Thursday Roundup: Pitching golden once more for Lions in home opener, Cowburn supplies stellar outing to aid in team’s 5-1 win over Haverling; Fillmore downs Friendship-Scio
Photos and story by CHRIS BROOKS, managing editor, wellsvillesports.com
WELLSVILLE — Pitching has been the main focal point of emphasis for the Lions of Wellsville to start their Class B title defense.
In Monday’s season opener at Allegany-Limestone, three different pitchers for the black and orange came together to hand out nearly 20 chairs against the Gators in their 7-2 victory.
With it, the pitching has been paired alongside with the presence of timely hitting, which fueled the Lions to branch out their advantage down the stretch. Fast forward to an overcast Thursday night, those two ingredients brewed together was the recipe for success once again in their first home game of the young campaign.
Behind the guidance of Aiden Cowburn both on the mound, as well as a perfect outing at the plate to boost the offense along the way, the Lions evaded a late fourth-inning threat from the visiting Rams of Bath-Haverling behind another stellar outing of pitching from all fronts, as Cowburn along with relievers Gavin Haggerty and Anthony Button helped slam the door shut on the team’s 5-1 victory to flip the switch on a 2-0 start heading into the weekend.
“Once again, I was really pleased with our pitching,” Lions coach Tom Delahunt said. “Monday we got a strong performance, and we got it again tonight. It’s nice to lean on that early on in the season, and we have so many kids we can go to as well. I’m really happy with where they are tonight. Aiden’s got a hit in all five plate appearances he’s had so far, and you cannot do any better as the lead-off guy. It’s really nice to have that, despite struggling at the plate a little bit. This game, we were never really comfortable. It was on the pitchers to make some huge pitches when we needed it the most.”
Cowburn’s fierce start to his senior campaign carried on for the Lions (2-0), following a successful 2-for-2 stint at the dish earlier in the week. The senior followed up by remaining perfect at 1.000, going 3-for-3 with an RBI and the game’s first run in the bottom of the first off a Ty Vogel single into left field.
It was not long after until Wellsville found some additional cushioning to chip in towards their advantage, as Anthony Button collected a deep sacrifice into right field to bring Matt Ritter home, doubling their lead.
Both teams were kept off the board through then next two innings leading into the top of the fourth where the Rams shelled out their most threatening stand of offense against the Lions in the contest, loading the bases on their first three at-bats of the frame — two of them reaching off a pair of errors committed by the Wellsville defense with no outs on the board.
But despite their backs being against the wall for a slight moment, Cowburn was able to help lead the defense off, getting two Rams hitters to pop out into the direction of Vogel at first base, who then made two spectacular catches — one over the shoulder on the run in foul territory, and then a leaping grab in shallow right field before falling down onto the grass to close out the frame and exit the jam.
The two dynamic plays on defense aided Wellsville in keeping the momentum in their favor down the stretch, as they went on to post three straight runs across the next two frames of play, with a deep drive into the warning track in right center field by Cowburn bringing home Andrew Ordiway in the bottom of the fourth.
One inning later, two more runs were scratched across after a lead-off triple from Karson Grover kick-started the tires for the Lions offense once again.
He later found home plate himself on another sacrifice to the outfield by Button. With one runner remaining on base, Gavin Haggerty came through with what served as the final RBI of the game for the hosts in orange and black, floating a shot into left field that fell in between a pair of Rams to plate the team’s fifth run.
With a four-run lead in their grasp, it was back on the shoulders of the pitchers to close out the game on top. For Bath-Haverling’s final at-bats of the game, the ball was given to Button for the final sequence of the contest.
As a direct result, he took matters into his own hands and retired the side with three straight strikeouts, handing the Lions another strong victory heading into the weekend.
The Lions totaled five runs off nine hits at the plate, with Andrew Ordiway and his 2-for-3 outing at the dish helping further the cause on the attack, scoring two runs in addition to his efforts. Trent Green had a double and scored a run.
On the mound, Cowburn scored the victory through four innings of work, striking out seven and walking two.
If weather permits, Wellsville will return to the Lion’s Den on Saturday, as they welcome in the Canisteo-Greenwood Chargers for battle at 11 a.m.
Bath-Haverling 000 100 0 – 1 2 4
Wellsville 200 120 X – 5 9 3
B-H – Asher Phenes (LP) (4K, 2BB), Parker Lafler (6) (BB) and Lukas Wightman.
WLSV – Aiden Cowburn (WP) (7K, 2BB), Gavin Haggerty (5) (2K), Anthony Button (7) (3K) and Matt Ritter.
Fillmore 13, Friendship/Scio 2 (F-5)
FILLMORE — Although some overcast skies and a sprinkle of rain took the area by storm once again on Thursday, a fast start from the Eagles of Fillmore at the plate saw them ignite the fuse towards an explosive season debut on the diamond at the Town Park, as they rolled straight towards a 13-2 victory after five complete innings over visiting Friendship/Scio.
“I thought we came out and swung the bats well early, but we got a little too sloppy and got away from our approaches in the middle innings. Our pitching threw strikes and they all did their job. Jack Boon was a big part of our success tonight, he hit the ball hard. I give a lot of credit to Friendship/Scio and their pitchers. They’re much improved from last year. The (Shawn) Wade kid has a really bright future ahead of him.” said Eagles coach Kaiden Bowers.
The Fillmore (1-0) offense proceeded to score at least a run in every inning until the final pitch was thrown in the top of the fifth, as they went to work immediately in their opening at-bats with the game’s first domino — a five-run frame that ultimately set the tone.
One of the biggest impacts was the bat of Jack Boon, who was 2-for-3 with a triple, three RBI and two runs scored.
Although Friendship/Scio (0-2) jumped aboard with their first two runs in the second and third innings, the Eagles kept the fire lit on the attack, as they finished the game with six straight runs — five of them coming in the bottom of the fourth to lock away the victory in game-shortened fashion.
Following up Boon’s performance at the plate, was Connor McCumiskey and his two-hit, two-RBI performance. Alongside Malcolm Nusbickel and Kalen Beardsley, McCumiskey was awarded the victory on the mound, handing out three strikeouts in his two-inning start for the hosts in green and white, who held Friendship/Scio to just one hit at the plate.
Friendship/Scio was led by Cooper Greenman on the rubber, as he struck out and walked seven respectively in his start. The team will host Jasper-Troupsburg in Scio after the weekend, beginning at 5 p.m. on Monday.
Fillmore will look to keep the motor running into Saturday afternoon, weather permitting, hosting the Campbell-Savona Panthers in a 1 p.m. first pitch.
Friendship/Scio 011 00 — 2 1 2
Fillmore 521 5X — 13 6 2
F/S – Cooper Greenman (LP) (7K, 7BB), Shawn Wade (4) (2BB) and Charlie Taylor.
FIL – Connor McCumiskey (WP) (3K), Malcolm Nusbickel (3) (3K, 2BB), Kalen Beardsley (5) (2K, 2BB) and Isaac Wilcox.
