It’s time once again to clean out the notebook while waiting to see what Big 30 team makes the longest run in the state playoffs this spring:
While on the subject of spring sports, the area isn’t without it state-contending candidates this season.
In softball, there are at least six Big 30 schools putting up the kind of numbers that would have you think they could stage long playoff runs.
Here’s a look:
*Bolivar-Richburg: At 16-1 and with St. Bonaventure-bound Hayley Majot on the mound, the Wolverines have won eight in a row, nine games by shutout and another four while allowing just one run.
With veteran coach Stan Harris (34th year, 495-133, .788 pct.) in the dugout, the Wolverines are also playoff-tested, having gotten to the Section 5 Class CCC finals last year before losing and to the semifinals the two previous seasons. They last reached the state finals just four seasons ago.
B-R’s lone loss is against Olean High, 9-6.
*Olean High: The Huskies have been on a roll since losing 10-0 to Clarence, the No.1-ranked large-school team in Western New York. Since then, Olean (13-3) has gone 6-0, clinched a tie for the CCAA Division I East title, and has outscored its opposition, 70-10.
Olean’s only other two losses came early in the season to Olbion (Tenn.), 2-1, and Gowanda, 5-4, which it has since avenged by a 6-1 score.
In addition to getting plenty of offense, coach Dan Brooks has a solid one-two punch on the mound with juniors Monica Moses and Olivia Anzivine.
Olean reached the state Class B finals in 2010 when it lost to Chenango Valley. Since then, the Huskies got to the Section 6 semifinals twice then were knocked out of the playoffs in the first round last year.
*Cattaraugus-Little Valley: If pitching is the name of the game, you have to include the Timberwolves and Sarah Crandall.
With the senior on the mound for most of the work, C-LV is 11-3 overall and 10-0 in CCAA East II play, having won a huge league showdown with North Collins, 1-0, on Monday.
The only losses for coach Heather Hyde’s team, ranked fifth in the WNY small-school poll behind No. 4 Olean, came on a southern trip. Since then, Crandall and the T-wolves have three shutout wins and three others in which they’ve allowed two-runs-or-less.
C-LV must show, though, it can play under tournament pressure. Last year it lost in the Section 6 Class C semifinals, 3-2, to Cassadaga Valley, a team it had beaten twice during the regular season, including 5-0. Still, the program has come a long way since going 1-18 in 2009.
*Franklinville: Again, with pitching being the key, eighth-grader Ally Haskell gives the Panthers hope.
Despite her youth, Haskell has carried Franklinville to an 11-2 record that includes shutout wins over North Collins twice, and a strong Allegany-Limestone team.
The Panthers did reach the sectional semifinals in 2011 in a 16-2 season. Their only losses this year have come against New Hartford and C-LV.
*Smethport: No District 9 tournament can be discussed without the mention of the Hubbers.
Coach Jim Kane’s club is 16-1 on the season and clinched its fourth straight Northern Allegheny League title on Monday with a 5-0 win over Northern Potter — its ninth shutout of the season.
The Hubbers have allowed just 20 runs this season — 9 in a loss to Port Allegany — in trying to get back to the D-9 finals for the first time since 2011.
Brooke Kane-Walker has carried the Hubbers on the mound, while Sara Vinca (three home runs), and Tierra and Tori Johnson have been among the leaders at the plate.
*Port Allegany: Yes, the Gators have five losses, including those to league an d D-9 rivals Smethport (11-1), Otto-Eldred (4-1) and Coudersport (1-0), but they also have Brooke Roys.
And maybe no pitcher in the Big 30 has been hotter as Port (13-5) has won seven of its last eight games — losing only 3-1 to Majot and Bolivar-Richburg.
On the season, Roys has a pair of no-hitters and 200 strikeouts in just 99 innings.
*Otto-Eldred: The Terrors are 16-3 and have been putting up big numbers, winning 14-0 over Cameron County in five innings Monday, and scoring 22 against the Raiders just last week.
In winning five of its last six games, O-E has outscored its opponents, 81-13 — that’s been a lot of support for pitchers Kera Bradt and Joslyn Veilleux.
(Tom Roof, a sports writer for the Times Herald, can be reached at troof@oleantimesherald.com)
