The rain and storm warnings enjoyed the headlines so much last week, they seem to be trying to make thm again this week.
Here is a look back at games across Allegany County last week and photos:
Stories by CHRIS BROOKS, Wellsville action photos by ELLA GREEN
WELLSVILLE — The band-aid was ripped off immediately by the Lions of Wellsville on Monday.
Following their first run of the game to help break the ice, the avalanche of runs soon came after, as the defending Class B champions strung together a wide array of hits in the bottom of the third inning to crack the 10-run marker for the contest against Cuba-Rushford, rolling towards an eventual 11-5 victory in the Lion’s Den.
In the latest Class B state rankings, Wellsville is #5 and Section VI’s undefeated Medina is #1. Wellsville lost to Medina in the Far West Regionals last season and the two teams are scheduled to play at Medina this Saturday.
Behind an RBI double off the bat of Matt Ritter to provide the game’s first crack into the ice, Wellsville (7-2) continued finding all the right grooves at the plate entering a third inning that broke the floodgates down, as Ritter (single) and Trent Green (double) each drove in a run, while Andrew Ordiway supplied three RBI off two hits of his own.
In addition to the clamorous frame of attack, the Lions also registered an RBI double off the bat of Gavin Haggerty, as well as a contact RBI from Tyler Rahr, to set the stage for a nine-run stanza and a 10-0 lead they never looked back on.
The Rebels (2-3), despite the disadvantage, continued to work against the Wellsville bullpen, as they climbed back into the game with five of the next six runs.
But before any more damage was applied, Ordiway slammed the door shut during his relief appearance in the seventh inning by mustering all three outs with his glove — two by way of strikeout before finishing off a ground-ball for the game’s final out and the victory for the Lions.
Wellsville totaled 11 runs off 13 hits at the dish, with Ordiway and his masterful 4-for-4 outing leading the charge, as he compiled three RBI and scored two runs. Ritter finished a perfect 3-for-3 with his RBI double and two runs scored.
In addition, Aiden Cowburn also had three hits and scored twice, while Cam Lyons and Trent Green had two each, with Green driving in two runs and scoring twice.
On the mound, the win belonged to senior Gavin Haggerty, who went the first three innings with two strikeouts and a walk.
For Cuba-Rushford, Lucas Haskins recorded a brilliant relief appearance, striking out four and walking one. At the plate, Landen Schappacher led the bats with a 2-for-4 outing that saw him score a run.
Both teams are on the road Wednesday night for a pair of 5 p.m. clashes, as the Lions trek north for a whale of a showdown with the Wayland-Cohocton Eagles, while Cuba-Rushford looks to navigate their way back into the win column with a pit stop at Wellman Field in Friendship to meet host Friendship/Scio.
Cuba-Rushford 000 212 0 – 5 7 2
Wellsville 109 010 X – 11 13 0
C-R – Hayden Schappacher (LP) (K, BB), Lucas Haskins (3) (4K, BB), Landen Schappacher (6) (3K, 2B) and Adam Shaffer.
WLSV – Gavin Haggerty (WP) (2K, BB), Karson Grover (4) (3K, 5BB), Brennen Geffers (6) (K, 3BB), Andrew Ordiway (7) (3K, BB) and Tyler Rahr.
Class D State Champ Ark-Can assembles timely hits down stretch to outlast Potter, Fillmore in 8-5 home win
ARKPORT — Recent history shows that when sharing the same exact diamond for a stage on a dedicated night for baseball, both Fillmore and Arkport-Canaseraga always put together one of the finest productions within the surrounding area.
A Monday night at Timmerman Field in Arkport was the first of two platforms that both squads will share this 2025 campaign outdoors. But it was also one that cemented yet another phenomenal display of competition right from the start, as both Fillmore’s Damon Potter and Arkport-Canaseraga’s Caden Carey were up for the challenge in a back-and-forth exchange on the hill.
As time went on, the bats began to rise in temperature leading up to the third inning, when both teams created two go-ahead sequences during their time as conductor of the orchestra. The latter of which belonged to the Class D State Champion Wolves, and it was one that kept them ahead for good.
With all the pressure in the world by the Eagles coming down the stretch, Arkport-Canaseraga remained one step ahead, as they bolstered their advantage in the bottom of the fourth with some massive timely hitting to pull away towards victory in the first of a two-game set this season between the foes, edging by Fillmore in an 8-5 final count.
Both starting pitchers worked through a first inning of complete efficiency, with Carey delivering a rapid fire 1-2-3 of the Fillmore (4-3) bats out of the gate, while Potter bounced right back with a fanning of the side in the bottom half to keep the Wolves frozen.
The visitors were the first to place runners on base in the second frame, but the hosts in black and teal were the first with their runners in scoring position, as they brought one across on an errant throw to third base that went wide of the bag.
In the fourth inning, two different go-ahead sequences were plastered into the ledger, with Fillmore supplying theirs first in the top half, which was set up by a lead-off double by Brayden Hennard and a infield bunt single by Jared Boon at the top of the order.
Hennard navigated his way across the plate on a hard hit single into left from James Hillman to tie the game at one before he, along with Hennard, scored on a throwing error at first base with two outs during Jack Boon’s at-bat.
Arkport-Canaseraga then provided a response of their own in go-ahead quality, pouncing right back with a three-run frame — two of the runs being scored on a deep double by John Marcus into left center field, claiming the eventual 4-3 lead in the process.
After Fillmore was shut down in the fourth inning, the momentum remained with the Wolves from that point on, as they gained even more room to work off four more timely runs, recording an 8-3 lead they never looked back on.
The Eagles posted their five runs off six hits, with Hillman and Jack Boon paving the way with two hits each. On the mound, Damon Potter struck out four and walked three during his start that elongated into the fifth inning.
In relief, Jared Boon supplied five strikeouts and two walks of his own to help prevent any more damage by the Wolves from coming across.
For the defending State Champions, they recorded eight runs off 10 hits, with Marcus, Eli Merry and Bryer Drake all registering a pair of hits. Marcus led the team’s bats with three total RBI and a run scored. Merry and Drake each had two RBI of their own.
On the hill, Carey went the first five innings, garnering four strikeouts to claim the victory.
Fillmore is back home to the Town Park on Wednesday, hosting the Hinsdale Bobcats at 5 p.m.
Fillmore 003 020 0 – 5 6 2
Arkport-Canaseraga 013 400 X – 8 10 3
FIL – Damon Potter (LP) (4K, 3BB), Jared Boon (5) (5K, 2BB) and Isaac Wilcox.
A-C – Caden Carey (WP) (4K), Drew Glover (6) (K) and Bryer Drake.
Genesee Valley/Belfast 16, Andover/Whitesville 1 (F-5)
BELFAST — Genesee Valley/Belfast moved one step closer to becoming Allegany County’s first team to 10 wins on the campaign Wednesday night at the Rich Sullivan Complex in Belfast, using a gigantic display of offense at the plate along with a sterling start on the rubber from Ryan Daciw to ignite the fireworks against visiting Andover/Whitesville, as they rolled straight towards the finish line after five innings with a 16-1 home victory.
Right after Andover/Whitesville saw their offense kick into gear with a sacrifice fly from Colton Calladine, it was Genesee Valley/Belfast’s (9-1) game to take over, as they went on a mammoth run by scoring the next 16 runs in unanswered fashion.
The offense at the dish saw three different hitters record at least two hits each, with Nolan Hunter pacing the efforts with a 2-for-3 outing, driving in three runs. Derek Calanni had two hits of his own, including a double, and totaled two RBI, while Ian McKenzie had two of his own.
Despite the sacrifice in the top of the first, the Genesee Valley/Belfast pitching staff of Daciw and Calanni glued together a one-hit victory, with Daciw scoring the win across a four-inning stint that saw him strike out 11 and walk one. Calanni wrapped up the game with his arm in the fifth inning with two big strikeouts.
Calladine was awarded Andover/Whitesville’s (2-4) lone hit, snapping Genesee Valley/Belfast’s no-hit bid in the top of the fourth inning.
A complete box score was not made available to report upon publication.
Both teams are back on the field on Friday, weather permitting, in a pair of 5 p.m. first pitches over the road, with Genesee Valley/Belfast taking aim at a potential 10th win of the season with a visit to Hinsdale, while Andover/Whitesville hops on the interstate to travel and visit Cuba-Rushford.
Cuba-Rushford 22, Friendship/Scio 2 (F-5)
FRIENDSHIP — Finn Ricketts had himself a day for the Rebels of Cuba-Rushford on Wednesday.
The senior provided an absolutely volatile presence at the plate with not one, but two monster bombs that skyrocketed their way out of historic Wellman Field in Friendship, helping set the stage for the visitors in blue and gray in what was a 22-2 road win over host Friendship/Scio after five complete frames.
Ricketts and his reign of terror came early for the Rebels (3-4) from within the team’s 11-run top half of the first, as he launched a three-run missile in his second at-bat to finish off the scoring within the frame.
He then proceeded to bookend the game with his second jack of the evening to straight away center field — a solo shot with one out that took one hop off the top of the fence and over, to put a wrap on the contest.
Cuba-Rushford supplied 10 hits on the attack against Friendship/Scio (0-7), with Ricketts leading the way with his 3-for-4 outing, totaling four RBI and three runs scored. Kadin Pierce was perfect during his outing, going 2-for-2 with four RBI of his own and three runs scored. Landyn Hendrix and Hayden Schappacher each had three RBI to drive in.
On the mound, Lucas Haskins scored the win with six strikeouts and three walks. In relief for the first time in his career, Landen Schappacher followed up with a sublime four strikeouts and a walk to round off the Rebels pitching efforts.
Friendship/Scio was guided by Aiden Golden on the mound and at the plate, as he fanned two and walked three during his tenure of relief, adding the team’s lone hit along the way in the bottom of the third inning to interrupt Cuba-Rushford’s no-hit bid. The team will return to action back at Wellman Field tonight, hosting Bolivar-Richburg at 5 p.m.
Cuba-Rushford heads back home on Friday, weather permitting, as they look to keep the momentum rolling with a 5 p.m. visit from Andover/Whitesville.
Cuba-Rushford (11)35 21 – 22 10 1
Friendship/Scio 0 11 00 – 2 1 3
C-R – Lucas Haskins (WP) (6K, 3BB), Landen Schappacher (4) (4K, BB) and Hayden Schappacher.
F/S – Blake Perry (LP) (2K, 7BB), Aiden Golden (3) (2K, 3BB), Daejin Langdon (5) (K) and Charlie Taylor.
Fillmore 14, Hinsdale 1 (F-5)
FILLMORE — The Eagles of Fillmore soared relentless right from the beginning of Wednesday’s home clash at the Town Park with Hinsdale, as they rang the dinner bell to rip and roar 12 straight runs during the opening sequences to construct an advantage they never lost sight of, coasting straight towards a 14-1 victory over the visiting Bobcats after five innings to officially bounce back from Monday’s defeat at Arkport-Canaseraga.
The Eagles (5-3) worked the assembly line right from the start, using all forms of attack to light the way forward in the midst of a 12-0 lead — nine of those runs serving as the second inning’s genesis, as the contest worked its way through two complete innings.
Six different Fillmore batters all registered at least a hit, with Damon Potter and Braylon Hatch captaining the bats with a double each, both driving in two runs in the process. Jared Boon, James Hillman, Isaac Wilcox and Kalen Beardsley all had a hit to chip in along the way.
On the mound, Connor McCumiskey was the victorious pitcher, as he, alongside a relief appearance from Beardsley late down the stretch, held the Bobcats (2-6) to just a single hit at the dish, striking out five and walking three during his start. Beardsley chipped in with four strikeouts and a walk of his own.
Hinsdale scored their lone hit from Peyton Keller, while Tyler Richards snapped the shutout with the team’s lone RBI, scoring Jackson Jones. The Bobcats are back home tonight to host Genesee Valley/Belfast at 5 p.m.
Fillmore will step away from action until Tuesday right, as they hit the road themselves to meet Friendship/Scio at Wellman Field in Friendship, at 5 p.m.
Hinsdale 001 00 – 1 1 3
Fillmore 390 2X – 14 6 0
HIN – Robert Childs (LP) (4K, 8BB), Brad Bergstrom (3) (2K, 3BB) and Peyton Keller.
FIL – Connor McCumiskey (WP) (5K, 3BB), Kalen Beardsley (4) (4K, BB) and Isaac Wilcox.
In rain-shortened tourney at B-R, host Wolverines open door late vs. Otto-Eldred, C-R’s propels ahead of Bloomfield off Shaffer’s RBI single to capture victories; Consolation, Championship cancelled
BOLIVAR — The rain was absolutely relentless across Friday and Saturday entering the weekend.
With the postponements and make-up games beginning to pile up heading into one of the final stretches before Sectionals, it also comes with an elongated, heavy grind to the finish line for most teams in Allegany County.
For the Wolverines of Bolivar-Richburg, they’re amongst the group, with Saturday morning’s game against the Otto-Eldred Terrors being the first of a seven-game stretch in just over a week’s time.
Talk about putting your nose to the grindstone.
It was an early command of the contest that allowed Bolivar-Richburg ahead of the Terrors. Soon after, the visitors sliced the deficit right down the middle upon the entrance of the homestretch to put the pressure on.
But the Wolverines offense came through in a big way in the late stages, posting a floodgate-shattering sixth inning, led by Tavyn MacDonell and his RBI triple, to ensure their advantage remained unaltered in the end, as they went past Otto-Eldred with a 7-2 win to open up the first of two tournament games.
With Maddox Davison getting the Wolverines (6-2) off on a fantastic start with his two shutout innings out of the gate, the offense broke through right behind it with the game’s opening run in the bottom of the second before the Terrors immediately tied the game with one of their own a half-inning later.
Special teams were utilized once again in the top of the third to give the hosts the lead back in the third inning before the offense pieced together a tremendous finish down the stretch.
In the final two at-bats of the game, Bolivar-Richburg built onto their lead behind the guidance of MacDonell, who accounted for two of the five runs with a sacrifice fly to the outfield in the fifth, leading up to his unloading of a crushing triple to put away the game for good.
In all, the Wolverines totaled seven runs off seven hits at the dish, with MacDonell and Braden Zilker each recording two hits. Waide Karnuth had a double, while Landon Barkley and James Gleason both had a hit to add into the mix.
On the mound, Maddox Davison kept the door shut as much as possible against the Terrors, going all seven innings to register the complete game victory with eight strikeouts and two walks.
To wrap up an early afternoon of baseball on the turf, it was another clutch sequence in the final stages of battle between Cuba-Rushford and Bloomfield in the midst of a pitcher’s duel between Hayden Schappacher and Joey Walsh of the Bombers.
With a tight game developing down to the wire and little room for error, it was a finish that only required one.
Down to their final out in the inning with the go-ahead run standing on the middle bag, Adam Shaffer came through and delivered the goods with a mammoth base hit into left field to provide the Rebels with the game’s final lead change, as they then turned their attention to the field where they proceeded to dish out a rapid 1-2-3 of Bloomfield to close up shop and claim the 3-2 edge over the Bombers.
After their opposition struck first in their opening at-bats, Cuba-Rushford (4-4) issued some early contact leading up to a third inning that saw them nearly complete one full revolution through their lineup. Along with the collection of three big hits to help lay the foundation down, the Rebels capitalized on a colossal error by the defense to score two go-ahead runs.
In between it all: A phenomenal outing from Hayden Schappacher on the mound, as he kept Bloomfield at bay for as long as he could with three straight shutout innings after the Bombers initially took a 1-0 lead — two of those frames courtesy of a quick 1-2-3 on the field, as the freshman struck out seven and walked three in his six innings of work.
“For Hayden being a freshman, he sure pitched like an upperclassman. He was tough all day on the mound, and even when the defense behind him made a mistake, he rebounded with a strikeout or a good pitch with a ground ball,” said Rebels coach Pat Wight. “Offensively, we had some solid at-bats once we adjusted to the curveball. They tied the game late before we responded with Adam’s big RBI in the last inning. Eli (Sleggs) then came in and shut the door.”
With the Bombers climbing back into the game in the bottom of the fifth on a game-tying fielder’s choice, the Rebels held on tight all the way to the end when the action transitioned into the seventh inning.
Staring two outs down in the face, the team in blue and gray held their ground and beamed through with magnificence, as Adam Shaffer ultimately hand-delivered the win behind his go-ahead single to score Eli Sleggs before the latter of the Rebels came in and deadbolted the door shut with a rapid fire 1-2-3 of Bloomfield on the hill to end it.
Despite only scoring three runs, the Rebels had a solid day of production at the plate, totaling eight hits — three of them belonging to their leading hitter, Lucas Haskins, who went 3-for-4. Shaffer finished with two hits, while Sleggs, Schappacher and Carson Schunk all had one to chip in.
Sleggs handed out a strikeout in his seventh inning appearance on the hill along the way. The two Rebels hurlers combined to hold Bloomfield to just five hits.
In return, Rebels were up against a masterful performance from Bloomfield’s Joey Walsh from start to finish, as he went the full seven-inning distance with 11 strikeouts and two walks.
The Consolation and Championship games scheduled for later in the day were officially cancelled, due to the ongoing rain shower. Cuba-Rushford and Bolivar-Richburg’s next clash on May 16 will count as the tournament’s Championship game, as well as an Allegany County League matchup on the Wolverines’ Senior Night.
Both teams are back on the field at 5 p.m. Monday night, weather permitting, with the Wolverines playing host to Port Allegany, while Cuba-Rushford heads to Andover to partake in doubleheader action with host Andover/Whitesville.
Otto-Eldred 001 000 1 – 2 7 1
Bolivar-Richburg 011 014 X – 7 7 1
O-E – Jaden Prince (LP) (3K, 7BB), Michael Sheeler (6) and Manning Splain.
B-R – Maddox Davison (WP) (CG, 8K, 2BB) and Tavyn MacDonell.
Cuba-Rushford 002 000 1 – 3 8 2
Bloomfield 100 010 0 – 2 5 4
C-R – Hayden Schappacher (WP) (7K, 3BB), Eli Sleggs (7) (K) and Adam Shaffer.
BLO – Joey Walsh (LP) (CG, 11K, 2BB) and Levi Gumaer.
