Walk-off hit lifts Edison to win over Notre Dame in Section 4 Class C softball final

Thomas A. Edison's first meeting with Elmira Notre Dame this season was an admittedly poor performance in a 9-1 loss. Their next faceoff resulted in another Notre Dame win, this time by 5-3.

Cut to round three Saturday at the Holding Point Recreation Complex in Horseheads. With the Section 4 Class C softball championship on the line, top-seeded Edison rode Gabby Milazzo's one-hitter and Emily Aiello's walk-off hit with one out in the bottom of the seventh to a 2-1 victory.

"The second time we played we started climbing back and showed we could compete with Notre Dame," Spartans coach Liz Warren said.

"This was the most competitive game we've played all season. After our win against Greene on Thursday, we knew this would be another tough matchup, but we also showed ourselves we were ready. Seeing Notre Dame twice previously in the season made us a little bit more hungry and I'm glad we ended up on top."

What It Means

Edison earned the seventh Section 4 title in program history. This was the Spartans' third under Warren, coach since 2018. Edison also took the Class C crown in her first season and 2019, the latter title leading to TAE's third state championship.

No. 2 seed Notre Dame, which hadn't lost to an Interscholastic Athletic Conference opponent since 2019, finished with a 16-5 record and lost in the sectional final for the third year in a row. The Crusaders' season included a third straight IAC tournament championship.

"I feel like we came into this game being the team that wanted it more and we knew what we needed to do to win and we executed it well," Aiello said.

Said Milazzo: "It feels really good to finally beat them. I think it's very close every game and this one was too, but we came out on top in the end."

Star of the Game

Milazzo struck out six, walked three and the only run she allowed came on a sixth-inning error that left the teams even 1-1. Were it not for a base-running mistake on the same play, Notre Dame would have led 2-1.

Milazzo, who was coming off a five-hitter in Thursday's 1-0 win over 2022 Class C state runner-up Greene, has unique perspective on the rivalry with END. Her older sister, Izzy, was a first-team all-state pitcher for Notre Dame during the Crusaders' run to the 2016 Class C state championship. ("Kind of weird," Gabby said of the situation).

Milazzo said she was hitting her spots well Saturday and working the ball up and down the strike zone, with the previous two meetings against the Crusaders giving her an idea where to pitch some batters. Aiello, her catcher, pointed to a high screwball and low curveball as two effective pitches.

"Gabby was amazing," said Warren, a former pitching standout at Edison. "She always puts up a good fight, but to just see her grind that extra little bit. It's dead heat out here, not much wind and she went all seven as hard as she could. Super proud of her, super proud of our team."

Play of the Game

Kailey Ripley led off the bottom of the seventh with a walk and pinch-runner Charlee Stroman took second on a bunt by Maddison Pack.

Up stepped Aiello, who laced an opposite-field shot near the line in right field to easily score Stroman with the sectional-winning run. Aiello raced toward third after Stroman crossed home plate and Edison's collective celebration was slightly delayed as everyone took in what happened.

Aiello said the hit was a reminder all the work she put in over the winter had paid off.

"I like to envision myself hitting the ball when I go up to the plate and I did that and went in with a clear mind," she said. "Once I knew I hit it I knew to hustle down the base. Once we got that run, I was too excited to think anything."

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More standout performances

• Olivia Switzer closed a brilliant pitching career at Notre Dame by limiting Edison to one earned run on four hits in a route-going effort. She escaped a bases-loaded jam in the third with a strikeout and pop-up to foul territory, then watched as Milazzo used the same path to strand runners at second and third in the fourth after Switzer hit a double.

• Edison's Brianna Korsky went 2-for-3, including an RBI single that scored Carissa Cowan with the game's first run in the fifth inning. Cowan reached second on an error with two outs.

By the numbers

Notre Dame senior catcher Lawson Bigelow, who set a school record this season with 13 home runs, was intentionally walked all three times she stepped to the plate.

"All credit to Lawson. She’s an incredible hitter and we knew that she timed Gabby up pretty well," Warren said. "We didn’t want to take any chances and we felt confident with the decision to put her on and work our outs a different way. She’s a phenomenal hitter and we didn’t want to see the bat in her hand today."

Up Next

Edison (16-3) is scheduled to host the to-be-determined Section 3 champion at 4 p.m. June 2 at Union-Endicott High School in a regional final/state quarterfinal. The winner moves on to the Moriches Athletic Complex on Long Island for the state final four June 9-10.

Cooperstown and Port Byron play for the Section 3 title May 31.

"Very excited. I think it's going to be a very good experience and very fun to play," Milazzo said.

Follow Andrew Legare on Twitter: @SGAndrewLegare. You can also reach him at alegare@gannett.com. To get unlimited access to the latest news, please subscribe or activate your digital account today

This article originally appeared on Elmira Star-Gazette: Notre Dame topped Edison for Section 4 Class C softball championship