Wellsville’s cardiac 6th inning rally denied by SC’s Lewisville, handed 1st loss of season after hot opening sequences aid 13-9 victory to wrap up Myrtle Beach trip
Stories by CHRIS BROOKS, photo gallery by Ella Green
MURRELLS INLET, SC — Before they provide a valedictory wave to their Spring Break trip in South Carolina, their second and rearmost battle took center stage at St. James High School in Murrells Inlet on an absolutely gorgeous Friday afternoon for the Lions of Wellsville to break out their orange vests for the first time this year.
Their final opponent before they journey their way back north was another pride of Lions, hailing from Lewisville. Right off the hop, the team in blue and yellow made their presence known against the black and orange Lions with a megaton of their runs scratching across the plate in the opening sequences.
Despite falling into a deficit that grew as large as seven runs, the Lions, like they have across the season so far, showcased a tremendous amount of brilliance to navigate their way back into the game once more down the homestretch, doing everything they can to climb back to within reach of Lewisville.
The once-large deficit was then knocked down to a pair of runs after posting what was their largest frame of offense in the contest. But when the seventh inning came around, the visitors on the scoreboard helped dispatch a knockout punch to Wellsville with two incredibly clutch runs to pair with one final shutout stand on defense to close the game on a high note, handing the Lions their first loss of the season with a 13-9 victory.
“It’s starting to become a theme. We get down early and we have to claw back and get back into games. We’re used to that, and I kind of wish we jumped out on teams instead,” said Lions coach Tom Delahunt. “But we’ve been hitting the ball really well to start the season. We’ve got to be more consistent on defense and we have to get some faster innings from our pitchers. Unfortunately, we came out on the losing end today. We had a great trip. We’re coming back 4-1 and I’m really happy with how things have gone. I’m looking forward to coming back home and getting back to work.”
The offense was clicking for Lewisville to start their afternoon off with a strong 4-0 lead through the first two innings of play. But after leaving the bases loaded on a strong defensive finish, the Lions (4-1) would carry the momentum into their second at-bats to trim the deficit directly in half with a two-run frame stemming off a big two-run single off the bat of Aiden Cowburn.
But just as the tide slightly turned to Wellsville’s favor, Lewisville shifted it right back in the top of the third with their largest offensive stand in the shape of a five-run frame to go up by a 9-2 count.
The seven-run deficit now faced by the team in black and orange was one they nearly overcame in the next three frames of play, outscoring their opposition with seven of the next nine runs to close the gap to just two runs, beginning with a three-run bottom of the fourth off three hits, including the first of two Alex Green doubles.
After Lewisville responded with two consecutive runs across back-to-back appearances at the plate, Wellsville punched the gas down one more time for a four-run sixth inning, propelled by a two-run double blasted to the outfield by Green to keep the pressure at a rolling boil going into the last inning of play.
Within it, Lewisville was able to secure their lead once and for all with two clutch runs to branch their lead to four, while the defense in turn held the Lions bats at a standstill to close the game out.
Wellsville concluded their South Carolina road trip with nine runs off 12 total hits at the plate, with four different Lions recording at least a pair of hits. Leading the way at the plate, as well as the mound, was Cooper Brockway, who went 3-for-4 with a pair of RBI to couple alongside a six-strikeout, three-walk outing of relief on the rubber.
”Cooper was huge for us today,” Delahunt said. “He really did a nice job of mixing his pitches, hitting his spots and he had a great bat as well. He was super. Unfortunately, we made some mistakes behind him that you don’t really see go into the box scores. You can’t do those kinds of things, especially in games of this magnitude.”
Adding more assistance on the attack was Aiden Cowburn, who also went 3-for-4 with his pair of RBI and a run scored. Along with Green’s two-hit performance, Brennen Geffers also posted a two-hit day, including a double, and scored two more runs.
The Lions are back home after the weekend to resume play at St. Bonaventure University on Tuesday, where they will meet with the Olean Huskies at Fred Handler Park for a 5 p.m. first pitch before returning home to host Allegany-Limestone the very next night.
Lewisville 315 011 2 – 13 15 2
Wellsville 020 304 0 – 9 12 0
LEW – Tanner Good (WP) (5K, 4BB), Jon Seegars (6) (2BB) and Zack Rogers.
WLSV – Ty Vogel (LP) (2K, 2BB), Cooper Brockway (3) (6K, 3BB), Trenton Green (7) (K) and Alex Green.
Ella Green photo gallery from trip:
Friendship/Scio softball ends Myrtle Beach stint with Thursday split of action on walk-off against West Virginia’s Jim Doddridge County, shutout issued by Ohio’s State-ranked Carlisle in game two
NORTH MYRTLE BEACH, SC — The weather has not been kind in and around Myrtle Beach this past week.
But through it all, Thursday marked a return to action for the Friendship/Scio softball squad, as they took the field for their final two games down south before boarding the bus for the long trip back home.
At sunrise bright and early, Friendship/Scio was tested right out of the gate by West Virginia’s Doddridge County in a tight battle that ultimately saw a stint of extra innings before returning to the field later on to take on Ohio’s Carlisle — a team ranked in the Top 5 across the state with a perfect start to their campaign.
In game one, they were taken the distance by the No. 19 ranked team in West Virginia after each team posted a single run in the first three innings of play to create a game-long 1-1 deadlock that would unlock extra innings following four straight shutout innings posted by the respective defenses.
Because of it, it would all come down to the decisive eighth innings, where one humongous swing of the bat changed everything.
That was provided by Morghyn Ross, who crushed Friendship/Scio’s walk-off hit straight to the outfield to bring the winning run around the bags and straight home to give them their first win of the day by a 2-1 count.
Before the win was firmly in their possession, Friendship/Scio broke the ice out of the gate in their first tenure at the plate on a lead-off triple from Nevaeh Ross. Doddridge County would then face a bases-loaded jam after back-to-back walks, with a third issued to Nora Thompson to allow Ross passage from third to garner the lead. But all the remaining runners would be left on after three consecutive strikeouts ended the stanza.
With a scoreless second inning in the wagon, aided by five big strikeouts handed out by Ross, Doddridge County was able to respond in the top of the third with a strong RBI single to tie the game for the foreseeable future. The pressure would reach a boiling point in the midst of four straight shutout innings shelled out by both teams, reaping the benefits of clutch baserunning to place their go-ahead runners in scoring position.
But each half of the frame would close up off a big third-out strikeout to leave them on.
Crossing into the extra inning echelon, Friendship/Scio was able to find one more tremendously large hit to put the victory under their belts off a second triple, this one from the bat of Morghyn Ross, knocking in Jadyn Wonderling along the way to end the morning on the most positive notes with their second win of the season.
Nevaeh Ross went all eight innings from within the circle to collect the victory, fanning 11 Doddridge County hitters and walking just one while holding them to just two hits. On offense, she led the way with two hits, while Avery Lamberson and Grace Drumm (triple) each posted a hit to help further the cause.
When the clock approached 4 p.m. in South Carolina, Friendship/Scio took the field for the final time this Spring Break to take on one of Ohio’s finest — No. 4 ranked Carlisle.
They were met immediately with a ferocious force in the circle occupied by the likes of Savannah Brown, who held her opposition steady across a shortened make-up battle after rain forced an early end to their originally scheduled battle previously in the week, striking out 12 and walking just two to complete a one-hit performance with a 4-0 win.
All four of Carlisle’s runs were scavenged in the first three innings of play, led by four big hits, including an RBI double in the bottom of the third to score their final run after six consecutive strikeouts were dished out by Brown during their second and third tenures on defense.
A no-hit bid was in the works for the Carlisle hurler, but with two outs and Friendship/Scio down to their final at-bat, Nevaeh Ross made the most of the opportunity by ending the immaculate stretch with a triple to the deep outfield.
With the potential shutout-ending run standing just feet away from the plate, Carlisle would regroup and deliver the final out on defense, fielding a grounder at second base to close up shop.
In addition to the team’s lone hit on offense, Ross struck out seven and walked two during her final Myrtle Beach start.
Friendship/Scio will end their trip down south with a 1-2 record in hand, as they now begin their trek back home with a return to play coming up on Tuesday in a 5 p.m. visit to the Jungle to face Genesee Valley/Belfast.
Game 1
Doddridge County 001 000 00 – 1 2 0
Friendship/Scio 100 000 01 – 2 5 7
DOD – Kenna Curran (LP) (CG, 9K, 4BB) and Bell Holtz.
F/S – Nevaeh Ross (WP) (CG, 11K, BB) and Morghyn Ross.
Game 2
Friendship/Scio 000 00 – 0 1 1
Carlisle 121 0X – 4 7 1
F/S – Nevaeh Ross (LP) (CG, 7K, 2BB) and Morghyn Ross.
CAR – Savannah Brown (WP) (CG, 12K, 2BB) and Karrigan Bowman.
