WHITING LIGHTNING: In County’s Game of the Year, Lady Wolverines elbow through high octane pitcher’s duel, jockey past host GV/Belfast behind Whiting’s 7th inning grand slam to record 4-0 road shutout

BELFAST — You could sense right away at the Rich Sullivan Complex in Belfast that Sectional fever was coming right around the corner at a rapid pace like no other.

The decibel level from over yonder at the softball field down below was piercing, reverberating its way all the way from the road next to the baseball field. With Genesee Valley/Belfast making the move up to Class C2 for this Spring, there’s always a possibility that a third game with Bolivar-Richburg in the playoffs could come into view.

Let’s set the scene for the second and final regular season clash first, shall we?

At this very stage of the campaign, both Bolivar-Richburg and Genesee Valley/Belfast have assembled some of their best softball to date, as the two teams currently occupy two of the top five spots in the Class C2 field. There was plenty of excitement to go around when the two teams last met three weeks ago at Stan Harris Field in Richburg for a game that saw the Lady Wolverines wiggle their way free from Genesee Valley/Belfast’s grasp to claim game one of their two-game set.

But this next go-around, on the 14th day of May, this one was completely different. Wednesday night’s Clash between the two Allegany County softball stalwarts was one of momentous virtue.

One of epic proportions.

One for the ages.

Between Bolivar-Richburg’s Kylee Whiting and Genesee Valley/Belfast’s Hannah Powers, the two dynamic hurlers in the circle were pragmatically untouchable all game long, as the two elite pitchers combined to record nearly 25 strikeouts in the midst of their complete games. With the action gradually intensifying towards extra sessions, there appeared to be no end in sight as far as creating a permeable amount of wiggle room in the midst of six shutout innings on each side.

When the seventh inning came around however, the door became slightly ajar.

Then, Kylee Whiting kicked it straight down.

The six straight scoreless inning bonanza reached a screeching halt in the night’s final frame, and that came courtesy of the Lady Wolverines hurler in the batter’s box against one of the area’s premier pitchers directly in front of her. With the visitors in black and red building a burst of momentum in their latest stint at the dish by loading up the bases, Whiting freed every single one of them up in just one swing, firing a missile straight to right center field where it left in a hurry.

A 7th inning grand slam.

For Whiting, one of the biggest swings of her career at the very last possible moment, as she flipped the script completely with a 4-0 lead the Lady Wolverines proceeded to hang onto heading into a last half of play that witnessed the hand-out of a 1-2-3 frame to Genesee Valley/Belfast, officially locking up the shutout victory over the road.

“Tonight’s game definitely had a feel to it. Not everything went our way, but the kids stayed the course and they were able to pull it out,” said Lady Wolverines coach Brooke Lovell. “I am proud that they kept their heads in the game and didn’t get down on themselves. Kylee pitched really well for us. She located her spots, she kept the hitters off balance. Genesee Valley/Belfast is a well-coached team, so to be able to come out and get the win, it gives us a lot of confidence. We couldn’t execute early on when we stranded base-runners, but the fact Kylee was able to deliver was huge for us.”

Up against Powers in the circle, Whiting firmly held her ground for the Lady Wolverines (9-4) across a five-inning stretch that featured no more than four hitters to reach the plate for Genesee Valley/Belfast, as she kept them at a virtual standstill with a dazzling 15-strikeout, three-hit performance.

As for the Genesee Valley/Belfast senior, she avoided some early trouble against the Lady Wolverines to keep them at bay, scoring three strikeouts in the first two innings — two of them in a back-to-back concatenation to close out the second inning still without a score to be had. In the midst of the defensive battle, Powers went on to register a historic gem for her resume, recording her 600th strikeout of her illustrious softball career.

With Whiting freezing the bats from the hosts, Powers had her turn at issuing a similar sequence down the stretch, facing no more than four batters in the middle frames leading up to the seventh inning. In that final frame for the Lady Wolverines, they found every way on base they could — including a Jayna Thomas two-out double and walk to Teegan Sibble to aid in loading the bases up behind the Genesee Valley/Belfast defense.

The Lady Wolverines lineup worked to the No. 3 spot where it was occupied by Whiting. And with just one out left to spare, the Bolivar-Richburg freshman saw just one pitch from Powers and sent it straight out of the park to right field for a herculean seventh inning grand slam to grant the first available lead for either side in the contest.

Now facing a rapid four-run deficit going into their final at-bats, Genesee Valley/Belfast remained poised to return a response. Instead, Whiting ended the game with her arm, striking out the home side at the plate to finish off a humongous Lady Wolverines victory to complete their regular season-series sweep.

The Lady Wolverines concluded with just four hits at the plate. Aside from Whiting’s grand slam, they also received contributions from Jayna Thomas, who finished with two hits, and a single from Cassidy Stives.

For the hosts in black and gray, Powers concluded with a four-hit complete game, striking out nine and walking two. At the plate, Morgan Yackeren, Jenna Hill and Lily Green all had a hit each to chip in.

Both teams will spring back to action Friday night in a pair of 7 p.m. contests under the lights, with Bolivar-Richburg heading back home to Stan Harris Field in Richburg to host Cuba-Rushford, while Genesee Valley/Belfast looks to regroup and bounce back in Fillmore.

Bolivar-Richburg 000 000 4 – 4 4 2

Genesee Valley/Belfast 000 000 0 – 0 3 2

B-R – Kylee Whiting (WP) (CG, 15K) and Sydney Faulkner.

GVB – Hannah Powers (LP) (CG, 9K, 2BB) and Jenna Hill.