Womens’ Softball Playoff action at Alcoa Field in Massena

Hill Top Inflatables’ first game was at 8:00 am this past Saturday against Charlie’s. Hill Top won this game with a score of 7-0 with the next game set to begin at 3:30 pm against Laneuville’s.  This game resulted in a loss for Hill Top by a score of 9-1. Although they didn’t win this second game there were a few great plays. April Seymour had a double play when she caught a fly ball at 2nd and then threw it to Courtney Angus at 1st to get the runner.  There was also some great pitching from Bonnie George.

On Sunday Hill Top played again at 8:00 am against Dar’s Restaurant. Hill Top had another victory by a score of 6-2.  Singles from hits by Nikki Bero, Bonnie George, April Seymour, Carrie Benedict, Akat Benedict, Leah Benedict and Tsita Delisle along with doubles that were hit by Nikki Bero and April Seymour contributed to the win.  Hill top also had a triple hit by Akat Benedict.  Bonnie George did a great job on the mound with 0 walks and 1 strike out.  

With this win Hill Top continued on for another game at 10:30 against American Legion (Massena).  This game resulted in a loss by a close score of 9-8.  Hill Top remained scoreless for the first three innings.  In the fourth inning Hill Top finally had runs coming in from Rosie Bero, April Seymour, Leah Benedict and Tsita Delisle.  The next 2 innings were scoreless once again with the score staying at 4-9 going into the 7th inning.  Hill Top wasn’t ready to be counted out just then as they rallied to continue playing and trying to reach the semi-finals.  At the top of the 7th there were 2 outs after the first two batters when Akat Benedict and Carrie Benedict each hit singles to be on base.  Courtney Angus came up to bat and was able to get a RBI with Akat Benedict running home, bringing Hill Top a little closer to Dar’s.  With Carrie Benedict on 2nd and Courtney Angus on 1st Leah Benedict  came up to bat with determination to bring her runners home. Leah Benedict hit a home run with 2 RBI’s causing their fans to really cheer them on with the score being 8-9 and with 1 out remaining. Hill Top’s hopes were dashed as their next batter ended up getting an out due to hitting too many foul balls.  

Hill Top Inflatables almost made it to the semi-finals and ended the season finishing in 4th place.  The team thanks all of their fans for their support all weekend, especially showing up for our 8:00 am games – it was all greatly appreciated.  They also thank Carrie and Leah’s Dad, Les Benedict, for being their third base coach on Saturday. 

Thank you once again to Hill Top Inflatables for their sponsorship of the team whose roster includes:

Teres Seymour – Captain

April Seymour

Akat Benedict

Bonnie George – Co-Captain

Courtney Angus

Crystal Green

Mary Terrance

Leah Benedict

Carrie Benedict

Tsita Delisle

Skylar King

Janelle Jackson

Rosie Bero

Nikki Bero

Melissa Papineau

Sunnie Francis

The teams in the championship game were Laneuvilles and S& L.

In the B Division another Ahkwesahsne team was also in the semi final game and that was Squadron 1479.  The team played against Coaches Corner and defeated them winning two and losing one.  The coach for 1479 is Tom Francis and Assistant Mike Conners with manager Loren Francis.  

“The season began with 16 players and by the end of the season they had 10 regulars,” said Coach Francis. “The other teams face the same problem according to other coaches and this makes it hard especially when it comes to playoff time and the girls have to have their 5 games in.”

Coach Francis explained that the team placed third this year, starting out slow and picking up momentum midway through the season. Lately, they have been doing very well. Coach Francis is very happy with his team and has enjoyed coaching them. Coach Francis has been coaching since he was 16-years-old and has had quite a bit of experience to offer the team.

After their win against Coaches, the girls immediately played against Bowlmor with the winning team going on to play in the championship game.  Squadron 1479 lost by a score of 5-3.

Their roster includes:

Amanda King

Nikky King

Tracy Zettler

Mandy Francis

Brandi King

Jenn Moulton

Heather Burdick

Tanya Conto

Sam Phillips

Amy McDonald

Meghan Barnes

There was a check presentation done on Saturday after the 3:30 games.  The Massena Women’s Softball League raised $8,600 from the Benefit Breast Cancer Tournament held on July 16th and 17th.  On behalf of the Massena Women’s Softball League a ‘thank-you’ goes out to all the teams that entered, as well as all the area businesses that purchased an ad on their T-shirts. Another thank-you is extended to everyone who purchased tickets from all of the raffles throughout that weekend.  The proceeds from this tournament were split between the Massena Memorial Hospital and Canton-Potsdam Hospital, with each receiving $4,300.

Contributing writer: Teres Seymour

Photos by Sesi King