The same can be said for the Gowanda softball program as long as solphomore Addison Kota is a member of the team.

Kota threw four shutout innings of one-hit ball while adding an RBI double and a sacrifice fly as Gowanda beat nonleague Ellicottville 14-7 in season-opening softball Monday evening.

“As long as Addison Kota is on our team, we have a chance to win every single game,” Gowanda head coach Mike Maloney said postgame. “It makes me and (assistant coach) Jerard Capozzi look like geniuses.”

The Panthers, the 2023 New York State Public High School Athletic Association Class C champions, picked up right where they left off last spring, scoring in all six of their times at bat Monday.

OBSERVER Photo by Matt Spielman Gowanda shortstop Audrina Huss steps into a throw to first base in Monday’s nonleague game against Ellicottville in Gowanda.

“We don’t really talk about it much. We just want to win,” Maloney said of a return trip to Long Island. “The goal is to go there again, but that’s hard. I think we have a good chance. We have a good returning team.”

Kota’s RBI double to score sophomore Corinna John highlighted a three-run first inning that also included an RBI single from sophomore Audrina Huss, who then scored on a wild pitch.

“I think this year, we have a lot of players at the bottom of the lineup that are going to hit the ball,” Maloney said. “If our top hits, we’re going to win a lot of games and put up a lot of runs.”

Gowanda added three more runs in the second inning when senior Emily Pound led off with a double, went to third on senior Aubrie Heron’s infield single and scored on an RBI fielder’s choice from senior Alhanna Gabel. John then popped out, which could’ve been the third out of the inning, but junior Holland Browning followed with a two-run double to break the game open.

“We haven’t been outside much. Hopefully that improves throughout the season. It’s just fundamentals; getting outs when we can get the outs,” Ellicottville head coach Matt Finn said. ” … We just gave them too much.”

OBSERVER Photo by Matt Spielman Gowanda pitcher Addison Kota delivers to the plate.

The Panthers scored another run in the third inning without the benefit of a hit, and then went up 10-0 with a three-run fourth inning. Browning had an RBI single, Kota hit a sacrifice fly to right field and senior Ella Luther hit an RBI double in the frame.

The 10-run lead was big enough for Gowanda to take Kota out of the circle. She struck out seven, walked three and hit two batters while allowing just two Eagles to reach third base.

“She’s just getting warmed up. She hasn’t had a chance to pitch much. She hurt her ankle in basketball and is still coming back from that injury,” Maloney said of Kota. ” … She pitched a great game.”

Ellicottville made a game of it with a seven-run top of the fifth inning. Sophomore Ande Northrup and senior Emmylu Carls each had a single in the frame as Ellicottville benefited from five walks and an error.

“We’ve been talking about making pitchers work a little bit more, go deep into the count if we can,” Finn said. “(Freshman) Riley Whitmer kept fouling pitches off, just making them work.”

Junior Gracie Eddy tripled and Pound singled as Gowanda tacked on four more runs in the final two innings.

Eddy also pitched the final two scoreless innings for the Panthers, striking out one and allowing just a single to Ellicottville junior Courtney Marsh.

“We have four girls to pick from so we do have some arms there,” Maloney said. “In these first six nonleague games we’ll figure it out and go from there.”

Northrup and eighth-grader Katie Lafferty combined to strike out seven in the circle for the Eagles.

“Ande is so versatile. … She can handle shortstop, too,” Finn said. “Katie is a nice complement. She threw well today.”

Gowanda will look to get in another nonleague game today at home against JFK before spring break, while Ellicottville will head south for games in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina starting next Monday.

“It just gives them confidence to score some runs and feel good about it,” Finn said of his team’s fifth-inning uprising. ” … Hopefully this will carry over.”