Forestville’s Megan Gruber delivers a pitch against Clymer/Sherman in the Section VI Class D semifinals on Tuesday. OBSERVER Photo by Christian Storms

FORESTVILLE — Hits were tough to come by with Forestville’s Megan Gruber and Clymer/Sherman’s Elli Bodamer in the circle during the Section VI Class D semifinals on Tuesday, so batters had to make every opportunity count.

In the bottom of the fifth inning, Carilene Sliwa connected on the third hit of the game for the second-seeded Hornets and sent the ball to the gap. Not settling on a single, Sliwa hustled after a bobble in the outfield to get into scoring position with a double.

With two outs, freshman Emily Lillie cashed in on Sliwa’s hustle play with a no-doubt RBI triple to the wall. Lillie then scored on an error and Forestville held on 2-0 to advance to the sectional finals for the first time since 2013.

“For us to get a hit or two, I knew that’s all it was going to come down to,” Forestville head coach Brianne Hazelton said. “… I know Carilene was frustrated, then she got her hit and saw the bobble and she’s quick and she’s aggressive she knew they had to make a good throw into second. Then, for Emily to come up in a clutch situation and get that triple was everything we needed.”

Bodamer was lights-out for the third-seeded Wolves, but Gruber was just a little bit better as she only gave up three hits and struck out eight batters in the win.

“Both girls statistically are some of the best in the state,” Clymer/Sherman head coach Dave Bodamer said about the pitchers. “Section VI sports is awesome. We don’t kowtow to anybody in the state and softball is another example of it. These two girls battling today, it comes down to executing and getting a shot here or there. Unfortunately, ours came a little too late, but hats off to both pitchers, it’s fun to watch.”

Clymer/Sherman made some noise in the top of the seventh when Janelle Burchanowski and Bodamer led off with back-to-back singles. However, Gruber answered with a big strikeout, induced a pop-up and fielded a grounder herself to end the game.

“We told them you can’t hang your heads about this,” Bodamer said. “You lost a really good softball game to a really good team. I’m the kind of guy when I lose I wanna lose to the champion, nothing against Ellicottville. That’s a really good team and we knew it was going to be like this.”

Forestville put the pressure on early with runners in scoring position in both the bottom of the first and third innings, but each time Bodamer got out of the jam. In the first, Jade Work got to third base with two outs, but Bodamer came up with a big strikeout.

Then, in the third, the Hornets loaded the bases with Alexandra Kerstetter reaching on error, Sliwa getting her first of two hits and Lillie drawing a walk to load the bases. Needing two outs, Bodamer answered the call with two huge strikeouts to keep the game scoreless.

“She’s been able to do that for us,” Bodamer said. “She doesn’t get rattled, she keeps fighting and it’s fun to watch as far as that goes. I think both these pitchers have that confidence.”

Other than the trouble in the seventh inning, Gruber had runners in scoring position just once in the second inning and it lasted just a batter with a groundout to get out of the frame unscathed.

“I definitely knew that she could do it and handle it,” Hazelton said about Gruber. “I could see the look on her face, she was throwing hard, she wanted it. She wasn’t upset the first two got on and she struck out the next batter and I knew she was going to be able to stop the next ones from getting on.”

The loss stings for Clymer/Sherman (10-4) and especially the two seniors that have been on the team since the merger, but plenty of important pieces return next season.

“I’ve been Clymer’s coach for quite a while now, even to the point that you had one girl who played a lot of softball,” Bodamer said about the program. “Now most of our team is playing year-round or has something going on. We have two seniors this year, Elli is our only junior, there’s a lot to get excited about. This is going to sting for a while, but once we get over that we’ll get back to work.”

The win puts Forestville in the sectional final for the first time since 2013 and the Hornets will look for their first title since 2012 when they defeated North Collins 3-2.

“It’s been a goal of ours for many years,” Hazelton said about the sectional final. “We talk about it at the beginning for the season, so for us to finally get there is nice.”

The Hornets (12-3) take on No. 1 Ellicottville (12-3), the defending champion, after the Eagles posted a dominant 7-1 victory over No. 4 Franklinville. The final will be played at Olean Middle School on Friday at 7:30 p.m.