LAVALE — The Allegany Campers are packing their bags for the state tournament once again, and they did it in style. On Wednesday, top-seeded Allegany (19-1) steamrolled Northern 15-1 in five innings at Lions Field to claim the Class 1A West Region I title—marking their sixth consecutive trip to the state tournament.
"It’s an awesome game, the most complete game we’ve played all year," said Alco manager Dave Winner. "We hit the ball great, pitched great, played great defense. Just proud of them, it was a great game."
From the first pitch, the Campers were firing on all cylinders. They scored two runs in the first inning, five in the second, six in the third, and capped it off with two more in the fourth. The offense was relentless, with every player in the lineup recording a hit—totaling 13 on the day.
Alyssa Rader set the tone early, leading off the bottom of the third with a solo home run to left-center field. Savannah Walton was a force at the plate, going 3-for-4 with a double and an RBI. Mykah Baker, Sadee Baker, and Tyiss Jessie each drove in two runs, while Desi Hilton chipped in with a 2-for-4 performance—the only batter without an RBI, but still making an impact.
On the mound, Jordyn Sneathen—a Saint Francis signee—was dominant, striking out 12 batters while allowing just one hit. The only blemish came in the third inning when Rain Ritchey delivered an RBI single that deflected off a glove, giving Northern its lone run.
For Northern (13-8), the story was all too familiar. Errors have been the Huskies' Achilles' heel against Allegany all season. In their previous matchup on April 9, Northern led 1-0 after six innings before the Campers scored four runs in the seventh—three coming off miscues. On Wednesday, five errors proved costly again.
"Allegany came, and they were ready," said Northern manager Kadi Cosgrove. "They built off of our errors. I think they just put the ball in play more than what we did. We made errors whenever we shouldn’t have. Once we made a few errors, we were kind of down on ourselves. Had a hard time fighting back."
The loss ends Northern's season and the high school careers of seniors Khloe Vitez, Bailey Champlin, Marisa Perez, Kylie Oxford, and Demi Ross. Cosgrove praised their leadership: "They’re just such good kids. Even outside of softball, they were great leaders and role models this entire season. All of them, all five of them."
Allegany now advances to the state quarterfinals, scheduled for either Friday or Saturday. With momentum like this, the Campers look poised to make noise on the state stage once again.