By CHRIS BROOKS, managing editor, wellsvillesports.com
OLEAN — Eclipsing over the horizon was a trip to Cooperstown for the weekend, for the Lions of Wellsville. In order to get there, they needed to clear just one more hurdle: The Huskies of Olean.
The last time the two teams faced off against one another, time was of the essence in a game that was shortened due to darkness, as Brennen Geffers blasted a sixth inning grand slam to aid the Lions in pulling away.
This time around, a different story. The Lions took the reins early, and they never slowed down.
On Thursday, Wellsville mustered a massive head full of steam going into this weekend’s colossal showdown with Bolivar-Richburg in the birthplace of baseball, as they struck gold early in their opening at-bats while Trent Green captained a complete game, three-hit gem on the hill to keep the host Huskies absolutely silent at the dish to put a victorious ribbon on what was a 5-0 blank over the road.
“It’s nice to score first and jump on them so we can get the momentum our way. We sent seven batters to the plate in the first and we hit the ball real well,” said Lions coach Tom Delahunt. “It was definitely the offensive output that gave us a big jump-start that we needed. It was a tremendous start for Trenton to go with it. We’re looking forward to other pitchers behind him to eat some innings as well. Trent was very efficient, and we fielded our positions real well behind him. He did well, six strikeouts in seven innings, we didn’t have to use anyone else on this night.”
The Lions (6-2) wasted no time establishing their presence against the Huskies, as the top of the order provided some ice-breaking fireworks out of the gate. After a lead-off double to right center field by Aiden Cowburn set up shop, it was the big bat of Ty Vogel that provided a full-blown detonation to deep right center field, sending his ball straight over the fence to grant the team a 2-0 lead.
The advantage for Wellsville held firm all the way across the board, as they scored one more run in the fourth before slamming the door shut in the sixth with their final two runs, laying the rest of the game on Green’s shoulders going forward. When it was all said and done, Green completed a three-hit twirl, striking out six and walking four.
Olean 8th-grader Dominik Myers had a chance to cut into the lead as he crushed a shot to center field, but Cameron Lyons made a running, spinning over the shoulder catch to preserve the shutout. Myers crushed another ball to the fence with two outs in the 6th, but this time, Lyons was ready near the fence and was camping under the ball for the final out.
At the plate, Matt Ritter went 2-for-4 with a double, and an RBI. Aiden Cowburn scored three runs, while Green, Karson Grover, Andrew Ordiway and Tyler Rahr all posted a hit each, with the latter of the Lions stepping onto the scene with his first career Varsity hit.
Wellsville and B-R were rained out Saturday at Coopertown, the game will be made up in Bolivar on May 15. The Lions host Cuba-Rushford on Monday and have Senior Night at home on Saturday with Attica at 1 p.m.
Wellsville 200 102 0 – 5 9 0
Olean 000 000 0 – 0 3 1
WLSV – Trent Green (WP) (CG, 6K, 4BB) and Matt Ritter.
OLE – Landon Johnson (LP) (2K, 4BB), Dominik Myers (6) (3K, 3BB) and Caine Degolier.
Genesee Valley/Belfast 13, Fillmore 3 (F-6)
BELFAST — It was a defeat back on Tuesday against Bolivar-Richburg that Genesee Valley/Belfast wanted to leave in the rearview mirror quickly. For the Eagles of Fillmore, it was a comeback victory on the same day at Cuba-Rushford they wanted to build on.
When the two teams clashed for their first of two epic showdowns on the diamond, something had to give Thursday night.
The answer came right from the beginning of the game off of Ethan Davenport’s massive first inning double, which set the tone for the rest of the night spent under the lights at the Rich Sullivan Complex in Belfast, as Genesee Valley/Belfast siphoned and reversed the momentum in their favor to force an early end to the night against the Eagles, rolling towards a 13-3 bounce back victory in six innings.
“It was a great win after a disappointing loss at Bolivar-Richburg on Tuesday,” said GV/Belfast coach Dennis Miles. “Fillmore has a very good team, so we were pleased to get out of there with a commanding win to get back on track. The (Damon) Potter kid has been one of the best pitchers around, and we were able to get a hold of him early. Davenport’s double really set the tone for the rest of the game, unlike the game on Tuesday where we couldn’t get a hold of it at all. Ryan (Daciw) pitched a nice game for us across five innings and then Mason (Thomas) came in and did what he was supposed to do in relief. That can be huge for us if he starts to develop into a closer role for us.”
Daciw was simply outstanding on the mound for Genesee Valley/Belfast (6-1), as he led the defense on the field through five superb innings of work, striking out six all while surrendering just five hits.
As for the bats, sophomore Derek Calanni went 4-for-4 with a double, 3 RBI’s and scored two runs while Ethan Davenport was a gigantic presence early, delivering a big double to help break the game open. The junior finished with three total RBI and three runs scored to go with the knock.
Ian McKenzie had two hits, driving in three in the process, while Daciw, Ben Cater, Nolan Hunter and Trent Hutchison all had a hit for Genesee Valley/Belfast.
Fillmore (3-2) was paced by the bat of Isaac Wilcox, who had two of the team’s five hits. James Hillman, Damon Potter and Brayden Hennard all had a hit each to help further the team’s cause. On the mound, Potter went the first three innings, striking out four and walking two.
Genesee Valley/Belfast will stay put at the Rich Sullivan Complex in Belfast to welcome in Franklinville one more time on Saturday, with first pitch slated for a 7 p.m. commencement.
Cuba-Rushford 10, Bolivar-Richburg 9 (F-8)
CUBA — There was absolutely no trouble finding ways to bring the runs across the plate between Bolivar-Richburg and Cuba-Rushford on Thursday.
Right from the first pitch, the two longtime rivals buckled in and went straight to work. After an even first inning was registered into the ledger, it was a back-and-forth trade all the way to the bitter end, with a game-tying run in the seventh from the Wolverines ultimately forcing extra innings.
With Hayden Schappacher holding Bolivar-Richburg at bay with a clean eighth inning of work, it was now the Rebels turn to complete the bounce back. As a result, they only needed three at-bats to get the job done, with Kadin Pierce leading off with a big hit before working his way into scoring position before eighth grader Carson Schunk belted home the game-winning hit to bring him in, as he finished off Cuba-Rushford’s walk-off victory in style to complete their rebound with a 10-9 win over the Wolverines.
“Bolivar-Richburg is young and they came ready to play. We spotted them three and were flat-footed to start the game, but we really bounced back with three of our own in the bottom half. Credit to both teams fighting until the end,” said Rebels coach Pat Wight. “We were lucky to get one more hit to fall. Eli (Sleggs) didn’t have his best stuff tonight, but he battled, and that allowed Hayden to come in after a shaky first inning to settle right in with a big seventh inning to help us tie the game after, and then gave us another big outing in the eighth to set up what we were able to do. I was very happy to be back in the win column after a tough game Tuesday.”
Both teams registered a three-run frame across the first inning to get the scoring started on the diamond, with the Rebels (2-2) responding largely off with a two-run double off the bat of Adam Shaffer before he was brought in moments later on a Lucas Haskins single to tie the game.
From the second inning onward, the pendulum shifted in every single direction, with Cuba-Rushford continuing to ride the momentum with three straight runs to claim a 6-4 lead after three complete frames of play.
The Wolverines (4-2) came right back with two runs of their own — one of them off an RBI double from Braden Zilker before he scored on a passed ball. The back-and-forth barbs continued all the way into the seventh inning where the visitors found a way to tie the game on error, as Landon Barkley navigated his way across the plate after originally leading off with a deep triple to right field.
With both teams drawing even on the scoreboard to force extra innings, it was now on the shoulders of the pitchers to keep one another at bay. For the hosts in blue and gray, Hayden Schappacher did just that, handing out three straight strikeouts in the top of the eighth with runners at second and third to leave them both on base, tilting the momentum to their final at-bats of the game, where they finished off the victory in walk-off fashion behind Schunk’s single to right field.
The Rebels finished with 10 runs off 12 hits, with Finn Ricketts going 3-for-3 with a two-run double in the bottom of the second inning to grant a 5-4 lead at that particular juncture of time. Kadin Pierce recorded three hits, while Lucas Haskins and Stanley Gilchrist each had two hits.
On the mound, the win belonged to Schappacher after a brilliant finish down the stretch, as he compiled five strikeouts and three walks.
For the Wolverines, Tavyn MacDonell had the big bat, going 3-for-5 with two doubles and two runs scored. Landon Barkley, Braden Zilker and Mason Baldwin all had two hits to chip in for an offense that produced 11 hits in total.
On the mound, Maddox Davison struck out four and walked three in his relief appearance.
Cuba-Rushford will look to eclipse the .500 mark for the young campaign coming up on Monday, as they have their turn to face Wellsville on the road at 5 p.m.
Bolivar-Richburg 310 202 10 – 9 11 2
Cuba-Rushford 321 120 01 – 10 12 2
B-R – Mason Baldwin (2K, 5BB), Maddox Davison (LP, 3) (4K, 3BB) and Tavyn MacDonell.
C-R – Eli Sleggs (5K, 4BB), Hayden Schappacher (WP, 6) (5K, 3BB) and Adam Shaffer.
Andover/Whitesville 15, Friendship/Scio 2 (F-5)
ANDOVER — The attack came alive for Andover/Whitesville on Thursday on their home field in Andover, ripping and roaring their way across the plate for 15 big runs — the majority of which stemmed in the first three innings of play to set the tone against visiting Friendship/Scio, as they rolled straight towards a 15-2 victory after five complete innings.
Andover/Whitesville (2-1) made the most of the opportunity on the offensive front, using a combination of hits, along with some timely baserunning to provide one crack into the ice after another. It would begin with the game’s first two runs in the bottom of the first before the whirlwind set in across the next two innings, scoring 11 runs in that span to keep Friendship/Scio in the rearview mirror.
Out of their 15 total runs, Andover/Whitesville came up with eight hits in all. On the mound, the win belonged to a solid two-inning start from Gavin Frungillo, as he struck out four.
Friendship/Scio (0-5) had just two runs off four hits at the dish, eliminating the potential shutout bid being put on by the hosts in the top of the third inning with their first run. On the mound, Cooper Greenman went all four innings, striking out five and walking nine. Friendship/Scio will hit the road Monday night for a 5 p.m. visit to Jasper-Troupsburg.
Further statistics were not made available to report upon publication.
Andover/Whitesville will return to action tonight right back in Andover, as they welcome in the Avoca-Prattsburgh Titans for a 6 p.m. first pitch.
Friendship/Scio 001 01 – 2 4 2
Andover/Whitesville 256 2X – 15 8 1
F/S – Cooper Greenman (LP) (CG, 5K, 9BB) and Charlie Taylor.
A/W – Gavin Frungillo (WP) (4K), Vinny Joyce (3) (K, BB), Rogan Perkins (5) (2K, BB) and Colton Calladine.
Alfred-Almond 19, Hinsdale 4 (F-5)
HINSDALE — In a game that was originally slated for battle earlier this month, the Alfred-Almond Eagles saw their offense go full bore over the road on Thursday right from the get-go, as they put an early end to their visit to Hinsdale with a massive five-inning victory over the host Bobcats by a 19-4 count.
Stats and a complete box score were not made available to report upon publication.
Hinsdale (1-5) will return to the diamond Saturday afternoon for a 12 p.m. visit from Mount Morris.
