Lady Lions move to 10-2 start in State title defense with sweep of Ballston Spa Grand Slam Tourney, roll past Salem in Game 1, walk-off against host Lady Scotties in Game 2

MALTA — Not very often do you see teams around the area duke it out on the final day of the weekend. But for the Lady Lions of Wellsville, it was a return to business as usual, as they hit the road bright and early Sunday morning for a strenuously formidable tournament nearly five hours away at the Luther Forest Athletic Fields in Malta.

The defending Class B State Champions were faced with another gauntlet following a colossal showdown with the Lady Bombers of Bloomfield on Friday. The day would begin with yet another New York State Finalist in the Salem Lady Generals — a team that finished as runners-up to eventual champion Deposit/Hancock in Class D, and it would end with the Class AA State-ranked Ballston Spa Lady Scotties.

Although the weather conditions were not of the best quality, one game saw an explosive resonance of offense all throughout, while the other put the fans in attendance on the edge of their seats.

The end result was the same — the Lady Lions claiming victory, as they became the first Allegany County team to reach 10 wins on the campaign by performing a clean sweep of the Ballston Spa Grand Slam Tournament to officially bounce back from their defeat to Bloomfield, scoring a 15-1 win over Salem, and an 8-7 walk-off win in eight innings over the host Lady Scotties of Ballston Spa, both of Section II.

“It definitely makes the five-hour bus ride a whole lot easier. I’m proud of the way that we never gave up, especially in the second game to close things out. It was a cold, rainy and windy day, and it would have been easy to throw our hands up and walk off the field, but we were resilient. We had two outstanding wins against two strong teams from Section II today.” said Lady Lions coach Gia George.

In game one, the Lady Lions (10-2) dominated, using a quick 6-0 advantage to their favor early on in the first three innings. After Salem ended the potential shutout bid put on by Kennedy Perry in the circle, the counter-attack from the Class B State Champions was overwhelming, as they put their foot straight down on the gas and never let off of it by scoring the game’s last nine runs — eight of them coming in the top of the fifth to officially force an early end to battle with their first win.

Wellsville totaled 15 runs off 10 hits, with Perry and Natalie Adams both leading the sticks with a pair each. Perry drove in three runs to go with her two hits, while Adams had one RBI. Ayla Faulkner, Makenna Dunbar, Teagan Burke, Averee Palmatier and Brynn Hallock all had a hit to chip in. In the circle, Perry remained resilient, as she held Salem to a single hit across nine strikeouts and two walks to score the win.

Later on in the afternoon, the Lady Lions were challenged right out of the gate by Ballston Spa, as the Lady Scotties found their groove with the game’s first four runs — one being scratched across in each frame. In the bottom of the fourth, Wellsville found a way to break through the facade to deliver a massive haymaker, stringing along one hit after another to reach base.

The gargantuan go-ahead frame would reach its conclusion following a go-ahead bunt single off the bat of Hallock to help claim a 6-4 lead of the Lady Scotties.

Later on, Ballston Spa maintained their ground following one additional Wellsville run in the fifth inning, piecing together a three-run spurt in the last two innings to tie the game at seven to force an extra inning of play. In that eighth inning, the Lady Lions utilized it to their utmost advantage, leading off with a single by Makenna Dunbar before navigating her way around to third base. A short time later, it was Perry that ended the game in resilient fashion for Wellsville, as she drove a walk-off single — one of her three hits in the contest, out into the outfield far enough for Dunbar to score.

Despite four errors in the field, the Lady Lions supplied an outstanding finish to their tenure at the Grand Slam Tournament at the plate, as they posted eight runs off 11 total hits. Finishing behind Perry was Dunbar, who also had three hits. Hallock added a triple and double to pair with an RBI. Adams and Palmatier each scored a hit of their own.

In the circle for the second game, Dunbar went the first four innings, striking out six and walking three before Hallock garnered the win in relief, adding four more strikeouts and two walks into the fray.

Wellsville will look to continue their winning ways on Tuesday, as they hit the road once again to visit Our Lady of Mercy at 5:30 p.m.

Game 1

Wellsville 303 18 – 15 10 1

Salem 001 00 – 1 1 3

WLSV – Kennedy Perry (WP) (CG, 9K, 2BB) and Emily Stuck.

SAL – Sophia Keays (LP) (6K, 5BB), Renee Cary (5) (2BB) and Riley Gallagher.

Game 2

Ballston Spa 111 102 10 – 7 6 1

Wellsville 000 610 01 – 8 11 4

BS – Makayla LaRose (5K, 3BB), Livia Wiltsie (LP, 4) (4K, 3BB) and Olivia Pickett.

WLSV – Makenna Dunbar (6K, 3BB), Brynn Hallock (WP, 5) (4K, 2BB) and Lindsay Stuck.