Goshen softball routs Minisink Valley 16-1 in Section 9 rematch

Goshen turned a familiar Section 9 rivalry into a one-sided warning signal, overwhelming Minisink Valley 16-1 on Wednesday in a rematch of last year’s Class AA championship game. The Gladiators did the heavy damage in a 10-run fourth inning, the kind of burst that can change how the rest of Section 9 views the postseason race.

Sophia Springer led the charge with a 3-for-3 day and six RBIs, giving Goshen the kind of middle-order production that travels well into playoff baseball. Baily Gomulka added two hits and two RBIs, Marley Northup drove in two more runs, and Goshen kept stacking pressure on a Minisink Valley team that entered the matchup carrying its own championship history. Addison Freiberger handled the circle for five innings, allowing one run and five hits while earning the win.

The score carried extra weight because these programs met in last year’s title game at Mount Saint Mary College in Newburgh, where Goshen beat Minisink Valley 4-2 to claim its first Section 9 championship since the program’s Class A titles in 2008, 2015 and 2017. That 2025 win already marked Goshen as a program capable of seizing the biggest stage as the No. 2 seed over the top-seeded Warriors. Wednesday’s result suggested that the edge did not disappear with the calendar.

That matters in Orange County, where Section 9 softball often turns on a small group of teams with enough pitching, veteran hitters and postseason nerve to survive the bracket. Goshen’s only two losses before Wednesday had come by one run, to Newburgh and Valley Central, a sign that the Gladiators have stayed competitive even when games tightened late. The fact that this rematch ended with a seven-run mercy-rule type margin, rather than another tense finish, says as much about Goshen’s ceiling as its record.

Coach Mike Kelly had already pointed to the 2025 title run as the season’s defining moment, saying, “Obviously, our victory over Minisink Valley in the Section 9 Finals was the most impressive game this season.” After Wednesday’s blowout, that rivalry looks even more lopsided at the moments that matter most, and Goshen has given the rest of Section 9 a clear reminder that its championship standard is no longer a one-year story.