BINGHAMTON – Greene rode its pitching and defense to its first Section IV softball championship game in program history.

Tioga dismantled the tenets of the Trojans’ postseason success story with its first batter.

Scoring three runs in the first inning on just basehit, the Tigers led from start to finish to claim the Section IV, Class C title Saturday at the BAGSAI complex defeating the Trojans, 7-3.

Tioga lead-off hitter Ariel Hutchinson laid down a running bunt in the first inning that resulted in a throwing error – the first Greene error in three games. A bunt basehit by Kara McDuffee, and a walk to Kara Walkley loaded the bases at the start.

Greene pitcher Rebecca Hanrahan retired the next batter, but a fielding error on Aubrey Worthing’s grounder scored two runs – two more than the Trojans gave up in its previous game, a 1-0 shutout of Elmira Notre Dame.

“The first inning definitely set the tone,” said Greene coach Rick Smith. “I said to my wife before the game that if we got through the first two innings, we’d be fine. We gave up those three runs early and we battled back, but it’s all about the pitching and defense at this point.”

Tioga did what no previous team had done before against Greene (18-5) and freshman pitcher Rebecca Hanrahan: Put the ball in play.