By CHRIS BROOKS, sports editor, wellsvillesports.com
PORTVILLE — The exciting and thrilling finish to the Don Jordan Memorial Tournament in Portville finally arrived after weather split the event into two parts, with opening round action coming and going at the beginning of the month. Now on Friday, the tournament officially wrapped up with two of the region’s finest on the softball field battling for all the marbles — Friendship/Scio and Portville.
It was evident early on that both teams came to play, shutting one another down through the first three innings of play behind some magnificent defense. Among them, Nevaeh Ross, who carried an incredible no-hit performance towards the finish line, despite Friendship/Scio falling behind Portville.
But the Lady Panthers, they found a way through.
In the bottom of the sixth, perhaps the most clutch of times to answer the call, it would come in the form of a four-run frame, as three different Lady Panthers all provided RBI singles to break it open, extending their lead tremendously from one to five while keeping Friendship/Scio shut down the entire way, as Portville went on to claim the tournament title with a 5-0 shutout on their home turf.
Despite the defeat, Ross provisioned another outstanding gem inside the circle for Friendship/Scio (6-1), holding Portville to just the three singles in the sixth inning, fanning 15 and walking one to lead a remarkable stand of defense. She would also have two of the team’s four total hits that the Lady Panthers defense allowed in turn.
Within her pitching performance, Ross carried a no-hit bid against a fiery Portville offense all the way into the sixth inning, where the Lady Panthers were able to find a hole to weave through with three huge RBI singles providing the difference maker in the end.
Prior to the championship game, the Lady Rebels of Cuba-Rushford took the stage first in the Consolation round to square off against Randolph. Right from the start, the Lady Cardinals struck while the iron was hot with two first inning runs that set the table early on, as they edged their way towards victory in shutout fashion themselves — a 4-0 blanking of the Lady Rebels to claim third place in the Don Jordan Memorial Tournament.
The Lady Rebels (2-4) were held to just a single hit at the plate, with Aubrey Williams providing it late in the seventh inning on a base hit. In the circle, Sydney Howard allowed just five runs against Randolph, striking out five and walking two.
After the tournament reached its conclusion, All-Tournament selections were made, as Williams, Ross and Kendra Gleason all received nods.
Friendship/Scio will now return to their second home in Scio to host their annual tournament this morning beginning with a 10 a.m. first round battle against Genesee Valley/Belfast. Cuba-Rushford will accompany Andover/Whitesville on the trip to Scio as well, as the two foes also battle in a 10 a.m. contest of their own.
Championship
Friendship/Scio 000 000 0 – 0 4 2
Portville 000 104 X – 5 3 3
F/S – Nevaeh Ross (LP) (CG, 15K, BB), and Morghyn Ross.
PORT – Mallory Welty (WP) (CG, 5K, 2BB), and Mattison Foster.
Consolation
Cuba-Rushford 000 000 0 – 0 1 3
Randolph 202 000 X – 4 5 0
C-R – Sydney Howard (LP) (CG, 5K, 2BB), and Riley Keller.
RAN – Kendall Steward (WP) (CG, 16K), and Harper Smith.
Wellsville 15, Dansville 0 (F-5)
DANSVILLE — The Lady Lions of Wellsville delivered a big punch to host Dansville when they returned to action on Friday. With the bats coming alive after a slow start to begin the contest, Marissa Ordway and Makenna Dunbar would handle the rest from within the circle, as the two Lady Lion hurlers combined to record the no-hit performance over the Lady Mustangs by a 15-0 count.
“Marissa and Makenna were excellent in the pitching circle tonight,” said Lady Lions coach Matt Burke. “Marissa was very sharp hitting her spots with all her pitches, and Makenna finished the game and was overpowering. We started slow on offense, but started having some good swings in the third inning.”
After the Lady Lions (12-2) started off strong with a 1-0 lead through the opening frame, the bats began to heat up in the top of the third, recording a massive six-run stand at the plate that was led by Makenzie Cowburn’s fifth home run of the season — a two-run blast.
The lead was ultimately pushed out insurmountably later on after both teams exchanged a scoreless fourth inning, as the visitors recorded their last eight runs of the game, three of them stemming from a three-run bomb from Marley Adams, her first of the season to help deliver the finishing touches on the victory on offense.
Ordway and Dunbar powered the defense to keep Dansville at bay without a single hit, as they combined to hand out 10 chairs, seven of them belonging to Ordway who earned the victory.
Helping further the cause at the plate was Emma Dunaway, who contributed a crushing two-run triple to the outfield back in the team’s six-run third inning, while Adams and Ordway finished with two hits of her own.
Wellsville is back home tonight for a humongous clash under the Tullar Field lights, as they welcome in the undefeated Lady Mauraders of Williamson in for a 7 p.m. first pitch.
Wellsville 106 08 – 15 12 0
Dansville 000 00 – 0 0 0
WLSV – Marissa Ordway (WP) (7K), Makenna Dunbar (5) (3K), and Lindsay Stuck.
DAN – Sam Mackey (LP) (CG, 4K), and Aynsley Belcher.
BASEBALL
Fillmore 7, Hinsdale 2
FILLMORE — An early start was garnered right out of the gate for Hinsdale on Friday, as they grabbed the jump on Fillmore through the first inning of play. But despite falling behind rather quickly, the host Eagles did not succumb to the pressure, as they scored seven unanswered runs from the second inning onward to collect their eighth win in the last nine behind a 7-2 victory.
Damon Potter was an overwhelming force on both sides for the Eagles (8-1), shelling out a marvelous performance across six innings of work while leading the bats on offense, dishing out 13 strikeouts to go with two walks in the midst of a combination alongside reliever Brandon Buck, who added in two more strikeouts of his own to help complete the one-hit victory over the Bobcats.
At the plate, Potter provided even more damage, going a perfect 3-for-3 with a pair of doubles and three RBI. He was one of four different Eagles to record a pair of hits in their 12-hit outing on the attack, with Nolan Krzeminski, Brent Zubikowski and Aiden Wagner all have two hits each.
The Eagles were able to overcome a slow start after the first inning, as they tied the game in the bottom half of the second before ultimately taking the lead away for good with the last five unanswered runs beginning with a pair in the third that broke the deadlock.
For Hinsdale (0-5), Ethan Cashimere went the distance with one walk. The Bobcats will play Andover/Whitesville in the first round of Friendship/Scio’s home tournament this morning at 10 a.m.
Fillmore will finish off the home-at-home with the Bobcats after the weekend, traveling to Hinsdale for a 5 p.m. contest on Tuesday.
Hinsdale 200 000 0 – 2 1 3
Fillmore 022 021 X – 7 12 3
HIN – Ethan Cashimere (LP) (CG, BB), and Parker Cummins.
FIL – Damon Potter (WP) (13K, 2BB), Brandon Buck (7) (2K), and Alex Ellsworth.
Bolivar-Richburg 16, Friendship/Scio 0 (F-5)
FRIENDSHIP — All it took for the Wolverines of Bolivar-Richburg to come out swinging was their opening at-bats, as they bolted straight out the door with a full 13-run sprint to gain traction on a lead that they would never lose, coasting towards a 16-0 road shutout over host Friendship/Scio on Friday at Wellman Field in Friendship.
While the offense collected seven hits at the plate to help power their cause, it was the defense for the Wolverines (9-1) that held Friendship/Scio in check across all five shutout innings, as Caden Allen and Reiss Gaines combined for a two-hitter, with Allen garnering the win with six strikeouts through four innings. At the plate, Evan Pinney and Trey Buchholz each collected two hits, and combined to score five runs.
For Friendship/Scio (2-6), Joey Bednez and Ethan Davenport recorded both of the team’s hits. On the mound, Cooper Greenman provided three strikeouts and four walks during his tenure of relief. The team will head to their second home in Scio this morning to host tournament action, beginning at 10 a.m. with an opening round battle against Genesee Valley/Belfast.
Bolivar-Richburg will look to become the first team in baseball to reach the 10-win plateau when they return to their home turf on Wednesday, hosting Cuba-Rushford in a 5 p.m. first pitch.
Bolivar-Richburg (13) 20 01 – 16 7 0
Friendship/Scio 0 00 00 – 0 2 7
B-R – Caden Allen (WP) (6K), Reiss Gaines (5) (2K), and Ethan Childs.
F/S – Connor Otero (LP) (6BB), Hunter Hill (1) (3BB), Cooper Greenman (3) (3K, 4BB), Tyler Nickerson (5) (K), and Greenman, Landen Arnold (3).
GOLF
Wellsville 34, Bolivar-Richburg 21
BOLIVAR — The Lions of Wellsville provided a balanced effort up and down their scorecard to pace their fourth victory on the links in the first five matches on Friday, as they rolled behind Mason Parks and his medalist round to record a 34-21 road win at the Bolivar Golf Club against the host Wolverines of Bolivar-Richburg.
Parks led the Lions (4-1) at the top of the card with a match-low round of 52 to pace the victory. Following behind was Jack Jordan, who chipped in with a 54. Briar Dye contributed with a 59, while Dylan Day and Serena Boussa rounded off with rounds of 64 and 75, respectively.
Bolivar-Richburg (1-2) saw a team-low round of 61 from Parker Worth lead the way. Helping the cause was Maddox Day, who had a round of 65. Gauge Robinson provided a 68. Ryan Greeson followed with a 69, while Anthony Donoghue had a 73 to add.
Wellsville is back home on Monday to host both Cuba-Rushford and Hinsdale for tri-match action at the Wellsville Country Club, beginning with a 4 p.m. tee time. As for the Wolverines, they hit the road for Allegany Hills to take on host Cuba-Rushford on Tuesday with a 4 p.m. start of their own.
BOYS TENNIS
Genesee Valley/Belfast 3, Cuba-Rushford 1
CUBA — Despite a shutout pitched by Nate Cole at first singles for the Rebels of Cuba-Rushford, visiting Genesee Valley/Belfast was able to provide a bounce back from 24 hours ago, as they saw Trevor Clark and James Frawley battle their way towards victory in the remaining singles matches to take a 3-1 decision back home on Friday.
Clark battled his way through a first-set tiebreak at second singles against Cuba-Rushford’s Ethan Cole, rolling his way toward the win in a strong second set performance by a 7-5, 6-2 count. As for Frawley, he would set the tone right away in the opening set of his third singles match against Tyler Findlay, flying his way into the win column with a 6-0, 6-1 win.
The JagDogs collected a first doubles forfeit win from the team of Zane Cartwright and Gavin Kenyon to complete the overall match victory.
The Rebels (0-5) were paced by Nate Cole’s first singles victory that came in dominant fashion, recording a straight-set shutout of Genesee Valley/Belfast’s Dominic Marro to do so.
Both teams will have Scio up next on their slates, with Cuba-Rushford having first go after the weekend in a 5 p.m. first serve on the road on Monday, while Genesee Valley/Belfast plays host to the Tigers on Thursday in a 5 p.m. contest of their own.
Singles
1. Nate Cole (C-R) def. Dominic Marro (GVB), 6-0, 6-0.
2. Trevor Clark (GVB) def. Ethan Cole (C-R), 7-5, 6-2.
3. James Frawley (GVB) def. Tyler Findlay (C-R), 6-0, 6-1.
Doubles
1. Zane Cartwright/Gavin Kenyon (GVB)
