest of the game.
When asked about how the team was able to mentally prepare to rally back and ultimately win the game, coach Colasurdo said, “they (Homer players) know what to do. These girls are great players, pumping each other up and staying focused. They have an excellent connection with each other.”
Here is a score breakdown of the game:
| Team | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | 4th | 5th | 6th | 7th | Runs | Hits | Errors |
| Homer | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 7 | 10 | 2 |
| Cortland | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 4 | 2 |
Throughout the game, Homer was led by Cecelia Rappleyea (1 homerun & 4 RBI’s), Catherine Apker (2 runs & 3 hits), Jenna Henderson (2 runs, 1 hit & 1 strikeout thrown), Kaylee Darling (1 run, 2 hits & 1 RBI), Lyla Read (1 hit & 1 RBI), Allyson Verfuss (1 run), Khloe Young (1 hit), and Alexandria Kellaway (1 hit).
Cortland was led by Brenna Hogan (1 run & 12 strikeouts thrown), Madalyn Thompson (1 run, 2 hits & 1 RBI), Mallory Turner (1 run & 1 hit), Lauren Mott (1 run), Aliza McCormick (1 run), Claire Turner (1 hit).
“I thought we started off very strong,” said Cortland head coach James Hogan. “We had the right mentality early on. I thought we had the chance to put Homer away, but they would not allow it. Homer came out aggressive, they took good swings, got a hitters count, and they did damage with several hard balls.”
Homer is now scheduled to play No.2-seed Chittenango at Chittenango high school today (May 23rd) at 5pm.
Here are some photos from the game (photos provided by Timothy A. Bennett, Owner & Publisher of The Cortland Voice).:
A message from Cortland head coach James Hogan to his seniors:
“I am very appreciative to have this group of seniors. They’re great kids. They come from great families. They try hard. They do great in school. They’re going to do wonderful things. I am happy to have had the opportunity to work with them. I look forward to seeing what these youngsters will be able to do.”
A special thank you goes to Visions Federal Credit Union for partnering with us to provide the greater Cortland County community with additional sports coverage
