Burnt Hills softball's four-run sixth inning propels Spartans to Class A semis

BURNT HILLS, N.Y. (NEWS10) — While they may not see each other much in the regular season, the Burnt Hills-Ballston Lake and Queensbury softball teams are becoming quite familiar with one another through postseason play.

For a second consecutive season the two Spartans squads clashed in the Sec. II, Class A tournament. Burnt Hills knocked off then-top-seeded Queensbury last year to advance to the championship game. Queensbury, as a six-seed this season, had to make the trip to third-seeded Burnt Hills Thursday. Burnt Hills once again emerged victorious, using a four-run sixth inning to earn a 6-3 win, advancing to Wednesday's semi-final round.

With the score tied at two heading into the top of the sixth inning, Queensbury managed to pull ahead with an RBI single up the middle from first baseman Caleigh Johnson. But Burnt Hills was ready to respond in the bottom half of the frame. Lilly Morse plated the equalizer with a bases loaded sacrifice fly to left field that scored McKenna Hickey.

Two batters later, third baseman Cianna Benemati drove across the go-ahead run with a pop-up that dunked into shallow right-center field for a single. And Burnt Hills was not content with just the one-run edge. After an intentional walk was issued to Danielle DeBonis, the bases were loaded for shortstop Addisyn Knapik, who promptly brought two Spartans around with a screaming double to left field that rolled to the fence.

That provided Burnt Hills with a comfortable, three-run cushion heading into the seventh inning, where Katie Rhodes recorded the final out, gloving a soft liner back to the mound to put the finishing touches on her complete-game effort.

Burnt Hills (11-6, 9-4) now awaits the two-seed, Troy, in Wednesday's semis. That game will be held at Luther Forest Athletic Fields in Malta. First pitch is scheduled for 5 p.m. Queensbury's season comes to an end. The Spartans finish with a 7-9 overall record.