Softball: Marlboro tops upstart Highland to capture second straight Section 9 title

MIDDLETOWN - It’s immediately noticeable, those inch-long fingernails with an eye-catching shade of orange.

While getting her nails done recently, Ella Leduc figured the manicure should fit the special occasion. It was obvious to her that a color matching her orange and black team colors was fitting.

“These were big games coming up and I wanted the nails to be representative,” the Marlboro softball star said. “The polish should last and I’m planning on wearing this jersey for a while longer.”

She and her teammates earned that right on Friday as top-seeded Marlboro captured its second consecutive Section 9 Class B title with a 4-1 win over underdog Highland at Middletown High School.

And, unlike last spring when the season concluded with that round, the Iron Dukes this time can look forward to more days in uniform.

“It means a lot, and this is where we want to be right now, but this isn’t the end,” catcher Emmie Mae Cabrera said. “We’ve gotta keep it going.”

That was part of the reason their reaction to being presented the championship plaque was relatively subdued. Because this wasn't the end.

It was believed this group, led then by an exceptional core of sophomores, could make a state tournament run in 2020. The pandemic cheated them of that opportunity, and the regional and state tournaments still were canceled the following year, meaning there would be a bittersweet ending despite their accomplishments.

Now, the players said, this team finally will have the opportunity to realize its potential.

Marlboro (13-2) faces the Section 1 champion in a regional semifinal on Thursday, 7 p.m. at Lakeland High School, the program chasing its first state title since 2016.

“We had to wait a while to get this chance,” senior Kasey Conn said, “so we’ve gotta make the most of it.”

Conn went 3 for 3 with two RBI and a run, and Ava DelSalto allowed three hits and two walks and struck out 10 in a complete game to lead the Dukes, who were played close by seventh-seeded Highland.

“They put up a great fight and played us better than most opponents,” DelSalto said of the Huskies, a young team that pulled big upsets to reach the final. “They made us grind for this win.”

Marlboro got on the board in the first inning when Conn drove in Kalista Birkenstock, who had singled and was bunted to second. But Highland freshman Alexa Parase held them there until the late innings. The Huskies tied it in the fifth on Maggie ValVallkenburgh’s RBI single to right that scored Lexi Winters.

“I’ve never been so proud of second place,” Highland coach Kathleen Canosa said. “Nobody expected us to be here, and we were in this game until late. We have nothing to hang our heads about.”

The Dukes answered with three runs in the bottom of the fifth, though. Leduc’s RBI single scored Birkenstock for the 2-1 lead, then Conn drove her in with a booming triple to the center field wall. The shortstop then came home on Cabrera’s grounder to third.

Birkenstock went 2 for 3 with a stolen base and two runs, Emma Jackson was 2 for 3 and Bella Gulcaglayan had a hit.

“Highland played really well,” Leduc said. “We were hitting the ball, but they made plays on defense and didn’t allow our offense to be as productive as we usually are.”

After all, this was a team that entered averaging 11 runs per game, a figure bolstered by the 21 they racked up against the Huskies in an April meeting. But this wasn’t that team. That plucky bunch seemingly turned a corner late in the season and surged to the final, toppling Spackenkill and Burke Catholic en route.

“That Spackenkill win gave us so much confidence,” senior Olivia Bell said of beating the No. 2 seed. “That was a big step in the growth of the team… This was the best and most exciting season of my career.”

The Marlboro players would say the same of theirs, now venturing into unfamiliar territory.

“We haven’t been to this point before, so there are some nerves,” Conn admitted. “But there’s nerves in every round of the playoffs, knowing any game can be your last. But we believe we’re a great team and we’re not ready for it to be over.”

They’re certainly not ready to give up those jerseys.

Stephen Haynes: shaynes@poughkeepsiejournal.com; 845-437-4826; Twitter: @StephenHaynes4

This article originally appeared on Times Herald-Record: Softball: Conn, DelSalto help Marlboro top Highland for section title