By CHRIS BROOKS, managing editor, wellsvillesports.com. Action photos by ELLA GREEN
WELLSVILLE — With three games remaining, including their final renewal of their rivalry with the Hornell Red Raiders on Monday, the race to the finish line for the Lions of Wellsville was on.
The offense has found their rhythm at the plate, combining for just over 30 runs on 24 hits in their last two games against Canisteo-Greenwood and Allegany-Limestone.
Their battle with the Red Raiders was no different, despite their rivals claiming the early edge out of the gate.
Their response to it, the biggest of bangs.
Quite literally.
The first two hitters in their offensive stand, Aiden Cowburn and Ty Vogel each had a turn at leaving the yard, as the two Lions seniors went back-to-back against Hornell to start the game, beginning a strand of 12 unanswered runs to force an early exit off the field to start the week, wrapping up what was a 12-1 five-inning win over the Red Raiders.
“We definitely swung the sticks pretty well tonight,” said Lions coach Tom Delahunt. “We’ve always talked about jumping ahead and scoring first right away. Hitting two moonshots like that off the bat really got us going. 14 hits total as a team tonight, it’s nice to have that, because we had a lot of guys that hit the ball hard. Hopefully this is something that continues to stick with us for the next three weeks ahead of us.”
The two solo home runs at the top of the Wellsville (11-3) batting order came amidst even more offensive activity at the plate, with Karter Grover chipping in an RBI off a single to score the team’s third and final run of the first inning.
From the second inning on, all momentum was clasped by the hosts in orange following a three-strikeout frame from Trent Green on the hill, as they drove in five runs — two more off the bat of Vogel, to jump out towards an 8-1 lead.
With the defense showing no signs of giving way, the Lions went on to score four more runs in the last two innings of offense they could provide, as they officially locked down the shortened victory in five innings.
On top of their hitting cluster the past two games on the diamond, Wellsville added in 14 more hits into the fray to account for their 12 runs, with Vogel’s perfect 3-for-3 outing leading the way, as he totaled four RBI and two runs scored to go with his home run.
Cowburn finished with three hits — a triple shy of the cycle, recording a double, two RBI and three runs scored. Karter Grover had two hits total to chip in.
On the mound, Green was superb, going four innings strong to keep Hornell frozen at the plate with eight strikeouts and three walks.
For the Red Raiders, Sheamus Khork led the sticks with two of the team’s three total hits, with Aaron McInerney posting the remaining hit. On the mound, Logan Vondracek fanned two and walked two in his spurt of relief.
Wellsville will now turn their attention to the Bolivar-Richburg Wolverines on Thursday, as they prepare to hit the road for a 5 p.m. first pitch.
Hornell 100 00 – 1 3 1
Wellsville 353 1X – 12 14 2
HOR – Aaron McInerney (LP), Logan Vondracek (4) (2K, 2BB) and Ashton Hooker.
WLSV – Trent Green (WP) (8K, 3BB), Gavin Haggerty (5) (BB) and Tyler Rahr, Matt Ritter (5).
Lions win big on Senior Night, Vogel tossed 3-hit shutout
WELLSVILLE — It was a matchup that was put on hold not once, but twice this season due to Mother Nature’s rain-filled wrath. But with the weather forecast appearing more than suitable for action once again, there was no more waiting.
Only this time, it marked a special night for the Lions of Wellsville against Allegany-Limestone.
Upon entry towards the baseball field, five portraits all lined up the back of the home-side dugout. Along the third baseline in front of the dugout, five numbers etched in spray paint, in sequential order.
It can only mean one thing, and one thing only: Senior Night.
Leading up to the first pitch of the game, the Lions took time out to honor all five of their Seniors — Aiden Cowburn, Ty Vogel, Cam Lyons, Karson Grover and Gavin Haggerty, all of whom had a major hand in delivering the program’s second Section V title in the four seasons, last Spring at Innovation Field in Rochester on a day that will not be forgotten anytime soon in Wellsville baseball lore.
Many laughs were shared in reflection of the players and their fondest memories with the team, and for some family members, the possession of some pretty misty eyes. It truly is one of the more emotional times of the year, with Graduation creeping right around the corner.
Thursday was one of the last times in the Lion’s Den for all five Seniors during the regular season, with one final home game on Monday against Hornell serving that role, as the team heads out to become road warriors for three of their final four games of the campaign following their battle with the visiting Gators.
With the emotion swirling around the Lion’s Den, it was up to the hosts in black and orange to make it a memorable one.
What a night they had.
Although Allegany-Limestone showcased an early burst of pressure right from the get-go, the Lions evaded it with ease.
In return, the bats came alive in the most emphatic of ways to pour it on in front of their families, their friends and fans by setting the tone immediately with a 10-run opening stand at the dish, never looking back while having every bit of fun possible in what was a 19-0 shutout victory on a chilly, overcast evening for baseball.
“This matchup rained out twice, but it was finally nice to get this game in with Allegany-Limestone on a much better day. We only have one more game between now and the end, so this was important,” Lions coach Tom Delahunt said. “We celebrated before and after with our seniors with a cookout, and it was a great way to send all five of them out. They have had so many good memories together as a group. Most of them have been here all four years that I’ve been coaching the program. Our trips to Myrtle Beach, winning Sectionals last year, all the good times we’ve had. This has been a great group of kids.”
The Lions (9-3) wasted absolutely no time with a scorching hot pan on the stovetop, firing on all cylinders right away against the Gators with 10 of their 19 total runs stemming across nearly two full trips at the plate, with a Karson Grover two-run single up the middle helping break the ice.
The heat began to rise later on after the early advantage was branched out towards a six-pack of runs, as Cam Lyons and Brennen Geffers delivered back-to-back singles to further distance their path ahead of Allegany-Limestone.
After two more runs scored on Vogel’s single to left center field, along with some key special teams work around the bases, Wellsville finished off a resonant opening at-bats with a 10-0 lead on the Gators.
The Lions went back to work through the next two innings, posting five runs in the second and their last four in the bottom of the third before Vogel took care of business himself on the mound to shut the door on a five-inning shutout victory.
In all, the team’s senior ace held Allegany-Limestone to just three hits, pounding the strike-zone with nine strikeouts and a pair of walks.
As for the bats, Vogel was also one of four different Lions to post a pair of hits, finishing with his two RBI and two runs scored. Aiden Cowburn also had two hits, driving in four runs and scoring three times. Grover finished with two hits and two RBI, while Andrew Ordiway supplied a 2-for-2 outing that included a triple, RBI and two more runs scored.
With back-to-back dominant performances in the wagon, Wellsville is now set to hit the road for a titanic showdown Saturday afternoon, as they square off with the Medina Mustangs in a Class B Far West Regional rematch.
First pitch for the battle between the two Class B champions is slated for a 2 p.m. start up north.
Allegany-Limestone 0 00 00 – 0 3 4
Wellsville (10)54 0X – 19 13 2
A-L – Vinny LaBella (LP) (2BB), Collin Forrest (2) (4K, 4BB) and Conner Crowley.
WLSV – Ty Vogel (WP) (CG, 9K, 2BB) and Matt Ritter.
More stories after Chris Brooks senior night photos:
Down goes #1: Wellsville beats Medina, #1 ranked undefeated team in the state as Cowburn pitches a gem
MEDINA — It was a Saturday on the calendar that the Lions of Wellsville had ferociously circled since the very beginning. With the stars aligning ever so perfectly leading up to that very day, the opportunity to see what the defending Class B champions were truly made of, had finally come.
With a brutal defeat to the hands of Wayland-Cohocton now in the rearview mirror completely, the Lions have begun to build an overwhelming amount of steam entering the final stretch before Sectionals, unleashing their offense against Canisteo-Greenwood and Allegany-Limestone in the last two contests to pick up two bounce back wins before they made the long trip up north to visit the Medina Mustangs.
The very team that ended their season last Spring.
The very team that also currently stands as New York State’s best in Class B.
Wellsville knew exactly what to expect entering the afternoon. An elite Mustangs group who has not lost a beat since the end of their Final Four run last season, rattling off 13 straight victories this year to ascend the Empire State ranks as the best of the best.
But early on in their first head-to-head battle since that day in Grand Island, the Lions got going, bringing the heat against the Mustangs with the advantage in hand.
With control of the game now in their back pocket, it now weighed on the shoulders of Aiden Cowburn to keep the Mustangs silenced.
The senior hurler delivered big time.
While the Lions gradually built their lead, Cowburn handed out chairs left and right to the reigning Final Four Finalists from Section VI in the midst of six consecutive shutout innings, holding the Mustangs to just two hits at the dish.
The rest was history, as Wellsville sustained their position in the catbird’s seat permanently to capture one of the biggest wins of their season — a 4-1 victory that handed Medina their very first loss in 2025, completing their search for Far West Regional redemption.
“Aiden brought it today,” said Lions coach Tom Delahunt. “He was in complete control from the first pitch to the last. Spotting all his pitches from his fastball, to his curveball, to his slider to keep them off balance. He controlled the running game really well, picking off a runner at first after giving up a walk to wipe the slate clean to help himself. In the third, Medina had runners on first and third and he picked another kid off to end the inning. That situation was huge with their three-hole hitter coming up to hit. He was simply outstanding today. The defense behind him was even more outstanding. In the fifth after a walk, we had a 4-6-3 double play with Andrew (Ordiway) fielding it to Ty (Vogel) and then he hum-chucked it to first to beat the runner. 95 percent of shortstops don’t make that throw, but Ty did. It was a very fun game to coach and to be a part of.”
In the midst of Cowburn’s best performance of the season on the mound, the Lions (10-3) produced a megaton of contact at the plate to jumpstart their first of two two-run frames behind the utilization of their baserunning. Immediately following a pair of 1-2-3 frames handed out by the Wellsville defense, the scoring rebooted once again for the Class B champions, as they quadrupled their lead with Ty Vogel and Matt Ritter both occupying the bases.
With one full swing shortly after, Trent Green delivered another massive blow with a two-run single into center field to extend Wellsville’s lead, ultimately out of reach.
After several missed attempts to respond back to Wellsville’s early damage, Medina worked the seventh inning in their favor to end Cowburn’s complete game shutout bid by scratching their lone run across in their final at-bats. But despite it, the Lions stood tall on the field to finish the game behind the senior hurler’s 10th and 11th strikeouts, along with a secured catch by Green in center field to officially send the Mustangs and their ongoing undefeated season back to the stables.
“Medina came into the game undefeated at 13-0 and number one in the State in Class B,” said Delahunt. “It was a game that we had circled on the calendar for a very long time after they ended their season last year. They’ve been rolling really well, and they’re right back up there again this year. It was a really good measure of where we are at this point. This win isn’t the be-all, end-all, because we could very well see them again down the road.”
The Lions finished with five total hits in the game, with Ty Vogel, Matt Ritter, Anthony Button and Karter Grover all registering one each beside Green’s colossal two-run single in the third inning. As for Cowburn, he put the finishing touches on an absolutely masterful day on the mound, striking out 11 Medina batters and walking just one to survive a game-long pitcher’s duel against Lukas Grimes of the Mustangs.
The Mustangs hurler shelled out nine strikeouts and a walk in return against the Lions to finish his complete game.
With all the momentum in the world now harnessed after one of their biggest wins of the season, the Lions will now look to put it to good use with just three games left on the docket. Coming up after the weekend, they return home to the Lion’s Den to welcome in archrival Hornell on Monday at 5 p.m.
Wellsville 202 000 0 – 4 5 3
Medina 000 000 1 – 1 2 2
WLSV – Aiden Cowburn (WP) (CG, 11K, 2BB) and Matt Ritter.
MED – Lukas Grimes (LP) (CG, 9K, BB) and Ryleigh Culver.
