By CHRIS BROOKS, managing editor, wellsvillesports.com
BATH — You could not have encapsulated a more overpowering comeback than what Wellsville dished out to open the season at Allegany-Limestone. 18 runs — 15 of them came in consecutive fashion, and 13 of those were in the last two innings of play to place a ferocious exclamation point on win number one to bring up the curtain on their campaign.
It was a game that the Lions wanted to have in order to refuel their chance for redemption against their turn-around opponent the very next night back over the road again — Bath-Haverling, a rematch of their previous meeting in the Class B2 Semifinals last postseason.
In order to keep the ball rolling into Myrtle Beach after this upcoming weekend, the Lions would have to engage in a near game-long chess match with their Class B counterparts right from the start. Runs were going to be difficult to come by, with three of the game’s six in total between the two teams coming across in the first three innings of play.
Two of those scores belonged to the Rams, who would continue to cling onto a 2-1 lead for much of the night. But as time passed, the action began to crescendo, especially in the top of the seventh where it would reach a boiling point. With two runners standing on base, the most prime of opportunities to overthrow Bath-Haverling from the throne arose.
Wellsville roared. And they have the red-hot Ty Vogel to thank for that.
After assembling a season-opening six-RBI night to spearhead the attack against the Gators, the Lions junior remained hotter than a firecracker to start his campaign by dispatching the team’s go-ahead sequence.
Vogel hit a two-run double over the head of the Bath-Haverling outfielder and straight to the fence to claim their first lead since the second inning and hang onto it until the night was over, turning the game completely on its head by captaining yet another herculean comeback to post the 4-2 win over the Rams.
“The pitching we got today was solid from the back-end again. Last night, it was Brennen (Geffers) that came in to save the day, and tonight it was Gavin (Haggerty). He was efficient, he threw a lot of strikes and provided some really quick innings, pounded the strike-zone and did what he had to do to keep us in it,” said Lions coach Tom Delahunt. “Then, he led off the seventh with a big hit to get us going and Ty did the damage right after that. It’s really important to get off on a good note. We had three games on the schedule against Class B schools and it might make a world of difference when the end reaches. Getting two wins is huge, and we need to keep this up and keep it rolling so we can reap the benefits of it down the road.”
Wellsville and Bath-Haverling would deal a scoreless first inning of play before the scoring kicked into gear in the next offensive series between both teams, with Lions (2-0) breaking the ice first behind some exceptional base-running from Cooper Brockway to place himself in scoring position after solid at-bats from Karson Grover and Derek Coleman allowed him to gain passage to home plate for the first run.
The Rams would respond in the next two frames with a run in each, posting a pair of hits to formulate a game-tying response before swiping away the lead entirely in the third with what would wind up serving as their final run.
Despite falling back behind the eight-ball in the fourth inning, the Lions looked to their defense to keep themselves within reach of Bath-Haverling each step of the way. Led by the likes of Aiden Cowburn and Gavin Haggerty, the two hurlers would put the pieces of the puzzle together to hold the Rams scoreless in each of the remaining four innings of play to build a gigantic burst of momentum.
When the top of the seventh arrived in full effect, the visitors in black and orange put it all to good use behind Vogel’s scorching hot bat once again with runners on second and first. With one out on the board, the junior made the very most of the opportunity in front of him by delivering a game-altering detonation to deep left center field, pinballing the Lions back ahead once and for all to finish off their three-run frame.
The hit was Vogel’s lone knock in the contest, as Wellsville totaled four runs off five hits at the plate. Leading was Cooper Brockway with a pair, stealing two bases and scoring once along the way.
For the second straight game, Camron Lyons scored the tying run on the Vogel hit. Defensively, Geffers, Matt Ritter and Karson Grover made outstanding plays to keep runs off the board and Al Green was solid behind the plate.
On the mound, the win belonged to Haggerty during his tenure of relief, fanning two. As for the team’s starter, Cowburn struck out three and walked three across four innings.
Wellsville will now begin preparations for their home opener right before they take off down south this weekend, as they host Canisteo-Greenwood in the Lion’s Den at 1:30 p.m. on Saturday.
Wellsville 010 000 3 – 4 5 0
Bath-Haverling 011 000 0 – 2 5 3
WLSV – Aiden Cowburn (3K, 3BB), Gavin Haggerty (WP, 5) (2K) and Alex Green.
B-H – Eric Carney-Hendrix (5K, 3BB), Owen Smith (6), Thomas Mcnally (LP, 7) (K, BB), Dylan Wenban (7) and Dante Nealey.
