One swing of the bat could’ve tied Randolph with Forestville in their Chautauqua-Cattaraugus Athletic Association Division 3 softball game.

Hornets shortstop Carilene Sliwa had a different idea.

Steward lined Megan Gruber’s offering up the middle, but Sliwa lunged to her left to make a diving catch and clinch Forestville’s 5-4 victory on Wednesday evening behind Gail N. Chapman Elementary School.

“It was the top of the order. I knew it would be tough for us to hold them. That was an amazing play she made,” Forestville head coach Brianne Hazelton said of Sliwa’s catch. “She hung on to the ball and brought it home for us.”

Forestville shortstop Carilene Sliwa celebrates after making the game-winning catch against Randolph in Chautauqua-Cattaraugus Athletic Association Division 3 action on Wednesday in Randolph. OBSERVER Photo by Matt Spielman

The win improved the Hornets to 4-0 on the season, including 2-0 in the ultra-competitive Division 3 standings. Randolph fell to 3-3 overall and 1-1 in the league.

“We haven’t beaten Randolph in three or four years,” Hazelton added. “This was a huge win for us.”

Forestville jumped on top 1-0 in the top of the first inning when Sliwa led off with a single, went to second on Jade Work’s sacrifice bunt and scored when Emily Lillie’s fly ball fell in between Randolph’s left and center fielders.

“She’s amazing. She’s just so aggressive,” Hazelton said of Sliwa. “She loves hitting and can’t wait to get up there and hit that ball.”

The Cardinals answered in the bottom of the frame. Aliza Hind led off with an infield single to third base and went to second on an error. After a strikeout, Hind advanced to third on a groundout and scored on Ryanne Bushey’s RBI single to left field. An error on the play left Bushey at second base and she moved to third on Isabelle Syracuse’s single before scoring on an errant throw from the Hornets’ catcher back to Gruber in the circle.

“We were a little bit nervous. This is only our fourth game,” Hazelton said. “After that first inning, I think we settled right down.”

Randolph tacked on a third run in the bottom of the third inning as Bushey singled with two outs and scored on Syracuse’s triple to right field.

“She was crushing the ball. She had the triple and led off with a base hit in the sixth,” Randolph head coach Geoff Olson said of Syracuse. ” … She’s been solid all season … we’re going to keep leaning on her.”

Forestville tied the game in the top of the fourth inning with some aggressive baserunning. Lillie walked to open the frame and stole second before scoring on Gruber’s RBI single. A bad throw to the plate allowed Gruber to get all the way to third base on the play. After a walk, a double play left Gruber at third with two outs, but she was able to race home on a passed ball.

“We talk all the time about being aggressive baserunners. You put that pressure on … that’s exactly what they did today,” Olson said. “We hesitated a couple of times; you hesitate and you’re too late.”

In the top of the fifth inning, the Hornets took the lead for good. Sliwa singled to left field and went to second on a two-out wild pitch. Lillie then walked and continued to second on a wild pitch. As the Cardinals threw down to second base, Sliwa scored from third. Gruber followed with an RBI single to make it 5-3.

“They kind of just do it without me having to say it. They’ve learned how to be aggressive and when to do it,” Hazelton said. “I was proud of Emily taking that walk and running to second without us really telling her to do it.”

“Kudos to them for good, aggressive baserunning,” Olson said. “We’ve got to get better defensively playing against that, and we need to be doing that ourselves running the bases.”

Syracuse added her third hit of the day in the bottom of the sixth inning, but was stranded at first base. Randolph didn’t go quietly in the seventh either. Quinn Pence reached on an error and ended up at second base on the play. She moved to third on a groundout and then aggressively scored on Hind’s pop-up just behind second base. But Steward’s lineout to Sliwa ended the final threat of the day.

“We just couldn’t put the hits on top of each other,” Olson said. “Ryanne and Isa really came through a couple of times, but we just couldn’t put enough together.”

NOTES: Hind and Gruber both went the distance in the circle for their respective teams. Hind allowed five hits and four walks while hitting a batter and striking out six. Gruber allowed nine hits and one walk while striking out five. … Work threw out two runners attempting to steal. … Sliwa and Gruber each had a pair of hits for Forestville, while Syracuse, Bushey and Mallory Smallback each had multiple hits for Randolph.