Leading off today: I'm pretty sure this is what folks have in mind when they trot out the "what a difference a year makes" line.
Cassadaga Valley began the 2018 Section 6 softball postseason without a loss, but the Lady Cougars came into the 2019 sectionals winless after moving up a class in a rebuilding year.
The latter changed in a huge way Thursday when Cassadaga Valley pulled off a 4-3 upset of top-seeded Frewsburg in the Class C2 quarterfinals. The eighth-seeded Lady Cougars trailed 3-0 after four innings and won with the help of a two-run triple by Olivia Bishop in the fifth inning and RBI singles by Holly Crandall and Brielle LeBaron in the sixth.
"It's amazing. It was unbelievable to watch the girls come together," first-year coach Jerri Crandall said. "I couldn't be more proud of the girls."
• Down 8-5 in the top of the seventh inning, Starpoint rallied to a 9-8 win over Maryvale in the Section 6 Class A2 semifinals.
Bailey Briggs delivered a two-run double, followed by Alexis Briggs' run-scoring double. Alexis Briggs stole third and scored on Megan Amacher's sacrifice fly.
Oh, brother: Junior Gabe Castillo-Sanchez defeated seventh-grader Lucas Castillo-Sanchez 6-0, 6-2 in an all-Washingtonville contest between brothers for the Section 9 singles championship in boys tennis.
"It added a little complexity to it," Gabe Castillo-Sanchez said of playing his brother, whom he also defeated in a league semifinal last week. "It was fun. I'm not going to let up, because he's a really good player. I think he knows that."
Opponents have taken just five games from Gabe in eight straight postseason wins.
Oh, it's them again: Skaneateles will play in the Section 3 girls lacrosse finals on Tuesday for the 18th straight season after routing Marcellus 17-4 in the Class D semifinals.
