OBSERVER photo by Christian Storms Falconer celebrates after recording the final out to defeat Barker 12-7 in the Section VI Class C softball championship on Friday at Olean Middle School.

OLEAN — Falconer’s previous trip to the Section VI Class C playoffs ended against Barker in the semifinals 1-0.

This time the 5-seeded Golden Falcons faced the 2-seeded Bulldogs in the championship game and were up against the same pitcher that eliminated them a year ago.

However, this time Falconer was ready for her.

The Golden Falcons scored the first seven runs of the game and never looked back as they secured a 12-7 victory at Olean Middle School to win their first championship since 2022.

“I’m fresh to this group,” Falconer head coach Emily Hair stated. “They were like this when I got here. They’re all juniors and seniors. Credit goes to previous coaches, parents and credit goes to the girls for all the work they have put in behind the scenes. I get lucky enough to make the lineup and put my name on things, but truly it is all them.”

The game began with a bang as Falconer senior Nylah Sharpe smacked a double and fellow senior Emily Rhinehart knocked her home for the lead in the next at-bat. Hannah Melquist hit the second double of the inning to score Rhinehart and Rachael Swanson made the score 4-0 with a single that drove home Melquist and Emily Zaranek.

“They’re hungry,” Hair said about her team. “We hit every day, it’s been a ‘yes’ mentality and we’ve been trying to drill that into their brains, the yes mentality up to bat. It’s just knowing they can, every single one of them is a hitter and knowing when you go up to the plate you’re looking for that first pitch strike to hit. They’ve grown on that throughout the playoffs and they’re definitely peaking right now as far as their bats go.”

The offensive barrage was shared throughout the lineup with seven of the nine batters recording a hit and eight reaching the basepaths. The onslaught was led by Melquist hitting 2 for 3 with two doubles and 4 RBIs, Mylie Zaranek hit 4 for 5 with two doubles and an RBI, Rhinehart finished 3 for 5 with two doubles and 3 RBIs, Sharpe hit a double and Swanson drove in two runs.

Barker scored its first run in the bottom of the second inning, but any momentum was short lived as Falconer tacked on another four runs in the top of the third and it looked like the game could end with a mercy rule.

However, the Bulldogs made a key adjustment to put senior Peyton Bradley into the circle and the change of pace slowed the Falconer bats. The move certainly stymied several of the Falconer bats, but the damage was already done with Rhinehart calm in the circle and holding an 11-1 lead.

“You could tell after the first inning that she was definitely focused and locked in,” Hair said about Rhinehart. “With every hit they had and they kept fighting, they wouldn’t go away. Every hit they had, especially the big ones, she took it personally and you could tell because the next batter she would come back even harder. She is really at a point right now where she is so focused and wants it so badly.”

Barker made a statement with its smallest player that the Bulldogs were not going to give up as senior shortstop Kaylee Stoll hit a towering two-run home run over the left field fence. Although, the big hit only cut the Falconer lead to 11-3 and the Bulldogs were running out of innings to come back.

The Bulldogs received a one-out solo home run by Madelina Pavlock in the bottom of the fifth and later put runners on second and third, hoping to really cut into the Falconer lead.

Instead, Rhinehart snuffed that out with a pair of strikeouts to prevent any further damage.

“We’ve been talking about momentum, especially in the playoffs,” Hair added. “We talked about how important it is to have on your side and to take it away from the other team. They (Barker) were definitely gaining momentum there, but we squashed it and she (Rhinehart) definitely takes it seriously. I can’t say enough about her, she is a leader, she commands the infield and commands her position.”

Barker added another two runs in the bottom of the seventh, but the mountain was too high to climb and Falconer captured its 12th sectional title in program history. The Golden Falcons advance to the New York State Public High School Athletic Association Class C subregional on Wednesday against the Section V champion.

“That’s their advantage,” Hair said about her team of veteran leaders. “Before every playoff game we have talked about our advantages as a team, what we have and what we can control. Their advantage is their maturity, their softball IQ, they’ve played more innings than most of the teams we’ve played, we’ve played together longer and you see that in the playoffs when the stakes are so high.”