Once again, the Shenendehowa and Burnt Hills-Ballston Lake softball teams have reached the Section II finals in their respective classes.
Shen shut out Queensbury 4-0 Tuesday at Colonie’s Veeder Park to advance to Friday’s Class AA final against Colonie at Clifton Common, while BH-BL dealt Colonial Council champion Lansingburgh a 5-0 loss in the Class A semifinals at the Adirondack Sports Complex in Glens Falls.
Amanda Ferro pitched a two-hit shutout and struck out eight to help the Plainsmen (23-2) beat Queensbury and continue their quest for a sixth consecutive Sectional title. Morgan Sprague gave Ferro plenty of run support with a two-RBI double in the bottom of the fourth inning, while Lauren Lawler had three hits including a double.
BH-BL pitcher Katie Filak was just as stingy against Lansingburgh as Ferro was against Queensbury. Filak allowed only one hit and struck out 10 to guide the Spartans into a Class A final rematch against South Glens Falls Friday at Clifton Common. It was the second consecutive one-hitter for Filak, who did the same thing in BH-BL’s 12-0 quarterfinal victory over Scotia-Glenville last Friday.
Leanne Merchant belted a three-run home run in the first inning, and Veronica Palleschi contributed a two-run single in the top of the seventh to account for all of BH-BL’s runs against Lansingburgh.
Shen entered its semifinal game against Queensbury with a 3-0 quarterfinal win against Suburban Council Blue Division rival Saratoga last Friday at Veeder Park.
They played very, very well, said Shen coach Dan D’Amboise. `In all aspects of the game, I thought we played well.`
Saratoga hitters touched Ferro for seven hits, but Ferro was able to work out of several jams to keep the Blue Streaks off the scoreboard.
`They had seven hits, but we scattered them,` said D’Amboise. `We also got their lead runner out several times, which helped us.`
Shen’s offense got seven hits against Saratoga pitcher Alyson Onyon, with two of them driving in runs. Sprague had one of the RBI singles, while Kelsi Hines had the other.
`The way we manufactured runs, it was a team effort. It wasn’t one individual, and Saratoga wasn’t committing any errors, either,` said D’Amboise.
Both the Class AA and Class A finals start at 5 p.m. at Clifton Common.“