Corning-Painted Post takes down Fairport
Fairport lost in the New York State Public High School Athletic Association Class AAA championship softball game, falling to Section IV’s Corning-Painted Post 8-2 Saturday at the Martha Avenue Recreational Park in Bellport on Long Island.
To advance to the state final, Fairport (14-10) defeated Sachem East 8-3 in Friday’s NYS semifinals.
Fairport has won two Section V softball titles in three appearances since 2021.
The Red Raiders’ only other state final four appearance also resulted in a title game trip in 2009, where they lost to Brentwood (XI) in the NYS Class AA championship.
Here’s how the game unfolded:
Corning-Painted Post 2, Fairport 0: End of first inning
T1: Corning’s Mattie Johnston oneout triple, then scored on an RBI-single. Lauren DeRosa drove in a one-out bases-loaded RBI on a fielder’s choice. A rule violation at third forced a third out on the play. The Hawks had four straight hits.
B1: Fairport’s Lauryn Smith reached on an infield error but no one else made it on base.
Corning-Painted Post 2, Fairport 0: End of second inning
T2: Fairport pitcher Kailey Gardner with the 1-2-3 inning. Nicole Allen caught a web gem from centerfield, Isi Hurlburt caught up to a ball deep into right field, and Juliana Catalano fielded a slow rolling ground ball for the routine 4-3 out.
B2: Corning’s Johnston retired the side in order. Fairport has 8-9-1 coming up in the third.
Corning-Painted Post 2, Fairport 0: End of third inning
T3: Corning gets two on base. Peyton Sullivan (single) and seventh-grader Emelia Smith (double, 2-2) were in scoring position before Gardner retired the side with a 1-3 out. Gardner struck out a batter and forced a pop fly straight to Allen in centerfield.
B3: Fairport goes down 1-2-3 again. Hayden Perry and Nicole Allen with some nice shots, but the Corning outfielder made the outs. Corning’s Johnston is pitching very well. Just one Fairport runner (Lauryn Smith) made it on base via an error.
Corning-Painted Post 2, Fairport 0: End of fourth inning
T4: Fairport catcher Hayden Perry threw a runner out trying to steal second. Corning’s Lauren DeRosa singled and attempted to steal second, but was called out for running outside the baseline during a pickle. Gardner retired the next two batters with pop flies.
B4: Smith made it on base again for Fairport. She worked a walk this time to lead the inning. Smith moved to second two batters later, and was in good position to score on Waverly Milliman’s shot deep into the outfield, but Corning’s DeRosa made the catch to close the inning.
Corning-Painted Post 6, Fairport 0: End of fifth inning
T5: The Hawks scored four runs. Sophia Polzella RBI-triple, then she scored on Johnston’s RBI-single with no outs. Johnston stole home on a delayed steal. Peyton Sullivan singled and scored on DeRosa’s RBI-single. Kendall Curreri sent a deep shot into left field but Milliman made an athletic catch to stop the scoring threat.
B5: Fairport goes down 1-2-3. They’ll have 9-1-2 in the order coming up. A great spot to be in for a team known to score a ton of runs in any given inning.
Corning-Painted Post 6, Fairport 2: End of sixth inning
T6: Corning’s Kayleigh Sparks registered her second hit. Fairport’s Gardner struck out her second batter in the frame. Allen may have stolen a home run after hawking a another deep shot by Polzella, saving two more potential Corning runs. Hurlburt made another pop fly catch. Fairport’s outfielders Waverly Milliman, Nicole Allen and Isi Hurlburt are playing VERY well defensively today.
B6: Second baseman Juliana Catalano drove in Nicole Allen for Fairport’s first run. Her right field shot was just called fair. Nicole Allen, who singled on base for the team’s first hit with one down. Waverly Milliman RBI-single into center scored Lauryn Smith, made hard contact to force an infield error. Smith was Fairport’s most effective batter entering the inning after making it on base all three appearances.
Corning-Painted Post 8, Fairport 2: End of seventh inning
T7: Corning eighth-grader Sophie Schoonover hit an RBI-double with one down to plate Sullivan (leadoff double), then scored on Lauren DeRosa’s RBI-triple. Junior pitcher Annabella Clark relieved Gardner — who’s pitched very well during Fairport’s postseason run — after 4.1 innings. Clark immediately retired Curreri with one pitch, and struck out the side on a full count battle with Daphne Sherman. Millie Reed, Makayla Strack, Hayden Perry up for Fairport.
B7: That’s game. Johnston retired the side in order. Corning-Painted Post wins the NYS Class AAA championship with a 8-2 win over Fairport (14-10). Impressive victory with 15 hits. Johnston threw a three-hitter for the Hawks (15-6).