Story and photo gallery by Chris Brooks, sports editor, wellsvillesports.com
FILLMORE — The word “aggressive” is perhaps the most fitting adjective to describe how the action unfolded early on for the Lady Eagles of Fillmore, Monday night against visiting Geneseo.
Using a combination of baserunning, and some hard hit base knocks through the Lady Blue Devils defense, that would become the difference maker right off the bat, as the team scored eight of their 11 runs in the first two innings of play to set the tone right away, climbing their way back up to .500 on the season with an 11-6 victory.
“Getting back to .500 after three tough games in League play is always a great feeling to have. But we need to keep focusing on improving our defense, and baserunning if we want to be able to take that next step forward.” said Lady Eagles coach Jon Beardsley.
Some early aggression was posed by Geneseo in their first stand of offense, as they scored the game’s first run on a double that hit the bottom of the left field fence. That would provide a bit of a spark for Fillmore (5-5) back the other way in their first tenure at the plate, tripling up the Lady Blue Devils with a three-run stand to take the lead behind some key baserunning.
Soon after, the RBIs would begin to mount up in the second, as the Lady Eagles scored five in all, two off a big Lizzy Nugent swing into center field that sees her land in second while bringing home a pair. She would find the plate herself on the next at-bat, as Skylar Gaddy helped further the cause by trading spots with her off another double.
The lead began to grow exponentially to seven. It would also lead to Geneseo beginning to chip away little by little at Fillmore’s lead. But each time, the Lady Eagles shelled out a bigger response for it, like in the fourth inning. After the visitors garnered a run, they would go on to score three more big ones with Preslee Miller’s ground rule double helping set up shop for two more RBIs, both for Gaddy and Kada Frazier.
With an 11-3 lead in hand after the team’s final big inning, the Lady Blue Devils would slightly turn up the pressure knob during their last call at the plate, as they saw three different hitters all record RBIs to trim their lead down to five – the smallest margin since the beginning of the game, to try and keep distance. But in the end, it would remain too much to overcome, as the Lady Eagles sprung back up to .500 on the season.
Saige Friedl picked up the win in the circle for Fillmore, fanning seven and walking one. On offense, Nugent, Miller and Gaddy all finished with two hits, and two RBI.
The Lady Eagles are back on their home field Wednesday night for a 7 p.m. contest under the lights against Genesee Valley/Belfast.
Geneseo 101 100 3 – 6 10 4
Fillmore 350 300 X – 11 9 3
GEN – Mia Loughlin (LP) (CG, 4K, 3BB), and Lily Webber.
FIL – Saige Friedl (WP) (CG, 7K, BB), and Lizzy Nugent.
C-R, And/Whi ladies split doubleheader in Andover
ANDOVER — With weather pushing last week’s action that was originally set for Cuba forward into time, the day arrived where both the Lady Rebels and Andover/Whitesville did battle in a pair of games on Monday to begin the new week in Andover.
Safe to say, both offenses were prepared to play. While in the evening’s opening contest, the Lady Rebels were able to gather a humongous strand of runs to break an early deadlock to capture the win, Andover/Whitesville fought back with a hot start propelling themselves to victory in the second game, as each club left the field with an even split of the action.
In game one, the Lady Rebels (3-7) were at their absolute best on offense, collecting 15 total runs off 20 hits, with five different hitters recording at least a pair to fuel and ignite the bats. Among them, was Riley Keller, who had three massive swings of the bat – beginning with an RBI single in the top of the third inning to give the team a 3-2 lead back.
After Andover/Whitesville (4-5) was able to tie the game back up once more, they found their groove again with Katelyn Radomski helping the cause with a two-run double in the top of the fifth, extending what was a two-run lead to five.
But two more large swings for Keller would help the Lady Rebels put the game out of reach in the last two innings, posting an RBI double in the sixth, and then a two-run blast from within the team’s six-run seventh inning to pull away for good.
Keller would finish with a 4-for-5 outing at the plate, and her four RBI to pace Cuba-Rushford. Radomski also recorded four hits including her double, and three RBI. Cloey Larabee also had four hits, while Taylor Searle and Elysa Tylor had three and two, respectively.
In the circle for the visitors, Lizzy Kocsis paved her lane toward victory behind four strikeouts and one walk.
Andover/Whitesville saw Gabby Terhune emerge with two of the team’s seven total hits, while Aislinn Hamilton chipped in with a double. On the rubber, Zoey Lee fanned two and walked two in her complete game.
In game two – a different story.
25 runs off 21 total hits were collected between both clubs, as the offensive display showed some of its truest colors. In the end, it was a rapid start for Andover/Whitesville that proved to be a big difference maker, despite a late comeback bid by Cuba-Rushford, as they were able to split the day’s action with a 15-10 triumph.
Andover/Whitesville went on to score 10 of their 15 runs in the opening pair of innings, five in each frame, with baserunning playing a huge factor in the runs scoring. More of the same continued onward, as they branched their lead out to past double digits with a four-run fourth inning to take a 14-3 lead on the Lady Rebels.
But the Lady Rebels would find a way to fight back, responding to Andover/Whitesville’s fourth with a four-run stanza of their own, powered by a big game from Laney Murphy, who went 3-for-4 with a double and three RBI.
Murphy would also be responsible for turning up some late pressure on Andover/Whitesville in the last two innings, cutting further away at their deficit with a pair of RBI singles. But the early deficit back in the opening stages would prove to be too much to over come for Cuba-Rushford, as their opposition managed to hold on.
Getting the win from within the circle for Andover/Whitesville was Makaila Brewster, who struck out six and walked one. As for their offense, Zoey Lee and Gabbi Hall each had two hits, including a double, while Kennedy Bledsoe collected a single.
For Cuba-Rushford, Harlie Jones provided three hits, while Riley Keller had two including a two-run triple back in the first inning. In the circle, Kocsis struck out two and walked three in her five-inning relief appearance. The Lady Rebels will now pay a visit to Tullar Field in Wellsville tonight for a 7 p.m. first pitch against the Lady Lions.
Andover/Whitesville will hit the road Wednesday night for a 5 p.m. battle in Scio, as they prepare to meet host Friendship/Scio.
Game 1
Cuba-Rushford 201 231 6 – 15 20 3
Andover/Whitesville 021 100 1 – 4 7 4
C-R – Lizzy Kocsis (WP) (CG, 4K, BB), and Riley Keller.
A/W – Zoey Lee (LP) (CG, 2K, 2BB), and Gabbi Hall.
Game 2
Andover/Whitesville 550 410 0 – 15 8 1
Cuba-Rushford 201 411 1 – 10 13 0
A/W – Makaila Brewster (WP) (CG, 6K, BB), and Gabbi Hall.
C-R – Laney Murphy (LP) (6BB), Lizzy Kocsis (2) (2K, 3BB), and Riley Keller.
Genesee Valley/Belfast 15, Canisteo-Greenwood/Jasper-Troupsburg 4
BELFAST — For much of the early stages on Monday, the Lady JagDogs of Genesee Valley/Belfast had to hang right with Canisteo-Greenwood/Jasper-Troupsburg, as they directly traded barbs to navigate their way towards a couple of ties.
But then a strong stand of defense kept the visitors at bay. The offense for Genesee Valley/Belfast remained in rotation, as they scored two go-ahead runs – runs that would be used as momentum for their big inning of the day, scratching across a 10-spot in the fifth to pull away and out of reach from their opposition to secure a 15-4 home win in Belfast.
“It was a good win. Everyone found a way to chip in on the success,” said Lady JagDogs coach Mark Sullivan. “It took a bit for the bats to get going, but out of our seven hits, we had four in that fifth inning. It was a matter of time before that happened. We played a great stand of defense to go along with it, and we made the plays in the field when we absolutely needed to.”
15 total runs off seven hits were scored by Genesee Valley/Belfast (4-6) to fuel their victory, with four of them coming inside the team’s big 10-run stanza after they took a 4-2 lead away from Canisteo-Greenwood/Jasper-Troupsburg an inning prior to earn some momentum to control heading in.
Among the hits – a pair of two-run singles from both Abby Sullivan and Raygen Haggstrom, as they helped the offense’s cause tremendously to keep their opposition in the rearview mirror permanently.
In the circle, both of Genesee Valley/Belfast’s pitchers would make appearances, with Ashley Burrows posting the win behind seven strikeouts and three walks, before Hannah Southwick-Powers added to it with three strikeouts and two walks of her own, as the two hurlers combined to hold Canisteo-Greenwood/Jasper-Troupsburg to six hits.
Helping the cause on offense was Jaslynn Shipman, as she recorded her first hit of the season on a base hit.
Genesee Valley/Belfast is back on the road Wednesday night for a 7 p.m. battle under the lights in Fillmore, as they visit the host Lady Eagles.
C-G/J-T 101 0 1 0 1 – 4 6
Genesee Valley/Belfast 101 2(10)1 X – 15 7
CGJT – Cadance McCaig (K, 6BB), Kayla Atherton (4) (K, 4BB), and Leandra Gonzalez.
GVB – Ashley Burrows (7K, 3BB), Hannah Southwick-Powers (6) (3K, 2BB), and Harley Proctor.
BASEBALL
Arkport/Canaseraga 7, Genesee Valley/Belfast 4
BELFAST — Starting fast could be one of those big sparks that a team needs to possess in order to set themselves up for success, every time they hop onto the field.
For Arkport/Canaseraga, their legs did the majority of the scoring, as they used a four-run top half of the first to come out of the gate hot, striking while the iron was still scalding by using a combination of walks and passed balls to ignite their special teams play around the bases to set up a narrow 7-4 win over host Genesee Valley/Belfast on Monday, in Belfast.
“The first inning really hurt us,” said GV/Belfast co-coach Derek Kenyon. “It was back and forth, and Matt (Weaver) started to find his rhythm. We’ve struggled to get Matt going over the seasons, but he was chucking it hard tonight. We played incredible defense tonight, and they did too. They made a diving catch in the outfield gap to end the game. It was one of the best catches I’ve ever seen. I’m really happy with the way that we fought back. We gave them everything we had to stay with them.”
Despite a rapid start from the Wolves in their first at-bats, Genesee Valley/Belfast (4-7) would bounce back by cutting their deficit down to a single run after the first three innings, scoring four unanswered runs of their own to trail 5-4.
But the clutch offense came through for the Wolves down the stretch, as the tacked on two additional pieces of insurance in the top of the sixth – perhaps the most key of times, to branch their lead out to three and keep it for good, hanging onto victory.
The JagDogs were able to collect four runs off seven hits at the plate, with Thai Norasethaporn recording a pair of lead the way. Matt Weaver and Carter Stout each chipped in with a hit, with Stout driving in a run in the process.
On the mound, Weaver was excellent, as he went the first five innings by handing out 10 strikeouts and walking five. Garrett Miller added two more strikeouts in relief of Weaver.
Genesee Valley/Belfast is back on the field Wednesday night over the road, as they prepare to visit the red hot Eagles of Fillmore in a 5 p.m. first pitch.
Arkport/Canaseraga 410 002 0 – 7 8 0
Genesee Valley/Belfast 112 000 0 – 4 7 1
A/C – Phil Chamberlain (WP) (5K, 5BB), Logan Hoyt (4) (4K, 2BB), Tidus Marvin (6) (2K, 3BB), and Drake.
GVB – Matt Weaver (LP) (10K, 5BB), Garrett Miller (6) (2K), and Justin Hill, Thai Norasethaporn (2).
Friendship/Scio 18, Hammondsport 8 (F-6)
SCIO — Both Hammondsport and Friendship/Scio provided a fair exchanging of pleasantries through the opening sequence of their Monday battle in Scio.
After a hot start for the hosts was quickly extinguished after the third inning when the Lakers navigated their way towards a tie. But the deadlock was short lived soon after, as Friendship/Scio brought their offense to life with a tide-turning 10-run inning that saw them break away for good in what was an 18-8 home win.
With Hammondsport originally breaking the ice in their first at-bats, Friendship/Scio (4-7) followed suit with a opening stand themselves, multiplying it by four to grab an early lead to control. But the Lakers would fight back with three more runs coming in the third inning, tying the game at four.
Later on, the tide was turned. In the bottom of the fourth inning, the hosts broke free and scurried away out of reach from the Lakers, plating 10 runs in all to grow their lead to double digits, rolling their way towards victory in the process.
Joey Bednez would gather the win on the mound for Friendship/Scio, striking out six and walking three in his five-inning start. At the plate, Ethan Davenport provided the team’s biggest bat, going 3-for-4 with a double, an RBI and two runs scored. Friendship/Scio would tally eight hits in all, with Nick Sortore adding two more into the mix, along with four more runs.
Friendship/Scio is back on the field in Scio on Wednesday, hosting Andover/Whitesville in a 5 p.m. first pitch.
Hammondsport 103 0 31 – 8 9 5
Friendship/Scio 400 (10)22 – 18 8 3
HAM – Ben Dluzak (LP) (2K, 4BB), Chris Hill (2) (4K, 4BB), Ethan Buckley (4) (K, 2BB), Preston McConnell (5) (2K, 6BB), and Silas Scofield.
F/S – Joey Bednez (WP) (6K, 3BB), Jacob Golden (6) (K, BB), and Landen Arnold, Cooper Greenman (6).
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