Press release:

Notre Dame pulled out the close victory over Holley at home on Wednesday at GCC.  

With the score tied at 8 in the bottom of the sixth, the Lady Irish scored 4 runs to provide a little cushion and ace pitcher Loretta Sorochty entered the game and sat down the side in the the top of the 7th to get the save.  

Sophomore pitcher Amelia Sorochty got the start on the mound and went 3 innings, giving up 1 hit, 2 runs (1 earned) and striking out 5.  Sophomore pitcher Mia Treleaven was credited with the win tonight, also going 3 innings, giving up 4 hits, 6 runs and striking out 9.  Loretta Sorochty pitched the 7th inning, giving 0 hits, 0 runs and striking out 2 batters.

Houseknect went the distance for the Holley Hawks, giving up 9 hits, 12 runs (4 earned) and striking out 1.

Leading the way offensively for the Lady Irish was Sofia Falleti with 2 hits, 2 runs and 1 RBI and Penny Jo Thompson with 2 hits and 2 runs scored.  Mia Treleaven had a hit (double), a run scored and 3 RBIs, Olivia had a hit (double) and 2 RBIs, Gianna Falleti and Clairissa Milliman each had a hit, 2 runs scored and an RBI, and Anna Panepento accounted for the other ND hit and added an RBI.

Walker and Church each had 2 hits for Holley, with Walker getting 2 runs scored and an RBI and Church chipping in with a run scored and RBI.  Foose accounted for the other hit for Holley and scored a run.

Photos by Pete Welker.

Otis Thomas, a member of Notre Dame High School Class of 1997, has been named Head Varsity Football Coach at his alma mater. 

A lifelong resident of Batavia, he attended St. Anthony's parochial school before graduating from Notre Dame, where he excelled in Football, Baseball, Basketball and Track and field. 

Otis won the prestigious Nick Salvador Football MVP award twice. His basketball teams played in three sectional finals, winning in 1995 and 1997 when they won the Western Regional title, which advanced them to the NYSPHSAA Final Four. In Baseball, he was on Sectional winning teams in 1996 and 1997. His excellence as an athlete earned him recognition as ND’s Co-Athlete of the Year in 1997 and also led to his induction into the Notre Dame Athletic Hall of Fame in 2021

Mr. Thomas has held a variety of coaching positions at Notre Dame since 2009. His Football coaching experience includes being the head JV Football coach, a JV Football Assistant, a Varsity Assistant, and most recently, the varsity football defensive coordinator. 

Otis has also been both the Boys' and girls' basketball JV Head Coach and a Varsity assistant for the past 8 seasons while also serving as ND’s varsity softball coach for 6 years, winning a sectional title last year.

When asked to comment on his hiring, Otis said, “ I believe in this school and everything about it. Notre Dame, my coaches, my classmates and their families, along with my own family, have made me into the man I am today. I was coached by two legendary coaches, Mike Rapone and the late Bill Sutherland, both of whom had an impact on me and are a big part of why I got into coaching. I always wanted to be the head football coach of my alma mater and consider myself blessed to have this opportunity. I will work hard from day 1 to maintain the standard and teach the culture built by those who have preceded me. Go IRISH!!

Mr. Thomas is currently employed by Aerosafe Global in Rochester as a manufacturing supervisor. He and his wife Nicole live on Otis Street in Batavia with their three children: Teagyn, Nya, who graduated from Notre Dame in 2021 and Gunnar, who is currently a seventh-grade student at Notre Dame.

Notre Dame scored three in the top of the first and sprinkled runs in the 2nd, 5th, 6th and 7th innings en route to the 8-2 victory in the league matchup over Pembroke.  

Loretta Sorochty pitched another gem for the Lady Irish, going the distance, allowing 3 hits, 2 runs (0 allowed) and striking out 19 batters, which sets a new single-game record for Notre Dame High School.  

Jayden Hootman went the distance for the Pembroke Dragons, giving up 10 hits, 8 runs (3 earned) and striking out 4 batters.

Offensively for the Lady Irish, Sofia Falleti led the way with 3 hits (including a triple) and a run scored, while Mia Treleaven and Gianna Falleti each collected a pair of hits, with Gianna adding an RBI.  Katie Landers led off the scoring in the first inning with a 2-run home run (1 hit, 1 run, 2 RBIs).  Also collecting base hits were Loretta Sorochty (2 runs scored) and Cayleigh Havens (1 run scored, 3 RBIs). 

Offensively for Pembroke, Regan Schneider, Taylor Bischoff and Jayden Hootman each had a base hit.\

"I like how we came out strong offensively tonight, scoring 3 in the first inning, but don't like how our bats quieted down a bit after that," said Coach Otis Thomas. "I'm proud of our ace Loretta for setting a new school record for strikeouts. She was hitting her spots tonight.  We have a tough stretch with 7 games in 6 days, so it is great to get a win to start the week.  We have a really tough matchup tomorrow against Avon, where we are going to need not only our ace pitcher but our bats to step up as well.  We are looking forward to the challenge."

Notre Dame's softball game against Heuvelton (Section X) at the Mudville Softball Complex in Herkimer on Saturday was called after five innings with the Irish leading 21-0.

Pitcher Loretta Sorochty surrendered only three hits over the five innings and fanned 11 hitters.

The Irish had 17 hits, with Mia Treleaven going 4-4, including a double, scoring four runs and knocking in a pair of runs.

Katie Landers had three hits, including a double. She scored four runs and had two RBIs. Emma Sisson, Sofia Falleti, Gianna Falleti and Loretta Sorochty each had a pair of hits. Sisson had a double, two runs scored, and an RBI; S. Falleti had four RBIs; G. Falleti had two runs scored and an RBI; and Sorochty scored two runs and three RBIs.

Notre Dame was scheduled to play Section X's Maddrid-Waddington in the second game of the Mudville Tournament but Maddrid-Waddington forfeited. 

The two victories made Notre Dame the Mudville Tournament Champion for its bracket.

"I'm extremely proud of the effort shown by the ladies this afternoon," said Coach Otis Thomas "It is a great experience to play some schools from outside Section V.  It was a complete team effort today with strong bats, strong pitching and nice plays in the field.  It was unfortunate we couldn't get that second game in and had to accept a forfeited victory, but now we will turn our attention to a crazy schedule coming up with 7 games in 6 days starting on Monday.  This upcoming week will be a big test for us."

Jay Antinore went the distance, seven innings, for Notre Dame against Byron-Bergen on Wednesday to help his team to a 7-2 victory.

Antoniore gave up five hits and one earned run, fanning two hitters.

He also had the only multi-hit game for the Irish, going 2-4, scoring three runs and driving in one.

Jaden Sherwood was 1-2 with two walks, scoring once and driving in a run. Charles Cummings was 1-2 with an RBI and a run scored.

For the Bees, Kinkleer (not listed on the team's roster, so no first name available) went 2-3 and drove in a run.

Photos by Pete Welker.

The Irish scored 22 runs in the first inning. ND had 25 hits, and eight starters had multi-hit games.

 Emma Sisson and Sofia Falleti collected four hits each. They also each drove in three runs and scored three.

Loretta Sorochty, Katie Landers and Mia Treleaven each had three hits. Landers scored three runs and had two RBIs. Sorochty had three runs and four RBIs. Treleaven scored three runs and had three RBIs.

Sorochty was the starter, going five innings and giving up three hits, two runs and recording all 15 outs on strikeouts.

Notre Dame is now 3-1 on the year.

Batavia Norte Dame smacked around 21 hits on Friday afternoon, leading to a 14-5 win over Lyndonville in Girls Softball.

Hannah Tenney and Mia Treleaven each had four hits. Tenney had three RBIs and scored a run. Treleaven had an RBI. Sofia Falleti had a single, double and three-run blast over the center field fence.  Falleti finished with three runs scored and six RBIs.  Gianna Falleti contributed three hits, two RBIs and scored twice.  Loretta Sorochty, Katie Landers and Cayleigh Havens each had two hits, with Landers scoring three runs and Havens scoring once.

Sorochty pitched a complete game, giving up just 3 hits, no earned runs and striking out 18 batters.  

Emily Pietrzykowski pitched a strong game for Alexander as well, going the distance and only giving up 4 runs on 7 hits, striking out 3 batters.

Offensively for ND, Sorochty helped her cause with two hits and two RBIs. Katie Landers added two hits and a run scored. Mia Treleaven (double), Anna Panepento and Amelia Sorochty each contributed a hit, with Treleaven and A. Sorochty each adding a run scored. Sofia Falleti added a sac fly RBI, while Clairissa Milliman added a run scored.

"Tonight was a good test against a very strong Alexander squad," said Coach Otis Thomas. "I'm proud of the way the girls battled the entire game and can't say enough about our ace Loretta.  Our bats were a little cold, but Loretta kept us in the game until we could score a few insurance runs.  We have to put this one behind us and prepare for a tough league game vs Lyndonville on Friday." 

Submitted by Matt Landers, ND scorekeeper.

Notre Dame High School, a Private Catholic Co-Educational High School located in Batavia is seeking a Principal.

The Principal serves as the academic leader of the school and is responsible for ensuring a vibrant curriculum for the students, as well as professional leadership and development for the faculty and staff. The Principal reports directly to the Board of Trustees. 

The candidate promotes the essential characteristics and fundamental values of a Catholic school, possesses a Master’s degree (preferably in Administration), CAS or SAS Administrative certification and has a teaching and administrative background.

Submit a letter of interest and resume via email to trustees@ndhsbatavia.com or mail to Notre Dame High School, Attn: James Sutherland, 73 Union Street, Batavia by April 3. Notre Dame High School is an equal opportunity employer.

Press Release:

It was the Confirmation Retreat for Ascension Roman Catholic Community Resurrection RC Parish and Notre Dame High School Confirmation candidates.

May God bless these candidates on their faith journey.

Submitted photos.