By CHRIS BROOKS, managing editor, wellsvillesports.com
CUBA — The road ahead of the Wellsville Lions does not get easier by any means.
Despite that, they have constructed some of their best baseball to date, matching their win total from a year ago in their first 11 games on the ledger. With a monumental and decadent challenge waiting in the wings to close out the week back home, the aim was to build even more towards that.
On the trail of Gavin Haggerty’s brilliant three-inning start on the mound, as well as some fiery sticks at the plate, the Lions would not be denied a massive momentum boost to carry into Friday night’s colossal matchup with Class B1’s defending champion Palmyra-Macedon, as they started out and ended their road trip to Cuba-Rushford on fire to lay claim on a 13-0 five-inning blank of the host Rebels, Thursday night to claim their 11th win.
“The pitching and defense has been stellar. We got another solid performance from a couple of different guys that have not really thrown a whole lot so far this year. Gavin really stepped in and threw really well, same with Derek (Coleman) and Brennen (Geffers), they both came in later on and did their jobs,” said Lions coach Tom Delahunt. “We played great defense behind them and we got a shutout out of it again. It’s nice to look back on a defensive performance like this, to pair with some hot bats again. It’s not just one guy with this team. Every night, we have multiple kids that are doing good things, and we need that.”
Behind the guidance of Haggerty on the mound, the Lions (11-1) assembled another mastodonic night at the plate by posting 13 runs off 15 total hits. Within those hits, four different batters all posted at least a pair of hits to pave the path forward. Among them was a perfect 4-for-4 outing from Alex Green that included a double, three RBI and two runs scored. Matt Ritter and Trenton Green each chipped in with three hits, combining for five RBI and five runs scored.
In addition, Karson Grover finished with a 2-for-2 outing with an RBI and two runs scored, while Ty Vogel drove for a triple.
With all the bats clicking on the same wavelength, the Lions were able to start right away against Cuba-Rushford (4-3) with a five-run opening at-bat, never looking back on it along the way.
Haggerty would then proceed to finish off his triumphant start on the hill with seven strikeouts and a pair of walks.
For the Rebels, they were held to just three hits by the Wellsville pitching staff, with Adam Roe (double), Finn Ricketts and Landen Schappacher all scoring one. On the mound, Roe struck out one in his lone inning of relief. Next up for the hosts in gray and blue is a trip to Bolivar-Richburg for tournament action, as they face Otto-Eldred in a 5 p.m. first pitch tonight.
Wellsville will now return home this evening to set the table for a Friday night date with Class A superpower Palmyra-Macedon, with first pitch slated for a 5 p.m. start in the Den. Pal-Mac made the state finals in Class B last season.
Wellsville 510 07 – 13 15 0
Cuba-Rushford 000 00 – 0 3 2
WLSV – Gavin Haggerty (WP) (7K, 2BB), Derek Coleman (4) (K, BB), Brennen Geffers (5) (K) and Matt Ritter.
C-R – Braxton Clark (LP) (4BB), Adam Roe (5) (K) and Adam Shaffer.
Fillmore 17, Andover/Whitesville 2 (F-5)
ANDOVER — Eighth grader Wade DeRock was endowed with the ball to make his first career Varsity start on the rubber for the Eagles of Fillmore on Thursday.
In their latest road trip to Andover, DeRock would make the most out of every shred of time he spent across his first three innings of play, as he struck out four batters and walked three to pick up the victory — a 17-2 count after five innings over host Andover/Whitesville to get Fillmore back on track.
The Eagles (5-3) scored at least three runs in each of the first four innings of play to help set a massive tone against Andover/Whitesville right out of the starting gate, beginning with a 3-0 lead in their opening at-bats before following it up with six more in the top of the second to push their advantage out in an insurmountable rate to claim the victory that awaited at the end of the game.
The 17 runs were collected off 11 hits at the plate, with Jack Boon’s three-hit evening helping lead the way. Nolan Krzeminski had two hits of his own to chip in, driving in a pair and scoring five times. Damon Potter belted a couple of doubles, while DeRock drove in three runs to further Fillmore’s offensive cause.
Andover/Whitesville (1-6) was led by Colton Calladine and Vinny Joyce, each recording a hit at the plate. On the mound, Brody Vance struck out two and walked two in his inning of relief. The team will look to turn things around this weekend at the Scio Midseason Tournament beginning Saturday morning with a 10 a.m. opening round first pitch against Alfred-Almond.
Fillmore will hit the road once again on Monday with a 5 p.m. visit to Hinsdale.
Fillmore 364 31 – 17 11 1
Andover/Whitesville 002 00 – 2 2 4
FIL – Wade DeRock (WP) (4K, 3BB), Jude Beardsley (4) (3K, BB), Nolan Krzeminski (5) (2K, 2BB) and Krzeminski, Ryan Vedder (5).
A/W – Colton Calladine (LP) (K, 2BB), Brody Vance (2) (2K, 2BB), James Miller-Young (3) (K, 3BB), Jake Mattison (4) (K, 5BB), Derek Perkins (5) (K, BB) and Mattison, Calladine (2).
SOFTBALL
Wellsville 1, Bloomfield 0
WELLSVILLE — In some cases, one run is really all you need.
At the beginning of what can be signified as perhaps one of their most difficult back-to-back sets of the season, the Lady Lions of Wellsville had to prepare for anything and everything, ranging from an endless supply of bats, to even a game-long war from within the circle.
On Thursday against the Bloomfield Lady Bombers, it was a harmonious combination of both elements, as the two squads converged to record 13 total hits. But through it all, that one single run would ultimately make a world of difference when the final pitch was thrown.
Luckily for the Lady Lions, that number was within their subdivision of the scoreboard. And it was Averee Palmatier who was responsible for that.
With Bloomfield limiting them at the plate, the Lady Lions would have to take their game to a completely different level — small ball.
Under the conduction of some key bunts to put some baserunners on, Palmatier would then take the stage and step into the batter’s box with two runners on, including the icebreaking run at third. On the biggest of swings, she would unload a single into right field that garnered enough distance to score what would be the game’s lone run in the bottom of the fifth to give Wellsville a 1-0 victory to survive the defensive battle brought on by the Lady Bombers.
“The girls have been productive with the bats and scoring the runs that come with it, but it was even better to see them get the win in a different matter like this. It’s nice to have one of those close games that you have to work your way out on top in. It was a great pitcher’s battle, both of them really took command and made their respective teams scatter the hits,” Lady Lions co-coach Shelley Chaffee said. “Makenzie (Cowburn) had some nice control and she didn’t get rattled one bit. The hits were limited and it’s never comfortable in games like this, but I was really glad and thankful to push that run across for the win.”
In the midst of Wellsville’s (8-1) game-winning sequence in the fifth inning, it was a pitcher’s duel from beginning to end that Bloomfield’s Ashlyn Wright and Lady Lions ace Makenzie Cowburn delivered back-and-forth haymakers in, as the two combined to hand out a grand total of 22 chairs, allowing just one to reach base on a walk.
Cowburn was credited with that victory after Palmatier drove home the game’s lone run in the fifth, as she posted a 12-strikeout blank of the Lady Bombers to aid in scoring their eighth straight win.
As for the bats, the Lady Lions posted the one run off six total hits. Both Cowburn and Natalie Adams would each have one during the team’s key fifth inning, both reaching on bunts. Despite the hosts in orange taking the first and only lead of the night, Bloomfield remained right on the doorstep at the end, garnering one final opportunity to strike in the seventh inning.
Off a pair of singles, followed by a key bunt themselves, the Lady Bombers dragged a pair of runners over into scoring position with two outs on the board in hopes of responding to Wellsville’s go-ahead marker.
But like she remained all game, Cowburn kept her command under focus and delivered a massive game-ending strikeout, leaving Bloomfield hanging to allow the Lady Lions to escape with a gritty and difficult victory.
The road ahead doesn’t get any easier for Wellsville, as they make their immediate return to Tullar Field tonight for a 6 p.m. visit from Section VI superpower, Iroquois — a rematch of last season’s Class B Far West Regional at Webster Schroeder.
The Lady Lions won that game, 15-5, to punch their tickets to the State Final Four.
Bloomfield 000 000 0 – 0 7 2
Wellsville 000 010 X – 1 6 0
BLO – Ashlyn Wright (LP) (CG, 10K, BB) and Calla McCombs.
WLSV – Makenzie Cowburn (WP) (CG, 12K) and Brazen Beckwith.
Fillmore 12, Andover/Whitesville 5
ANDOVER — The Lady Eagles of Fillmore fed off a brilliant start on the attack against host Andover/Whitesville, Thursday night under the lights in Andover.
With the offense using some key baserunning along the way, the visitors in black and green were able to post runs in each of the first four innings of play to set the tone against host Andover/Whitesville, as they ignited a 12-5 bounce back win.
The baserunning would come into play early on for Fillmore (5-6), as they witnessed each of their first three hitters all reach base. After a series of errors in the field by the Andover/Whitesville defense, the Lady Eagles would cash in on the early prime opportunity with a 3-0 lead after the opening frame.
The lead would grow to as large as six at one point going into the bottom half of the third inning, when Andover/Whitesville (1-5) erased the shutout with their first two runs stemming off back-to-back RBIs from Reece Winters and Makaila Brewster at the heart of their batting order.
But the Lady Eagles answered back to regain their six-run lead on the hosts, using a passed ball, as well as a fielder’s choice off the bat of Mylee Miller, to aid their two-run frame to go back up by an 8-2 count.
Later on, the advantage would be trimmed straight down the middle with a run in each of the next two innings for Andover/Whitesville, with a Winters triple leading the pack in the bottom of the fifth inning. But just as the hosts started to inch closer to Fillmore, the Lady Eagles would assemble an even stronger response by posting their final four runs in the top of the seventh to pull away and out of reach of Andover/Whitesville once and for all.
The Lady Eagles scored 12 runs off 11 hits at the plate, with Preslee Miller’s pair of triples in her three-hit evening at the plate leading the way. Mattie McCumiskey had four hits including a double, driving in three runs and scoring twice herself.
On the mound, Mylee Miller scored the victory with five strikeouts and two walks.
Andover/Whitesville was charged by Brynna Gaylord and two of her hits at the plate. In the circle, Makaila Brewster provided a sublime performance across all seven innings, fanning seven and walking just one Fillmore batter. As for their next game, Andover/Whitesville will get set for opening round battle at Scio’s Midseason Tournament this weekend, facing Arkport-Canaseraga in a 10 a.m. first pitch Saturday morning.
Fillmore will head back home and host the Lady Rebels of Cuba-Rushford in their second meeting in three games to close out their season series, at 5 p.m. tonight.
Fillmore 312 200 4 – 12 11 7
Andover/Whitesville 002 011 1 – 5 6 6
FIL – Mylee Miller (WP) (CG, 5K, 2BB) and Oakley Frazier.
A/W – Makaila Brewster (LP) (CG, 7K, BB) and Reece Winters.
