LANCASTER AND ORCHARD PARK WIN SOFTBALL STATE CHAMPIONSHIPS
Two softball programs representing Section VI each earned medals, t-shirts, and a trophy this weekend as New York State Public High School Athletic Association Champions. The Lancaster Legends and Orchard Park Quakers won the Class AAA and Class AA State Championships respectively, returning from Binghamton, NY on top of the high school softball mountain.
Lancaster’s team of all underclassmen wins Class AAA State Championship
In their first appearance in the State Championship game in program history, the Lancaster Legends defeated Massapequa, 4-2, on Saturday to claim the Class AAA State Title. Without a single senior on the roster, the Legends finished the season with a 17-5 overall record.
Here’s my conversation with Head Coach Rich Winiatowski:
Jack Kreuzer: First things first: State Champions. How does it feel?
Rich Winiatowski: Amazing. It's always such a good experience. Obviously, because we won the whole thing, but just to travel with the girls and have everybody together, and the whole hotel experience and going out to dinner, and the support from the community was great. The Lancaster Police Department ponied up some money and paid for our dinner one of the two evenings. The support and the messages people have been great. [I’m] so, so happy for the girls. And like I said, it's an experience I'll definitely remember for the rest of my life, and I'm sure my girls will too.
JK: Going back to last year, you graduated six [seniors]. Coming in this year with an entire group of underclassmen, what were the expectations, and how big was the learning curve over the course of the season?
RW: Well, first of all, yeah, that's pretty amazing when you sit back and look at it. Fortunately, the girls we did have returning that are all juniors this year, a lot of them have been on varsity since eighth grade. So expectations really don't change, faces do. The experience they've had being on varsity for the past few years, and not all of them were starters, obviously, they played a bigger role as the years progressed. But they had an opportunity to kind of go through it. And we were young, grade wise, but experience wise, we had girls that have been in big situations before.
As far as expectations, that didn't really change. The variable was kind of shuffling the deck and having to figure out a batting order and who's going to play where, because a lot of these girls might play out a position or a different position than what they play in summer ball or travel ball. It's almost like the pieces were there, we just had to kind of figure out how they would all fit together. I knew the talent level was there.
Sometimes, being youthful in experiences, you don’t know what you don't know. And you don't really feel the pressure as much as if I had a team full of seniors going into this, because there's some finality to it, if you lose as a senior. As a junior, you can always say, ‘Well, maybe we get one more kick at the can.’ I think the experience definitely helped us. And what a lot of those girls learned since being on varsity since eighth or ninth grade really showed. I’m super happy. It was more about fitting everything together than worrying about experience or talent.
JK: Your team lost the season opener against Orchard Park. Did you know that the Quakers were state championship caliber as well?
RW: Yeah, 100%. I tell people this all the time, and I don't think people really understand. Maybe just because we're all from Western New York, but our division, top to bottom… When we got there in Binghamton yesterday, you're looking at four teams from Section VI in a State Semifinal. I think we probably had, if not, the best representation from a Section in the Finals.
Our division is so good, I mean, Clarence has won State Championships, OP is always very difficult… The quality of softball we see on a weekly basis here helps prepare all of us for possibly winning a State Championship… It's always a gauntlet to get through our season. If you look how our year went, we split with OP, we split with [Williamsville] North, we split with Clarence, we split with Frontier… It's just, on any given day, any one of those teams are capable of doing what we did.
JK: When did the expectation become to win a State Championship?
RW: If you look at our record, we had five losses, and a lot of those losses came early in the year… As the year progressed, defensively, my pitching staff has been great all year, so I had a ton of confidence. We didn't give up a ton of runs. But at times, earlier in the season, our bats were very inconsistent. When we dropped the game to Clarence, 2-0, [we] couldn't buy a hit. And then from that game on, our bats started waking up. If you look at the runs we put up through the postseason, we just started hitting the ball. That, to me, was really the key. I knew we'd be fine. We wouldn't give up a lot. But my biggest concern going into it, where the switch kind of flipped, was after that Clarence game. [We] really focused a lot on offense, and our bats came alive.
JK: I'd say so, 14 hits in the Championship Game, everyone knocked at least one [hit] in that game. Six batters hit over .400 on the season. How was this team so consistent offensively?
RW: I think it's just a matter of getting some time and investing in the craft. We've had good swings all year. [Softball] is a funny game; Sometimes you can hit the ball real well and have nothing to show for. Other times, you get away with a couple of ‘cheapies’, but, just stay the course and just tell the girls, “mentally, don't hang your head. It's called an average for a reason. You could go 4-4 one day and 0-4 the next.” So I think they did a great job keeping their heads in it. My job was just to keep them from hanging their heads. Like I said, ‘it'll come. We're too talented not to see the results of our labor.’ Like I said, hitting is a funny thing.
Fortunately, like last year, we seemed to be peaking at the right time. Use the season to kind of figure it out. I mean, us being in AAA and only three schools in our division, we knew we were already into a Sectional Semifinal. So that's an advantage we had over other schools in AA. We didn't have to rip through five or six teams to get [to the Sectional Semifinal]. So that was a nice advantage. But, I told my girls, “just stay the course, keep putting good swings on the ball. Keep coming to work every day, keep coming to practice and things will work out.”
JK: Specifically Brennah DeWald, [she] hit over .500 this season; What makes her such a special talent?
RW: Brennah, I mean, she's gifted. First of all, she's got a lot of things that are just God given and natural talent. She's a hard worker, and she plays with a travel team out of Virginia, so she gets to experience some high level softball during the summer. She's invested a lot of time into the sport, as has her parents, and she's a junior, but she's kind of like, experience wise, she's years above. Just the amount of softball she sees and the quality of softball she sees really helps her during the season,
JK: I saw the regional against Rome Free Academy, and Alyssa Brunner looked so confident in the circle, so in control. Along the same lines, as just a junior [she] seemed like a senior. I was shocked to see she was only in 11th grade. What gives her that ability?
RW: Alyssa is like a bulldog. She's one of those girls that, if she's not on your team, you really don't like her, but if she's on your team, you know she'll go to war for you. She's the kind of kid who just loves a challenge, and she wants the ball in her hand. No stage is too big for and she's got a ton of confidence in herself and in her teammates.
If you watch her, she's a pretty emotional kid. She kind of, sometimes, wears her heart on her sleeve, and when she was younger, that was almost kind of a detriment to her game, because she [would] be a little too emotional. When things weren’t going her way, she kind of got down, but she just matured a lot over the years, as far as reining it in and being able to still have that fire, but keep her focus. She's got a ton of confidence in herself.
She's tenacious. If you're a hockey fan, if you watch any of the hockey playoffs, she's kind of like a Brad Marchand kind of girl: if you're playing against her, you're really not a fan. And if she's on your team, you love her. So just great to have her, and emotionally, she's a leader for our team. The girls see her fire, and that kind of rubs off.
JK: Coach, how long do you take to enjoy this and sit in it before you look to next year and go, “Wait a second, everyone's coming back.. Can we run it back?”
RW: Yeah, that's the funny thing. I've already started getting messages asking me, “you guys should be back there next year.” But you never want to get too far ahead of yourself. We'll definitely enjoy this. It's been a busy last couple weeks, so it'll be nice to kind of decompress and then have time to look back at it.
We had our banquet, actually, before our season was over, so I'm hoping we can get together one more time as a team, just to celebrate it before we go our separate ways. But we'll start looking at that in September, and refocus and see what we need to improve upon if we want to get back.
It's always a challenge. When we got to Binghamton this year, I kind of think people, I don't want to say ‘overlooked us,’ but a lot of the teams that were there had been there before, and people were asking me, “oh, who's Lancaster? Where are you guys from?” stuff like that. I don't want to say we snuck up on people, but you looked at our record going in, and you can say 17-5, not going to blow you away like a team that’s coming in at like 20-2. So we'll definitely get people's attention next year if we're fortunate enough to get back.
It's always tough to repeat in anything, especially something like that. But we'll do what we can, and like I said, the cupboard is pretty full going into next year. As long as we keep our heads in the right place and stay the course, we should be in good shape.
Orchard Park feasts on ‘turkey dinner’ as Class AA State Championship
The Orchard Park Quakers won their softball program’s second Class AA State Championship over the weekend, ten years after their previous Championship. The Quakers’ mental focus, physical toughness, and relentless belief led them to the State Title, defeating Horseheads, 3-1, in the Championship Game on Saturday.
Here’s my interview with Head Coach Brittany Schermerhorn:
Jack Kreuzer: What made this 2025 Orchard Park softball team so special?
Brittany Schermerhorn: From day one, we noticed the drive and the will.
The past couple seasons, we've had some tough losses to end our season. So my seniors that I've had on the team for a few years now, it's always been their goal to make it to the State Championships, and they kind of just set the tone, day one tryouts, and we never looked back.
We just took it one game at a time, and our big thing was coming together as a family and supporting each other each day. We had a couple injuries and things we had to work through, and different people stepped up at different times throughout the season and just all fell together.
JK: You start the year with eight straight wins, including one over Lancaster, and we all know how their season ended. What was the mood like at the start of the year that led to such a hot beginning?
BS: We just, we wanted it like that. We just wanted it. The girls were holding each other accountable. We came up with accountability partners in the beginning of the season, and we did journals to kind of journal things we’re doing well, what we wanted to work on. The girls just bought in and they made sure that everyone was in it for the right reasons. We just kept working hard.
JK: These ‘accountability partners.’ I've never heard of anything like that. Where did that come from?
BS: I think we were just talking one day in practice about, making sure that as the season goes on, we don't get lazy or just start going through the motions and things like that. So we came up with idea that we were going to have ‘accountability partners,’ and I just matched different girls up that, you know, I knew weren't best friends, but could send a text here or there, “hey, you got this,” “don't forget this at practice tomorrow,” or “I like what you did here,” and it was just someone that you could always go to. Or if you notice that your accountability partner was down or made an error, you know there was that one person on that team that was going to be able to pick you up.
JK: Had you ever done anything like that before?
BS: I have not. That was my first year doing that.
JK: Do you think you'll stick with it next season?
BS: I think so. Every team is different. You’ve got to feel it out the first week in tryouts. My biggest philosophy is team chemistry. I truly feel that if you don't have team chemistry then you won't be successful. I think that team chemistry allows you to be comfortable and have fun on a team. When you can do that, you will play your best because the pressures are off of you.
JK: Did you see Lancaster winning a state championship when you played them so early on?
BS: We knew it was a big game and we had some emotions because of the way we lost to them in the Sectional Final last year. But the girls just took it one game at a time. Last year we went undefeated in league play, and then we ended up losing in the playoffs. So we knew that each game was just a game to help us get better and work on the things that we needed to work on.
JK: When you mentioned those journals and the things that the team would bring together as the positives and the negatives of how they're playing, was there a common thread between all of them throughout the season, of what the team needed to improve on and what was working really well for them?
BS: The thing that I took out of that and this team is, anytime I would ask them for any comments or anything that you have to say about this game or practice or whatever, the girls would always focus on somebody else, not themselves. And I think that's what was huge.
Right before playoffs, I had them write down, I said, “Write down a few things you're proud of about yourself and a few things you're proud of about the team.” The next day in practice, the practice before our first playoff game, they came and some of the girls wrote front and back of a piece of paper of the things. We shared some of them with each other. There were tears, there were smiles, there were laughs. And I had asked them, “was this hard for you guys to do?” And they said, it was a lot harder to write the things that we're proud of about yourself than it was the team in general. So I thought that was just like, “wow, that was amazing.” They really are in it for each other and not that, not themselves, before we go through the playoff run.
JK: What was it about those Frontier Falcons, taking two games against you in the regular season? What did it take to get the one that mattered most in the Sectional Playoffs?
BS: You know, Frontier is a great team. We've had a lot of close games with them in the past couple of years, so there's a lot of emotions. One of the games was our senior game as well. We just unfortunately had a couple errors that cost us the game. But again, we didn't let that affect us moving forward. [It was] something to learn from, and kind of use more as fuel. We knew that we were going to see them in the playoffs. We wanted to see them in playoffs, so we just kind of stayed within ourselves
Nothing else mattered the rest of the year, except for that game that was in front of us. We tried to forget about the other two games that we [played prior], and just focus on what we were doing well at that time and come out strong.
JK: So your defense really turned it on in the playoffs. I was really impressed watching you guys against Webster Thomas, even after going down 2-0 early in that game. You knew your offense was going to come through at some point, but was there ever a moment where you're thinking that things are getting shaky?
BS: Thinking back to the Webster Thomas game, when we got down 2-0, I stopped and looked around at the girls, and I was just like, “wow, it really doesn't look like anyone's got that look of fear in their eyes right now.” And I remember Lainey Babich saying something like, “I had no doubt we were going to come back. We got this.” They were just so confident in each other, and they didn't get down. They just knew that, at some point, someone was going to do something to get a spark on us.
What's funny about our defense, especially our infield, we had an entirely new infield this season. Some of the same players, but everyone was playing a different spot except for our pitcher. So that was kind of a gamble for us. But just the willingness as coaches… We were never questioned once about moving people to a different spot in the infield.I think the girls knew that we were doing this because it was best for the team, and they were open and willing and learned new positions. I mean, even before the season even started, the girls told me that they practiced other infield positions, because they just had a feeling that, with certain people coming up and what we had last year, they just expected a few changes.
JK: You mentioned Lainey Babich as a leader vocally during the regional against Webster Thomas, but statistically, she hits over .500 on the season. What a talent. I've seen heron the basketball court and she seems like [the type of kid that], every sport she picks up, she's one of the best. What's she like as a person, as a player? What are her most impressive attributes?
BS: I will say without a doubt, yes, she's talented, but it's not what makes her stand apart from others. It's definitely her character and her willingness to help other girls on the team.
There were a few games this year that we got up by a lot, and as coaches, we were trying to get other people in the game. And it's always like, ‘who do you take out and at what time?’ I think two or three times this year, Lainey actually came up to us and said, “Coach, take me out. Put somebody else in. I'm okay with that, it's fine. Give this person a chance, give them some innings.”
As a coach, to have an athlete that is so humble. I mean, she was one of our best players by far, in the entire league and the entire section. For her to be able to take herself out of the game and understand that this is a team, and not about her, I just love that about her. She is always giving 110%. She's laughing, she's working hard, she's taking care of her body and doing the right things to make sure that she's healthy and ready to go.
JK: Moving back to the defense, Ava Farina goes sun-1.00 ERA in the State Semifinal and Championship. How was she able to dominate in the biggest moments this past week?
BS: In the Webster Thomas game, [she suffered] a fracture or broken finger on her pitching hand. She dove into third base and jammed or did something to her finger, and she had to come out of the game against Webster Thomas. We had five days before leaving for States, and we didn't know if she was going to be ready to go. She didn't practice at all that week before leaving for States.
She went and got looked at, and they told her some exercises to do with her finger, ice, they wrapped it a little bit. You didn't see her without an ice pack or whatever she had to do to get her finger better. We honestly did not know who was pitching that [Semifinal] game until about half an hour before the State Semifinal game began. She was determined.
She was one of the girls I've had since eighth grade, and it has been her goal since then, to take this team to a State Championship, and she was going to do whatever it took to get there. She did all the right things that her doctors told her to and she pitched right when we got to the field, was feeling pretty good. Her catcher supported her, said she's looking great, and if she told me she was good, she was going to get the ball because she's been one of our leaders. She's a captain on this team, and I know how much she wanted it, and we, either way, were going to support her in her decision to pitch or not.
Reese Politowski had done a phenomenal job for us this year. The two of them really played well, supported each other. Reese got more pitching time this year, and I think the team had confidence in whoever was going to be able to throw. But for Ava, to take care of herself and be so determined to play in that game… and then she walked the first batter in the State Semifinal game. We were like, “Oh no.” But then I think that was the best game she pitched the entire season, to be honest. I think her energy and drive and fight to get where we were today… She wasn't going to let anything stop her.
JK: Yeah, she walks the first batter she faces and then doesn't walk another one the rest of the game.. This is more a question on your coaching style, but it's such a unique situation, right? Coaching at Orchard Park, where you've got daughters of coaches of a professional football team that are constantly in the spotlight. What's that like for you, coaching [Maddie] McDermott and [Lainey] Babich, and having [their Dads] at your games?
BS: Honestly, I treat everyone on the team the same. I don't really think about that type of thing, but I will say both [Sean] McDermott and [Bobby] Babich have been 100% supportive in whatever decisions that we've made. They've never tried to judge us or tell us what to do. They have just been so overly supportive and kind to us and thankful for what we do with the girls. I really don't even think about it that much. I try to keep that out of my mind because I just try to stay within myself. Every coach coaches differently, and I have my own philosophies, and in the past, they have supported me, and I just was going to kind of keep doing what I feel is best. You know, coaching in the NFL is a lot different than coaching high school girls.
I even remember when Scott Schreiner, my assistant, started coaching with me. He always had coached boys, and we had to have a conversation the first couple weeks and I had to tell him, “this is way different than coaching boys. You gotta talk differently, gotta act differently.” Everything, girls, boys, age level… it's different. And he was kind of shocked when he first started, but he learned, and I don't think [he] would ever want to go back to what he was doing. He loves coaching this team, and we enjoy coaching together.
We're just thankful for parents and other coaches that do support us the way that they do. We're very thankful and blessed for that.
JK: It seems like such a fun family environment with your team, in the dugout, and the parents and family and friends that are at the games… It's just such a great vibe.
BS: My biggest philosophy is “have fun.” As a player who played softball our whole life through travel, we were very, very successful in travel, and our motto was, “have fun.” We just laughed and danced and cheered so loud… We had so much fun in the dugout and I truly believe that's why we were so successful as I was growing up. So I kind of took that with me for my coaching style, because I feel like softball has changed, and there is so much more pressure on girls nowadays, you know, look at big colleges.. If you start thinking about that and losing the reason why you are even playing, which is because you love it and it's fun to play. You just kind of forget, and you don't play to the best of your ability.
I even think, for me, I didn't play my best softball until after college because pressures were off. I tried to tell them that all the time, you know, “we're going to take it one game at a time.” I heard this saying where “it's just another turkey dinner”... It's just like treating each game like a regular turkey dinner, not a Thanksgiving meal. So that was kind of our motto through playoffs. “It's just another game. Just keep doing what we're doing, don't make it bigger than it has to be. It's just another turkey dinner.”
I think that was important, because a lot of times, in the past, we kind of made it a big deal. And [this season] we really tried to focus on the mindset “just keep doing what we're doing, it’s just another softball game that we are thankful we get to play.”
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