• 16-3 • 222 Ks • 28 BBs • .163 BAA • 0.83 ERA • .526 • 13 2Bs • 3 3Bs • 6 HRs • 30 RBIs • 37 Runs P-J file photo by Matt Spielman

Haleigh Dellow was the Post-Journal/OBSERVER Player of the Year as a sophomore in 2021.

With all eyes on her this spring, it might be difficult for the Westfield junior to replicate her success on the softball diamond.

That just wasn’t the case.

The Wolverines’ ace went 16-3 with 17 complete games and five shutouts as Westfield won the Chautauqua-Cattaraugus Athletic Association Division 2 West and Section VI Class D titles.

Dellow pitched to a 0.83 earned run average and struck out 222 batters in 118 innings in the circle. She held opposing batters to a .163 average and of the 56 hits she allowed, just one went for extra bases.

At the plate, Dellow was just as dominant out of the Wolverines’ leadoff spot. She batted .526 with 13 doubles, three triples and six home runs while driving in 30 runs and scoring 37.

Nineteen of her 41 hits were singles, but she also stole 22 bases so most of the time she got on, she ended up at least at second or third base. Dellow also struck out just 14 times in 88 plate appearances, walking nine times.

For continuing to produce eye-popping numbers in the circle and at the plate, Dellow is once again the Post-Journal/OBSERVER Player of the Year for a second consecutive year.

In two games against Gowanda — a Section VI Class C finalist — to open the season, Dellow went 5 for 7 with a double and two home runs while driving in three and scoring six times as Westfield won 13-2 and 9-4.

She hit a grand slam a day later during a 2-for-4 day that opened the Wolverines’ league schedule with a 16-6 victory over Maple Grove.

Against Panama on April 22, Dellow was 4 for 4 with a double, an RBI and two runs scored.

In 15 of Westfield’s 22 games, Dellow had multiple hits and in 12 of them she scored multiple runs.

In the circle, Dellow threw four one-hitters and three two-hitters. She had double-digit strikeouts in 14 of her starts.

The first two wins of the season against Gowanda saw her strike out 14 and 15 batters, respectively.

Dellow then struck out at least 12 in her next five games — striking out 13 in the middle contest.

Her lowest strikeout game of the season came May 11 in a 4-0 shutout of Clymer/Sherman. A day later she struck out 18 Thunderbirds in a 1-0 eight-inning victory over Chautauqua Lake, outdueling Olivia Herrington in the process.

In the postseason, Dellow struck out 16 in a 5-1 two-hit victory over Clymer/Sherman before striking out 15 Eagles in a 6-2 two-hit victory over Ellicottville in the Class D final at Allegany-Limestone High School.

Dellow and the Wolverines saw their season come to an end June 3 when they dropped a 4-0 Far West Regional game to Scio/Friendship at Fillmore High School. In that game, Dellow struck out eight while allowing four hits and two earned runs. Scio/Friendship countered with sophomore Neveah Ross, who struck out 16 in an eight-hitter and like Dellow was named a First Team all-star by the New York State Sportswriters and Coaches Organization for Girls Sports.

While Dellow and her Westfield teammates didn’t reach their ultimate goal of playing for a state championship, nearly all of her teammates are back and will look to ride the right arm of their ace all the way to the Moriches Athletic Complex on Long Island next spring.