Softball wrap-up
Lancellotti hard-nosed for Clarence
When Katie Lancellotti broke her nose at the very end of basketball season, the last thing she wanted was medical attention.
A doctor might recommend surgery and that would certainly come at the expense of the softball season. Since the pain of not playing would have hurt more than her nose ever could, Lancellotti convinced her parents to postpone the visit to the doctor.
Not only did Lancellotti play her senior year, she played well enough to earn Western New York Player of the Year honors.
The senior shortstop led Clarence to the Section VI Class AA title, batting .412 and fielding at a .983 percentage.
Lancellotti (inset) broke her nose against Jamestown in the Class AA basketball semifinals. She knew it immediately because it felt the same as the first time she broke her nose her freshman year, also playing basketball.
“I knew the whole routine. If I went [to the doctor] they’d want to do surgery and it really wasn’t affecting me so I wanted to suck it up and wait until after softball,” said Lancellotti. “It wouldn’t have been worth it. I would have missed the whole preseason and a bunch of league games.”
Six days after Clarence was eliminated by Horseheads in the state softball semifinals, Lancellotti had the surgery. By the time she reports to Canisius College in August for fall ball, she expects to be completely recovered.
Clarence swept the area’s top postseason awards as Jennifer Sansano was named WNY Pitcher of the Year. She’s the only sophomore on the 14-player squad, chosen by area coaches.
“We had timely hitting and I had a great defense behind me,” Sansano said. “We really didn’t plan on making it that far. I’m really not an overpowering pitcher. I just like to move the ball around.”
Junior Stephanie Pfentner gave Clarence its third selection on the first team. She had a grand slam and a home run in one inning against Lockport in the sectionals.
For catcher Alyssa Luksch of Cleveland Hill, it’s her third straight season on the first team. Luksch’s career reads like a broken record. She holds the school record for most hits in a season (51) and career (196) and the record for most RBIs in a season (38) and career (160).
Nice run for South
Williamsville South gave up just seven runs in four sectional games before losing in the Class A final to Williamsville East. The Billies were the five-time defending champions.
“To me it was truly as rewarding as a state championship,” said coach Gerry Gentner. “Yes, we had a couple studs, but after that we had a bunch of players coming out for a high school softball team, and we finally put it together at the right time.”
South has had at least one player make All- WNY since 1996. The Billies were represented in 2008 by Lauren Falzone, a four-year starter at second base. She is one of three first-teamers who has signed with Canisius College.
South endured its first losing season (11-13) in Gentner’s 11 seasons, but seven of the losses were to Class AA schools.
Gentner coached all season while receiving chemotherapy. Gentner has peritoneal, an aggressive form of cancer that attacks the abdominal cavity. He’s scheduled for surgery July 22 in Washington
D. C.; he expects to spend at least 10 days in intensive care.
“It’s a 10-12 hour process. It’s going to be a handful, needless to say,” he said. “They call it the mother of all surgeries, a massive undertaking. I’m thrilled to be a candidate.”
Extra bases
Ken Balling of Section VI Class C champion Cassadaga Valley was named WNY Coach of the Year. It was the third title in Balling’s seven seasons. The Cougars won a school record 22 games against seven losses and captured their fifth straight CCIAC II title.
Sacred Heart won the Monsignor Martin Association for the fourth year in a row. Senior Jen Hare of Niagara Catholic was named MVP of the Catholic league.
Senior Samantha Eimers (inset) of Ripley was named CCIAC III Player of the Year for the third year in a row. She will continue her softball career at Mercyhurst Northeast. Ripley (22-3) made it back-to-back titles in Class D. Eimers batted .621 with 21 of her 41 hits going for extra bases. Eimers is a tremendous three-sport athlete who’s a 2,000-point scorer in basketball.
Junior Jenna Rickan led Kenmore West to the NFL title. Her home run in the seventh inning helped beat rival Kenmore East.
Wilson won its third straight Niagara-Orleans League title. . . . Emily Zuchlewski led City Honors to the Class B sectional final and a sixth straight Thompson Trophy. . . . Fredonia (24-4) won its second straight Section VI Class B title. It reached the NYS Class B title game, where it fell to Windsor, 3-0.
