In Class C State Qualifier tug-of-war, C1 champ Bloomfield opens gate late with massive 4-run 6th inning to bring curtains down on C2 champ B-R’s season with 4-0 win; Lady Wolverines wrap up at 16-5

LIVONIA — Three of Allegany County’s teams left standing have punched their tickets for Regional action beginning this upcoming weekend. If the events of Monday night’s Class C State Qualifier were to go in their direction, the Class C2 champion Lady Wolverines of Bolivar-Richburg would become the fourth team to chart their course to that final stepping stone before Binghamton.

To do it, a monumental challenge lay ahead. The Class C1 champion, and reigning Class C State Finalist Bloomfield Lady Bombers.

The Lady Wolverines have engaged in some resilient battles all through their postseason journey, scavenging a cluster of late stage runs in both their Semifinal bout against Dundee/Bradford, and their Finals victory over Oakfield-Alabama to claim their fourth Section V title in the last five years. They were not easy battles by any means, and they definitely weren’t going to get any easier.

In their next trip to take on the Lady Bombers in Livonia, they were in for yet another of its kind. This one, across a lengthy stalemate.

The two defenses strapped down and delivered a remarkable performance through the first five innings and change in just under an hour’s time, as Bolivar-Richburg and Bloomfield combined to supply just one hit at the plate and just three baserunners. In the case of the Lady Wolverines and their star hurler Kylee Whiting, she bolted the Lady Bombers down in the batter’s box across four straight 1-2-3 sequences before surrendering her very first base-runner on a walk in the fifth inning.

As the book flipped to the sixth chapter of this State Qualifier story, a sudden crescendo began to set in. Leaving Bolivar-Richburg frozen with a runner on base in the top half, it was the Lady Bombers turn to conduct the orchestra one more time in the inning’s bottom frame.

Bloomfield was held without a hit in the midst of Whiting’s incredible command of the circle. But that changed quickly. In fact, the Class C1 champions went nuclear.

The Lady Bombers pieced together five consecutive hits against the Bolivar-Richburg freshman to break the long-standing ice in the most mammoth of ways, and in the same swing, they proceeded to scratch across the game’s first four runs to turn an all-out defensive battle into a return trip back to the Class C Far West Regional, as they used one more stellar defensive effort in the seventh to keep the Lady Wolverines at bay and bring the final curtain down on their Spring with a 4-0 shutout.

“Bloomfield is a really good team that is well-coached. To hang with them that long in the game is a testament to the mental toughness of my team. As for our season, the turn-around we had was phenomenal. They never stopped working for me. I got 110 percent out of every one of them, and I am beyond thankful for that.” said Lady Wolverines coach Brooke Lovell.

It was an all-out defensive blitz across the first several innings between Bolivar-Richburg and Bloomfield, where absolutely no wiggle room was allocated between either side of the field. In the midst of their scoreless duel, no hits were gathered until Emma Sisson ended the drought in the top of the third inning with a one-out single that dipped into right field.

She was then left on base immediately after by one of Section V’s best in the circle all season long, Ashlyn Wright, with a pair of strikeouts.

That was the only hit mustered by the Lady Wolverines through all seven innings, as Wright collected the victory with 14 strikeouts and two walks in her twirled gem of a performance.

As for Sisson, she was the only Lady Wolverine to reach base in each of her trips to the dish, with the next time coming in the top of the sixth inning on a lead-off walk. But in that potential ice-breaking sequence, Wright stood her ground once again, going 1-2-3 with the next batters behind her, including two more strikeouts, to end the stanza.

After they applied a strong finish to the frame, the momentum turned over into the bottom of the sixth inning where the Lady Bombers unleashed their fury to change the complexion of the game completely, commencing with back-to-back singles at the bottom of the order before the first run of the game came across on an RBI single off the bat of Sydney Falsone to right field.

That wasn’t all.

As soon as Whiting released her pitch to the awaiting bat of Addison Falsone, Sydney Falsone then made a straight b-line to the plate, where she scored instantly to leave the Bolivar-Richburg defense without a play off the bunt to be made, doubling their lead in a flash. Calla McCombs added to the damage with one final RBI of her own on a shot that nearly left the yard, taking one big hit off the deep left field fence before dropping down to the ground, scoring Falsone for a 3-0 lead.

In total, all four runs and all five hits from the Lady Bombers were saved for their final at-bats of the night to force a sudden last call at the plate for the Lady Wolverines.

For the Lady Bombers, it was one last chance to keep all the momentum in their favor, as they put the finishing touches on a brilliant finish with a 1-2-3 at the plate, including strikeouts No. 13 and 14 for Wright to finish off her one-hit twirl.

As for Whiting, the freshman finished a stellar year of pitching in the circle for Bolivar-Richburg with five strikeouts and a walk.

The book has now officially been closed on what has been a tremendous turnaround season for the Lady Wolverines of Bolivar-Richburg, who were staring down a 4-4 start crossing the midway mark of their campaign, ultimately concluding with a record of 16-5 overall — 12 of those victories coming in consecutive fashion to put towards the addition of an Allegany County League Championship, and more importantly, another Section V, Class C2 Championship into the school’s trophy showcase.

Bolivar-Richburg saw seven seniors play their very last games in the black and red, as the team now says goodbye to Sisson, Teegan Sibble, Cassidy Stives, Sommer Beckwith, Danika Saunders, Jaelyn Kinnicutt and Aaliyah DeGroff.

All of which hold a spot in their coach’s heart forever.

“These seven seniors will always hold a special place in my heart. They have been around since I started coaching here a few years ago. To be their coach over the course of time and to watch them grow into amazing young women has been absolutely phenomenal to witness.” said Lovell.

We at WellsvilleSports.com would like to congratulate Coach Lovell and the Lady Wolverines on a tremendous season of softball, and we wish the very best to all seven seniors in their future endeavors.

Bolivar-Richburg 000 000 0 — 0 1 1

Bloomfield 000 004 X — 4 5 0

B-R – Kylee Whiting (LP) (CG, 5K, BB) and Sydney Faulkner.

BLO – Ashlyn Wright (WP) (CG, 14K, 2BB) and Calla McCombs.