Minisink Valley softball reaches state semifinals behind eighth-graders

Minisink Valley’s run to the Class AA state semifinals was built on players who should still have been years away from varsity pressure. Eighth-graders Juliet Lynch, Charli Ringus and Brooke Dragone were central to the Warriors’ rise, giving Orange County a team that reached Binghamton with youth carrying real weight.

Lynch delivered the biggest punch in the quarterfinal round, opening the scoring with a two-run double and later adding an RBI single in a 4-2 win over Eastchester at Monroe-Woodbury High School. Emily Smith, the junior ace, worked seven innings and struck out eight as Minisink Valley beat an Eastchester club that entered at 18-3 and riding a seven-game winning streak of its own.

That result sent the Warriors into the NYSPHSAA Class AA semifinals at Greenlight Networks Grand Slam Park in Binghamton, where the state championships were held June 12-13. Minisink Valley entered the semifinal round at 19-4 and faced Nassau County champion Calhoun, one of the teams that had climbed through a 24-team championship weekend field.

The bracket underscored just how high Minisink Valley had risen. Calhoun reached the semifinal after beating East Islip 7-1 in the regional round, while Orchard Park and Fayetteville-Manlius battled on the other side of the bracket. Minisink Valley ultimately fell to Calhoun 14-2 on June 12, but the loss did little to shrink what the Warriors had already proven about the program’s direction.

The roster reflected that mix of present and future. MaxPreps listed eighth-graders Lynch, Ringus and Dragone alongside senior leaders Hannah Connoly, Tyler Hannigan, Hannah Ringus and Keira Filip, with Smith anchoring the circle as a junior. Ringus handled more than one role, playing first base and pitching, while Dragone emerged as a bat worth watching, hitting .328 with six doubles, a triple and 17 RBI.

First-year coach Shana O’Gara said the team’s success was built on trust, chemistry and confidence, and the results backed that up. The eighth-grade trio eased pressure on Smith during the season, giving Minisink Valley the depth needed to survive late-June baseball weather, tight tournament innings and the kind of competition that usually ends a season much earlier.