FULL STEAM AHEAD: With fast start pocketed, B-R utilizes dominant defensive stand, led by another Buchholz gem, to claim 1st Far West title in 10 years with 8-1 rout of Section VI’s Wilson

SALAMANCA — It is evident that the Bolivar-Richburg Wolverines want it all. Not just in Section V, and not even the Far West, but the entire Empire State itself. The Class C juggernauts are more than satisfied doing whatever it will take to get them there.

They rode the coattails of some clutch offense to win the Class C2 title against Geneseo, they did it again just this past Tuesday against Letchworth to become Section V’s overall champion in Class C. The pieces to the puzzle have begun to fall into place, perfectly.

Now, it has all spearheaded towards a Friday night at the beautiful Vets Park in Salamanca, for the Far West Regional.

The message out of the gate from the coaches to the players was simple: Be aggressive. In a game such as this, the need to take action quickly loomed large, in order to gain the streak of momentum the Wolverines wanted to hold within their possession, with the path they continue to travel on not getting any easier.

With Section VI, Class C champion Wilson serving as the lone obstacle separating them from a long-awaited return trip to the State Final Four next week, Bolivar-Richburg’s dynamic duo of Trey Buchholz and Aydin Sisson were given the reins once again to help make that happen.

Across the opening stages of battle, the offenses were not quite apparent. But the defenses were, as both the Wolverines and Lakemen navigated their way off the field following a couple of rapid outings. With the heat of battle shaping up to be a back-and-forth exchanging of pleasantries on the field, a potential game-changing precedent was put into place.

Score by any means necessary.

There was an early tie to break and there was plenty of restlessness on Bolivar-Richburg’s side of the field. Their eagerness to do even more damage, all captured by the raw emotion resonating through the fence in front of the dugout.

The Wolverines had no problems with that, whatsoever.

Generated by a bushel of errors committed by the Wilson defense, the Section V, Class C champions went on to score by any means necessary. Despite just a three-hit compilation at the plate, they expanded their arsenal to special teams and some paramount base-running to help break that early deadlock with the Lakemen. As a result, the Wolverines scratched across seven unanswered runs to flip the game completely on its head for the rest of the night.

As for the team’s battery in the field, their dominance was no different either.

Buchholz and Sisson aided Bolivar-Richburg in winning the Class C2 title last weekend in Hornell. Now, the team’s 1-2 came together in a leaping, victorious and memorable embrace right next to the pitcher’s mound after they assembled one last 1-2-3 rapid fire inning of Wilson in the bottom of the seventh to put the finishing touches on the program’s first Class C Far West Regional title since the 2014 season, making their grand return to the State Final Four following a dominant 8-1 victory over the Lakemen under the lights.

“That was a long few days of school that we had, but all I can say is wow. Just wow,” said Wolverines coach Dustin Allen. “These kids have really come together, and the way that they have been playing, it has been exciting and really fun to watch. Trey and Aydin are seniors. They know what it takes. Trey’s arm was a little sore, but he wanted this game tonight. I knew he was going to find something, and he came in to throw an excellent game for us, just like the last three, four years now. Aydin behind the plate, he never lets anything behind him. The defense behind them has also been spot on. We have made some really nice plays tonight. Brayden Zilker at second, Reiss (Gaines) had some nice catches in center, Caden (Allen) with some huge plays himself at first. You can’t ask for much more.”

After rattling off five massive RBIs against Letchworth back on Tuesday, Aydin Sisson kept his foot straight down to the floor to aid the Wolverines (24-2) with the first advantage, showing no signs of slowing down with another RBI off the hop on a grounder to the right side of the field to allow Reiss Gaines to score from third after he originally reached on a catcher’s interference call against the Lakemen.

The momentum was halted briefly by the Wilson defense after Sisson was caught in between third and home, providing the inning-ending tag shortly after to work their way off the field. The Lakemen would formulate a response of their own in the bottom of the first, with Conner Ernest shooting a game-tying RBI to the left side of the field to even the playing ground before the frame closed up.

For the team in orange, it was the only run they mustered. As for the Wolverines, there was plenty more waiting to be uncovered ahead.

Bolivar-Richburg went on to reclaim the advantage in the top of the second behind the first of many errors committed by the Wilson defense, with a Kingston Loucks shot back to the pitcher’s mound seeing a throw to catch the lead runner at third base, Landon Barkley, go errant, which permits him to speed home and score for a 2-1 lead.

The errors continued to plague the Lakemen defense across the next inning of play, one of cardinal importance for the Section V champions, as they used every bit of it to score three colossal runs all behind their base-running. They weren’t done yet, following a 1-2-3 stand from Buchholz on the mound to keep Wilson at bay, as the Wolverines added three more runs to their lead behind his guidance at the plate, driving a two-run single into the gap between second and third base, and into left field.

Their final run of the stanza, and the game entirely, came on Sisson’s seventh RBI in two games, sacrificing to right field to score Buchholz.

“We're preaching the past couple of days to be aggressive on the bases, run everything out and then put the ball in play at the plate to help make that happen. Things fell into place for us. Once we were able to get the momentum on our side, we were able to keep it. They kicked the ball around a little bit, and we took advantage of those breaks.” said Allen.

For the remainder of the night, the rest was placed on the defense’s shoulders. One magnificent play after another, they remained absolutely untouchable. In two of their last three defensive outings on the field, the Wolverines provided a 1-2-3 against Wilson, with Buchholz nearly coming away with an immaculate inning in the bottom of the seventh to close up shop.

The end result: Their affirmation of a trip to Binghamton next weekend, as the Wolverines rushed straight to the pitcher’s mound to celebrate with one another. Afterwards, Buchholz broke away and bee-lined straight over to leap into the arms of his father — assistant coach Brad Buchholz, sharing a warm embrace of their own.

All smiles, from cheek to cheek.

Buchholz surrendered only four hits to the Lakemen, as he registered yet another complete game victory for Bolivar-Richburg by handing out seven chairs and walking just one. At the plate, the team collected only three hits, including his two-run single in the fourth, as Sisson posted a double and Reiss Gaines recorded a single. Gaines, along with Landon Barkley, scored two runs along the way.

Next Friday afternoon, the final weekend of the 2024 Spring season will now grace its presence. The Wolverines of Bolivar-Richburg will now make the gigantic step forward and enter State Tournament play, where they now stand just two steps away from all of the Empire State’s glory.

At Binghamton University, they will square off against Section IX’s Burke Catholic, who defeated Section XI’s Pierson — the very same team that defeated the Wolverines during their last Final Four run back in 2014, by a 3-1 count early Saturday afternoon.

Allen says the moment is special, especially for his group that he’s been able to guide since they were little. But at the same time, they all know that the job is far from being over.

“I know our guys are going to show up and play this game,” he said. “We're going to have a great supporting crowd waiting for us there at Binghamton. This is a special night, especially with this group of seniors. I've been coaching them since they were in tee-ball. For it to finally come together for them, this is something they can look back on forever. But we're not done yet, and they know that. They're ready to practice next week to get ready for this next big step forward.”

Bolivar-Richburg 113 300 0 – 8 3 0

Wilson 100 000 0 – 1 4 6

B-R – Trey Buchholz (WP) (CG, 7K, BB) and Aydin Sisson.

WIL – Tyler Johnston (LP) (7K), Conner Ernest (7) (K) and Blake Simpson.