Once again, Makenzie Cowburn and Nevaeh Ross pitched their teams to Long Island.

And once again, both high school softball aces out of Allegany County collected major hardware in the year-end Big 30 Softball All-Star honors.

Last year, Wellsville’s Cowburn and Friendship/Scio’s Ross shared the honor of Co-Pitcher of the Year. Now, Cowburn has earned the honor of Big 30 Player of the Year (the Geraldine Harrington Lacney Award), while Ross has won sole possession of 2024’s Big 30 Pitcher of the Year accolade (the Jordan Ingalls Award).

For Cowburn, the award is her fourth top Big 30 honor: she won Pitcher of the Year as a freshman, Player of the Year as a sophomore, Co-Pitcher of the Year as a junior and once again Player of the Year after going out on top, leading the Lions to their first-ever softball state championship.

After a season-opening loss to eventual Pennsylvania state champion St. Marys, Wellsville won 23 consecutive games, all the way through sectionals and the state tournament. Cowburn pitched most of those games — though teammate and fellow Big 30 All-Star Makenna Dunbar also shined in her starts in the circle — recording a record of 15-1 with a 0.598 ERA, striking out 206 batters to just 31 walks in 117 innings. Her numbers were just as good in the playoffs, too, with a 0.525 playoff ERA and 6-0 record.

At the plate, she hit .387 this season with nine runs, 23 RBI, six doubles and two home runs.

Wellsville lost in the state semifinal in 2023, but made it to the top of NYSPHSAA Class B this spring.

“Our chemistry has held us together through thick and thin,” Cowburn said. “This year we had a lot of ups and downs, but once we stepped on the field, we were a team and we knew the job we needed to get done and we got it done.”

Winning awards at a young age let Cowburn know she was on the right track.

“My thoughts from when I was younger were, ‘Am I really going to stick it out, is this everything that I hoped and dreamed like it would be?’” she said. “Then finally achieving these awards, it was like all my hard work and dedication, all the time that me and my dad have put in, it’s like I’m actually going somewhere. I’m really proud and I’m glad that I’ve been able to put in so much time because of everybody that has supported me.”

Now she’s a state champion and a Division I-bound college pitcher, headed for Bellarmine University in Kentucky.

Her high school career ended with several Wellsville records, both for pitching — wins (59), shutouts (30 individual, seven combined) and strikeouts (733) — and batting, both for hits (137) and RBI (104).

She credits her family and many coaches for the success she’s already enjoyed before college.

“My parents are a huge, huge part of everything this year and years past,” Cowburn said. “My entire family, I have three siblings. It’s probably hard for them to see me grow up and leave but I’ll have my sister stand in the box when I’m at home pitching and she’ll gladly do it. I’ll have my brothers catch for me sometimes when my dad’s not home. Definitely all the coaches I’ve had throughout the years … way too many coaches to name but everybody in my life since 10U to now has been a major part of how I’ve got here.”

At first, Cowburn couldn’t see herself choosing a college more than eight hours from home, away from her friends, and especially her younger sister. But she loved the sight of Bellarmine’s campus and felt supported by her future college coach.

“As soon as me and my mom drove onto that campus, it was like, ‘this is where I want to go,’” she said. “The campus wasn’t too big but it wasn’t too small, it felt really good, it felt like my hometown and the coach, oh my God, she’s amazing.”

Cowburn won the POY honor from a stacked field of nominees, including teammate Makenna Dunbar, Olean’s Anna Bates, Portville’s Mattison Foster and Ross.

A FOUR-TIME Big 30 All-Star, Ross led Friendship/Scio to its fourth consecutive sectional title and third-straight trip to the state semifinals in Long Island.

“It just shows how much work goes into it,” she said of collecting another major award. “That’s the reward for me. Every week I’m either inside or outside pitching and this is what it leads to. You get these rewards and the recognition. It’s really rewarding. It makes me feel accomplished.”

Ross earned her top pitcher honor from a group of nominees including Cowburn and Northern Potter’s Jaylyn Williammee.

Ross, pitching to her sister and fellow all-star, sophomore Morghyn, had another dominant season. She went 20-4 in the circle, pitching every game for F/S, with a 0.25 ERA, two perfect games and 12 shutouts. She set several Section 5 records, including for strikeouts in a single game (26), average strikeouts per game (16.2) and total strikeouts in a season (390).

At the plate, she more than helped her own cause, hitting .500 with 12 doubles, eight triples and six home runs; 28 stolen bases, 36 runs scored and 18 RBI.

Indeed, she was a catalyst in every way for F/S. She and her sister were two of just four returning starters, leading a young team heavy on sophomores and limited in experience.

That required some leadership to make a young team ready to compete at the state level.

“Making sure their heads stayed above water, keeping them confident in themselves and making them believe that they could do it,” Ross said. “Like, the bar is not too high even though you’re young. With previous teams being so old, like our (2023) team was full of seniors, so they had some big shoes to fill and they did their best. I’m proud of them.”

Ross is also Division I-bound, set to play at Le Moyne College.

“It’s been my dream since I was a little kid and I’m going to put whatever I have to into it to make it count and show them that I deserve to be there,” Ross said of playing Division I softball. “It means everything to me and you only get one opportunity to do it.”

Ross expects to have an opportunity to pitch and play outfield in college, giving her more chances to showcase her talent. Le Moyne recruited her after a strong showing at a fall camp.

“One of the biggest things for me is the coaching relationship, just like I have with my high school coach Deb Warner, and my dad,” Ross said. “Tracy (Roman) made that place feel like home to me. It was a very warm welcome, and I didn’t even know her. It’s a small, rural school just like mine, so I definitely feel like I can make a home there and I’m excited to see what happens in August.”