Game time: Oriskany heads to Long Island for Final Four play in softball
A winning streak that started at the beginning of May has continued into June and carried the Oriskany Redskins into the New York State Public High School Athletic Association’s softball Final Four for the first time.
The Redskins (18-3) board the bus Friday morning and take a 13-game winning streak to eastern Long Island for the Class D semifinals at the Moriches Athletic Complex.
“We’ve had a normal week of practice,” coach Mike Reilly said after rain pushed the Redskins indoors for a hitting day Tuesday. “We’re just following our normal routine.”
Each team Final Four team from the state’s five classes has a Friday practice at the tournament site ahead of Saturday’s 15 scheduled games. The practice schedule gives each team 30 minutes in the batting cages and an hour on one of the four turf fields.
“The kids are very loose and working hard,” Reilly added, saying there was a lot of excitement for the team’s first trip to softball’s state finals.
More: Oriskany advances with regional Class D softball victory; New Hartford beaten
More: Oriskany beats Poland, wins first sectional softball title since 2009
The Final Four field includes Section II Argyle (10-6), Oriskany’s semifinal opponent, and a pair of merged teams, Scio/Friendship (17-4), the western New York champion from Section V, and Deposit/Hancock (15-6), the winner the last time the state tournament was played, from Section IV.
Reilly said he talked with Tim Meiss about the state playoff setting. Meiss, a friend and coach who has Oriskany’s baseball team to states twice, offered some tips on what the competition can be like.
“He was supportive,” Reilly said of Meiss, who visited the team’s indoor practice and congratulated the players. “He said we should be staying with our routine.”
Junior Juliet Tagliaferri has excelled in her second season inside the varsity circle as the Redskins’ pitcher, striking out more than one batter per inning. She and senior Jordyn Carlo have the team’s most hits while sophomore Megan Wright joins that pair with more than 30 runs scored this season.
The Redskins scored 10 or more runs 11 times in one 12-game stretch earlier in the season but have scored 26 in their last five games, starting with the regular season finale, a 5-1 win over Poland which had beaten Oriskany 14-11 earlier in the season, and carrying through sectional and regional play. The Redskins have not allowed more than four runs since a 19-6 win over Morrisville-Eaton May 9.
“We’re planning to play the way we play — our game,” Reilly said.
The Redskins’ game included an aggressive bunting approach in Saturday’s regional win at SUNY-Potsdam.
“This is a great group that works together very well,” the coach has said. “They don’t get on each other; they don’t get down on themselves. They just make the next play.”
Oriskany entered postseason play in Section III as a No. 2 seed and swept through three games, beating Center State Conference rival Poland in the championship game to complete a 12-0 month of May then beating Section X champion Edwards-Knox by the same 5-4 score Saturday in regional play.
The sectional final and regional playoff were the Redskins’ third and fourth one-run victories this season.
“I think we’re ready to go,” Reilly said, “and I’m looking forward to seeing how we do down there.”
Both semifinals will be played at 11:15 a.m. The winners will contest the championship game at 3:45 p.m.
The state tournament had previously been played at the Harry Betar Recreation Park in South Glens Falls and was canceled the last two years.
Jon Rathbun is a sportswriter for the Times Telegram. Email Jon at sports@timestelegram.com.
This article originally appeared on Times Telegram: Oriskany heads to Long Island for softball Final Four play
