Gowanda’s Carter Capozzi, with a late assist from teammate Kyan Austin, made sure the Golden Falcons didn’t climb out of it.

Capozzi scattered six hits and struck out six for his 21st career win, and Austin made a highlight-reel catch in center field to end the game that helped the Panthers, the No. 1 seed, post a 6-2 victory.

Gowanda now moves into the sub-regional at 4 p.m. Tuesday at Hamburg High School against the Section V champs.

Another extended postseason is nothing new for head coach Tim Smith. In raising their record to 20-3, the Panthers have won seven sectional titles in the last 21 seasons, including four of the last six.

OBSERVER Photo by Scott Kindberg Gowanda’s Carter Capozzi delivers to the plate during the Section VI Class C championship baseball game at Veterans Memorial Park in Salamanca on Saturday.

“The kids buy in every year,” Smith said. “They’re have been very, very few years where you have kids not buying in. I don’t know if it’s because I’m 6-foot-5, 250 pounds and they get intimidated by that, but the kids buy into it. That’s what we need. When they buy in, this is the result.”

Patience at the plate certainly paid dividends as well against the second-seeded Golden Falcons (14-5).

After Austin, the leadoff hitter, flew out in the top of the first inning, the next six Gowanda batters reached base — three via walk, another via hit by pitch and two on infield RBI singles from Nick Smuda and Jayden Fish. Armed with a 5-0 lead, Capozzi allowed only one runner to reach second base through the first four innings.

“Carter’s been one of our big arms since he was a freshman,” Smith said. “I think that’s win 21 for him in his career, which is pretty impressive, especially with some of the other guys, whether it was John Ondus or Blake Herman or somebody else. Those are the guys who got a lot of wins as well. To end up with that many, which I think ties the school record, is pretty impressive.”

Falconer finally got on the board in the fifth when Isaiah Washington drew a one-out walk, Erik Stenstrom reached on a two-out free pass and then Logan Johnson and Connor Brentley followed with an RBI single and a run-scoring double respectively to close the deficit to 5-2.

OBSERVER Photo by Scott Kindberg The Gowanda baseball team poses for a photo after winning the Section VI Class C championship at Veterans Memorial Park in Salamanca on Saturday.

Gowanda tacked on an insurance run in the sixth, courtesy of a bases-loaded walk, one of 10 issued by Golden Falcons’ pitchers.

“(Gowanda) played great,” Falconer head coach Fred Carder said. “Nothing you can take away from them. We opened the door in the first inning … but there was a lot of baseball left. The boys didn’t give up, their spirits stayed high and we just couldn’t put it together. (Capozzi) threw a great game.”

The Golden Falcons appeared to have life, though, in the top of the seventh when Johnson drew a two-out walk, which brought Brentley to the plate. The sophomore first baseman promptly drilled a line drive that Austin appeared to have a bead on, but he stumbled and fell to the ground. One run figured to score as the ball seemed destined to roll to the fence.

And then it didn’t.

Miraculously, Austin reached up from a seated position and made the catch to put an exclamation point on yet another Gowanda sectional championship.

“I saw it perfectly off the bat,” Austin said. “I just kind of slipped and was like, ‘I have to stick with it. It’s the final out and it’s a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.’ I just stuck with it and caught the ball.”

Noted Smith: “This is (Austin’s) third sectional championship he’s played in. Nerves aren’t a thing. He kept his composure and made the play. He’s a lockdown center fielder and that just shows it right there.”

What the win also showed was that the Panthers continue to be the standard in Section VI Class C. The roster may change from year to year, but the results never seem to.

“I want these guys to be able to bask in the glow,” Smith said.

On a sunny, but cool, Saturday in late May, they did just that.

NOTES: Johnson collected two of Falconer’s six hits. … Gowanda had only five hits, but the free passes made a huge difference. Capozzi, in fact, walked all four times he came to the plate.