Malone girls advance in regionals

POTSDAM -- Beth Wiggins scored the go-ahead run in the top of the eighth and Malone hung on to beat New Hartford, 5-4, in Class A softball regional play Monday at Potsdam State.

Ashley Marshall struck out nine and scattered eight hits to earn the win, and Haley Poupore and Abby Premo each had two hits and an RBI.

"I was really pleased," Malone coach Michele Wiggins said. "This is a big win for us."

The Huskies (17-3) will play Beekmantown or South Glens Falls on Wednesday in the regional final.

New Hartford tied Monday's game in the bottom of the seventh on Amanda McCormick's RBI double.

In the eighth, Wiggins advanced to third on Poupore's double to right field and scored on a throwing error for a 4-3 lead. Premo drove in an insurance run.

Malone ended up needing that fifth run after Tessa Trainor's triple brought in a run in the bottom of the inning. With two outs and a runner on third, Marshall struck out Stephanie Romanow to end the game.

Wiggins finished with a triple, a single and two runs scored.

New Hartford's Haley Butler fanned nine and walked three while giving up eight hits.

New Hartford (24-4), from Section III, took a 2-0 lead in the first inning and held it until the sixth.

Then Poupore singled in a run, and Wiggins and Poupore both reached home on a throwing error to give the Huskies a 3-2 lead.

"The kids did a great job persevering," Michele Wiggins said. "We gave up two in the first inning. We had a little slump earlier in the year, when we would lose games in the first inning. So this was big for us. We hung in there and had some clutch hits."

Malone 5, New Hartford 4

Malone 000 003 02 -- 5 8 1

New Hartford 200 000 11 -- 4 8 2

A. Marshall and Poupore. Butler, Romanow (6) and Alsheimer. WP- A. Marshall. LP- Butler. 2B- Poupore (M), McCormick (NH). 3B- Wiggins (M), Trainor (NH).

Section VII rained out

Beekmantown and Ticonderoga will both play their regional semifinal games today after they were postponed on Monday.

Beekmantown will face South Glens Falls at 4 p.m. in a Class A game at Morse Field in South Glens Falls. In Class C, Ticonderoga will meet Madrid-Waddington at 4 p.m. at the Plattsburgh State Softball Complex.

The regional finals are still scheduled for Wednesday.