By BOB CHAVEZ
ROCHESTER, N.Y. — It’s one thing to win a Section V championship. But to do it against your crosstown rival? The rival that beat you earlier this season?
“It means a lot, especially to us seniors,” Webster Thomas pitcher Olivia Bowers said following a 2-1 victory over Webster Schroeder in Saturday’s Section V Class AA championship game at Monroe Community College. “We did not want to go out losing to Schroeder again.”
Indeed, it was No. 1 seed Schroeder (19-2) that brought the 2024 season for No. 3 Thomas (18-6) to a crushing end in last spring’s Class AA final. And when the opportunity for a rematch presented itself on April 23 of this season, the Titans came out flat in a 5-0 loss.
So when Bowers and her teammates earned another shot, they did not let themselves or their fans down. The right-hander did her part by holding the Warriors to a pair of harmless singles through five innings, although four walks did present some opportunities for the Warriors.
But the Titans defense came through to end threats in each of the first three innings. Schroeder ended the first inning with a runner on third and had a runner on second base in the both the second and third innings. Thomas also had runners advance to second in each of the first two innings but it wasn’t until the third that it was able to cash in.
No. 9 batter Alexandra Lippa opened the inning with a walk and made way for runner Brooke Sudore, who moved into scoring position on Ella Maloney’s sacrifice. Then senior Ruby Marrapese stepped to the plate and ripped a one-strike triple down the left-field line to score Sudore.
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Bowers followed with a sacrifice fly to right field to score Marrapese and the Thomas lead was in place until the sixth inning.
“A lot of adrenaline came after that hit,” said Marrapese.
Schroeder tried to shift that momentum in its half of the third inning and had runners on first and second with one out. But Bowers froze a Schroeder batter for a called third strike and Emma Maloney’s tag from the shortstop position for an unassisted out canceled that rally.
But really, it was the strikeout by Bowers that essentially deflated the Schroeder momentum. The tournament MVP finished the game with eight strikeouts, more than a few with an off-speed pitch that kept Schroeder off-balance.
And for Bowers, having that pitch be so effective on Saturday was sweet redemption.
“My change-up wasn’t working when we played them (April 23) so everything was just fast and they were timing it,” she said. “So yeah, I had a lot of pressure on myself coming into this game. I just relied on my catcher (Ella Maloney). She calls my pitches, she knows the batters. I have a lot of trust in her.”
Schroeder did not go quietly and produced a run in the sixth inning. Kenzie Janicek got it started with a one-out single, then made way for Brianna Yonker as the runner. Following a strikeout, Kyara Murphy connected for a double down the left-field line to bring Yonker home but Schroeder’s next batter popped to the pitcher to end the inning and the threat.
The Warriors tried again in the seventh and put a runner on first with Liana DeValder’s single, but fly balls to center and right clinched the title for Thomas.
“I’m emotional because you can’t get a better group of girls,” Thomas coach Emily Castro said. “They work … We lost in the final last year and we didn’t get over that so that’s what motivated us this season. I found the hardest schedule I could find and coming into this game, I told the girls to just go for it. Be unconventional and don’t let nerves get the best of us.”
The 2-1 final suggests that nerves were present for every pitch of Saturday’s game and Castro did not deny that. But when right fielder Emily Ford secured the clinching out, the celebration was on.
“It’s a rivalry, it’s everything,” said Castro. “It means so much to beat a fantastic coach and great team.”
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