State Champ Lady Lions and the baseball team have #1 seed in sectionals; What a weekend for the Cowburn’s, home run for Hailey, hits by Aiden and Drew
Stories and photos by CHRIS BROOKS, managing editor, wellsvillesports.com (photo gallery from both games at end)
Class B2 Quarterfinals
No. 1 Wellsville 20, No. 8 Attica 0 (F-5)
WELLSVILLE — You think the defending New York State Champion Lady Lions of Wellsville were ready to kick off their title defense on Saturday?
At the drop of hat at Tullar Field, Class B2’s top seed unleashed everything from their arsenal against No. 8 Attica, as they accounted for 16 of their 20 total runs to bring the hammer down immediately, setting up shop for what was a 20-0 shutout to claim their spot in the Semifinal round after the weekend.
While the offense pieced together a mammoth 21-hit outburst against the Lady Blue Devils, all eyes were on defense with three different pitchers all coming together to hold their opposition to just a single hit, as Makenna Dunbar, Brynn Hallock and Kennedy Perry all coagulated 14 strikeouts against Attica in their one-hit performance, with Dunbar recording the victory.
At the plate, the tone was set right away, as the Lady Lions (17-2) recorded 21 total hits, with eight of the hitters in their lineup all recording at least two. From within their 16-run frame, the main highlight stemmed from a Varsity first off the bat of Hailey Cowburn, who left the yard for the very first time in her career — a two-run blast to help put together a two-hit, five-RBI afternoon at the dish.
Lindsay Stuck also left yard later on in the contest, supplying the two runs in the bottom of the fourth with a home run of her own to finish off Wellsville’s scoring. Stuck finished with two hits and drove in three total runs. Teagan Burke and Averee Palmatier each had three hits and three RBI to pitch in along the way. Ayla Faulkner and Natalie Adams each had three hits and an RBI, while Makenna Dunbar and Brynn Hallock both had two to further the offense’s cause even more.
On the mound, Dunbar’s win was highlighted with three shutout innings of work, as she handed out nine chairs to the Lady Blue Devils.
Wellsville will return to Tullar Field for what will be the very last time this Spring on Tuesday for the Class B2 Semifinal round, as they now prepare to host the No. 4 LeRoy Lady Oatkan Knights in a 5 p.m. first pitch.
Attica 0 00 00 – 0 1 3
Wellsville (16)02 2X – 20 21 0
ATT – Hailey Mills (LP) (BB), Laurel Cius (1) (K), Tessa Dominesey (4) (K, BB) and Morgan Jackson.
WLSV – Makenna Dunbar (WP) (CG, 9K), Brynn Hallock (4) (2K), Kennedy Perry (5) (3K) and Lindsay Stuck.
WELLSVILLE — In due time, the time for teams to go big or go home will officially make its presence known.
For the Lady Lions of Wellsville, they will enter the Class B2 tournament with the biggest targets on their back as reigning New York State Champion. Entering this stage in just a few short days from now, that credo is something they have ultimately continued to live by since that very day last Spring.
Before they begin their most anticipated title defense in their program’s pre-recorded history this weekend, the opportunity to cash in on a boatload of Sectional points against the Pittsford-Mendon Lady Vikings came first at historic Tullar Field on Tuesday to close out the final day of the regular season.
The two foes provided two absolutely flawless outings of defense from start to finish. With each team locking horns throughout the chilly night on the field, it was just a matter of who was going to loosen the gate door first.
After a scoreless inning and change zoomed by in a flash, the answer came shortly after.
In a second inning highlighted by multiple reloadings of the bases behind the Pittsford-Mendon defense, the Lady Lions made the most of the chance that they held in their possession, as they witnessed the unloading of an inning featuring all eight of the game’s runs scratching across the plate, setting up the 8-0 home victory through a back-and-forth scoreless defensive battle down to the finish line to cap off their regular season at 16-2 overall.
With both teams being held at an absolute standstill across the first inning and a half, the Lady Lions received their next chance to break through the stalemate. After Brynn Hallock originally granted Wellsville the 1-0 lead off her RBI single to right field, the hosts jammed the bases full five straight times against the Lady Vikings, scoring four runs in the process — two off walks and one each off a single from both Makenna Dunbar and Lindsay Stuck to branch the early advantage to five.
The Lady Lions kept batting through their entire lineup back down to the heart of it, with Averee Palmatier posting a two-run single up the middle to help finish off an eight-run bundle heading into the third inning.
For each side, the zero was the most used number beginning in the fourth inning, as Pittsford-Mendon and Wellsville both did not give way for the remainder of the game. Because of it, it resulted in the Lady Lions and their eight-run second inning serving as the difference maker to close out their regular season on top.
The Lady Lions posted their eight runs off eight hits, with eight different hitters all posting one each. On the mound, the win belonged to Makenna Dunbar, who surrendered six hits to Pittsford-Mendon across a nine-strikeout complete game.
Wellsville will now sit idle likely until the end of the week for their first battle in Sectional play, as they now await the turnout of the Class B2 bracket with a record of 16-2 overall.
Pittsford-Mendon 000 000 0 – 0 6 0
Wellsville 080 000 X – 8 8 0
P-M – Felicity Knapp (LP) (CG, 5BB) and Maddy Fallows.
WLSV – Makenna Dunbar (WP) (CG, 9K) and Lindsay Stuck.
Top-seeded Wellsville starts Sectionals hot, Button twirls 2-hit shutout on rubber while Ritter, Haggerty captain bats at plate to send No. 16 Penn Yan home with 17-0 1st round victory
WELLSVILLE — The Sectional title defense for the top-seeded Wellsville Lions officially got underway from within the Lion’s Den, Friday night.
Although some rain and some gloomy conditions surrounded the diamond for much of the battle, their opening round presence was felt against No. 16 Penn Yan going down the stretch, as they scored all 16 of their runs in the last three innings of play to put a bow on what was a 16-0 shutout of the Mustangs.
The two foes battled it out early in the first three innings of play, as both Penn Yan and Wellsville remained at bay at the plate across three shutout frames. After one runner is left stranded in the top of the fourth inning for the Mustangs, the Lions (13-3) immediately hit the gas and went for a cruise, unloading six ice-breaking runs — two of those off a two-run double connected by Brennen Geffers at the bottom of the order with the bases loaded.
The momentum showed no signs of slowing down after a fifth straight shutout frame was tossed by Anthony Button on the hill, as Wellsville scratched nine additional runs across in the bottom of the fifth to eclipse the double-digit threshold, officially signaling their advance towards the Class B Quarterfinal round after the weekend.
In the midst of the offensive outburst, Button was stellar in his first ever start on the mound during Sectionals, as he proceeded to hold Penn Yan to just two hits with 10 strikeouts and four walks.
“This was Anthony’s first Sectional start, and a complete game shutout from a sophomore like that was exactly what we needed,” said Lions coach Tom Delahunt. “He threw strikes, controlled the zone and spotted his pitches well. I was really happy to see him get that success today. Everyone got a chance to come in and play as well, even the JV call-ups. This was a great win number one, and now we can put a couple of good days of practice together to get ready for the next round after the weekend.”
The Lions finished with 16 runs off 11 hits, with Matt Ritter and his perfect 3-for-3 outing captaining the way forward, as he drove in a run and scored three times. Gavin Haggerty had two hits of his own to chip in, driving in three and scoring a run in the process.
Brennan Geffers ripped a 2-RBI double for Wellsville while Ty Vogel had a 2-RBI single.
Karson Grover and Trenton Green had hits while Tyler Rahr, Karter Grover and Ashton Sawyer reached on walks. Camron Lyons had three stolen bases and scored two runs.
The Cowburn brothers also got into the hitting action. Senior Aiden Cowburn had two hits and a RBI then his brother, Drew Cowburn, making his varsity hitting debut ripped a single fueled by his “Baby Shark” walk-up song.
The Lions now have two sets of brothers with hits on the season with the Grovers and Cowburns. However, they trail the 2024 brothers combination of Alex and Trent Green in the hitting department.
Up next, Wellsville will take on No. 8 Waterloo on Tuesday at 5 p.m. in Hornell. Waterloo won on Saturday, 6-0 as pitcher Aaron Rodgers struck out 19 batters in just over 6 innings of work to beat North Rose-Wolcott.
Penn Yan 000 000 0 — 0 2 3
Wellsville 000 691 X — 16 11 2
PY – Aiden Geffre (LP) (3K, 4BB), Ethan Robinson (5) (2BB), Ethan D’Archangelo (5) (BB), Maison Burd (5), Tyler Gilbert (6) (3K, 3BB) and Jayden Brown.
WLSV – Anthony Button (WP) (CG, 10K, 4BB) and Matt Ritter, Tyler Rahr (7).
