Softball. Crusaders grab Sec. 9 title with win against Warwick

The Monroe-Woodbury Crusaders traveled to Middletown on May 27 to face the Warwick Wildcats in a battle for the Section 9 AA Softball Crown.

The Crusaders entered the game with a 18-4 record after beating Pine Bush 7-1 in the semi-finals. They also swept their home and away series with the Wildcats this year, beating them 6-2 at Warwick and 20-9 at home.

M-W took an early 4-0 lead in the bottom of the second. A leadoff single by Arianna Exarchakis followed by a single by Madalana Bendix and walk to Benna Quinn loaded the bases for third baseman Caitlin Sheerin, who slashed a drive to right and cleared the basses with an inside the park home run.

The Crusaders stretched their lead in the third when Valerie Pederson singled then scored on Exarchakis’s single.

In the fourth inning the Wildcats got a rally going and scored three runs on five hits, pulling the score to 5-3 for the Crusaders going into the bottom of the inning. The Crusaders answered right back as Sheerin singled and scored on a double by Eryan Coyle to keep the lead at three. In the 5th the Crusaders moved Pederson to the mound and moving Exarchakis over to first.

The Wildcats kept clawing away and scored another run on three more hits in the fifth. The Wildcats battled to the end until Pederson struck out the last Wildcat batter with two runners on base for a 6-4 victory.

The Crusaders will next travel to Union Endicott High School to face Corning-Painted Post, the Section 4 Champions.