By JOHN ANDERSON
The road to the New York State Final Four has always been a tough one for Section V teams. In Class D, there have been over 20 teams and you had to win your class, then the D1 vs. D2 game before facing a Section VI team that may not had to play more than two games for a title.
With that win in a huge geographic area of Jamestown to Buffalo to Rochester and the Southern Tier, you earned a trip to the New York State Final Four.
However, there were some sections in the state felt the Section V and Section VI teams needed to play an extra game to reach the state final four.
As a result, the Section V champion Fillmore Eagles (18-2) will take on the #3 ranked team in the state, the Section IV) champions Schenevus/Charlotte Valley Dragons (16-3) tonight at 7 p.m. at Houghton College.
If there has ever been a team up for a challenge, it’s coach Kaiden Bowers’ club. The past two years, they had to beat a state championship team, Arkport-Canaseraga, to win sectionals.
“For Micah Marvin to be as dominant as he is, as well as Caden Carey, truly, those games were one or two hits and they go either way,” said Bowers. “It’s a credit to my team and our approach. Two years ago, the culture changed, things clicked, they worked harder away from the field and took care of their bodies. We play in a lot of tight games and we are getting more comfortable in thos games. And it’s also been a different person having the big each each game, so our depth has been a strength up to this point.”
Tonight could be another close game.
We don’t know a lot about them, (Schenevus/Charlotte Valley) pitcher Allen Osborne has a lot of strikeouts, so we need a similar approach to our games with Arkport, we will see a Micah Marvin-Caden Carey type player with a lot of velo so we have to put balls in play,” Bowers said. “We have to hit the ball and play good defense.”
Bowers, who was named Section V Class D Coach of the Year, said Tim Green (.600 average, five home runs) is also a threat out of the three-hole for S/CV.
The game is being played at Houghton College, which was the home field for Fillmore for a few games this season. The game was originally scheduled for Saturday night in Buffalo, which is a longer drive for Schenevus and there is a good chance of a rain out. Schenevus agreed to play in Section V to get the game in on a beautiful Friday night. Section VI, which hosts the state quarterfinals, agreed to have the game moved.
Wilcox should be ready after a dynamite performance by Malcolm Nusbickle on the mound to knock off Section VI champion, Ellicottville.
“Last year, Damon Potter came a long way, his pitch count was 80 to 90 in the fourth, fifth inning, but then he started getting more good strikes 0-2 and 1-2,” said Bowrs. “Isaac Wilcox saw what Damon did, and he wants the ball. He’s only thrown 40 to 50 innings, but when he’s on the mound, he doesn’t want to come out. He wants to be that guy, he wants to be a dog on the mound.”
“Malcom Nusbickel is as steady as they come, he’s 6-0 on the mound and had some signature wins,” Bowers said. “Then, I have five other guys I can go to.”
FUN WITH THE PAST
Little League baseball is big in Fillmore. The current group started playing in 8u tournaments and had success in Minors, Majors, Junior League (ages 13-14) and Senior League (ages 15-16). Some fill in with a little travel ball as well, but the parents and athletes are all in playing together with Little League.
“You don’t expect anything less from Fillmore, a lot of these kids have been playing together since they were six,” Bowers said. “This week, the parents have been posting photos of Little League all-stars and youth championships. It’s touching and rewarding to them, all those years of hard work the parents and coaches put in.”
The two teams come in tonight almost even. The each average 10 runs a game on offense and Fillmore gives up 2 runs a game while S/CV gives up 3 runs per game.
Fillmore’s only two losses were 3-2 to Arkport-Canaseraga on April 13 and 6-2 to Genesee Valley/Belfast on May 18.
The winner of tonight’s game at Houghton College will take on the winner of Oriskany (Section III) and Heuvelton (Section X) on Friday, June 12.
