Thursday Roundup: Shoughrue, Kalkhof share medalist honors in Wellsville’s road win over B-R; Fri/Scio eclipses 10-win mark with 5-0 shutout at C-R; B-R’s Whiting hurls no-no at And/Whi
BOLIVAR — From upon the confines of the Bolivar Golf Club on a beautiful Thursday evening, Wellsville and host Bolivar-Richburg went toe-to-toe in their final battle of the season. It was an encounter that saw two different golfers each share medalist honors at the end of the night, as both Jackson Shoughrue and Blake Kalkhof powered the Lions to victory over the Wolverines by a 206-244 count.
Shoughrue and Kalkhof each shared the top spot on the scorecard for Wellsville (8-4), as they both came together to fire a round of 48 each to lead the way. Right behind them were two more Lions golfers — Fletcher Kaye and Payson Root, as the two also came together to fire a round of 55 each to round off the scoring.
Bolivar-Richburg (1-5) was led by a team-low round of 51 shot by David Abdo. Cayden Gaines chipped in with his round of 54. James Margeson followed with a 67, while Zach Mitchell rounded out the Wolverines with a 72.
Both teams will resume play in a pair of 4 p.m. tee times on Monday, as Wellsville prepares for a “road” contest against Genesee Valley/Belfast at the Wellsville Country Club, while Bolivar-Richburg heads up to Allegheny Hills to meet host Cuba-Rushford.
Genesee Valley/Belfast 193, Hinsdale 253
WELLSVILLE — Grant Preston has been at the top of the card for Genesee Valley/Belfast through the majority of their season outdoors on the links, and on Thursday, it was no different, as the freshman blasted another medalist-garnering round with Hinsdale in town for a visit to the Wellsville Country Club to establish the pace in their 193-253 victory over the Bobcats.
Underneath the clear blue skies and warm sun, Preston shone the brightest of them all to lead Genesee Valley/Belfast’s (8-1) course of direction towards victory, as he fired the medalist round of 45 to stand alone at the top of the scorecard. Following behind him was Will Guilford and Sean Mahon, as each golfer recorded rounds of 48 and 49. Dakota Hemphill chipped in by rounding off with his round of 51.
Hinsdale was paced by the team-low round of 48 shot by Caden Miller. Brett Bergstrom scored a 63 to add more assistance along the way, while Chris Forney and Alex Dove rounded the scoring out with rounds of 68 and 74, respectively.
Both teams are back in action Monday night in a pair of 4 p.m. tee times, as Genesee Valley/Belfast plays host to “visiting” Wellsville at the Wellsville Country Club, while Hinsdale returns to Ischua Valley to welcome in undefeated Fillmore.
BASEBALL
Cuba-Rushford 18, Friendship/Scio 0 (F-5)
CUBA — Senior Nights are always one memorable night for all involved. For Cuba-Rushford head coach Pat Wight, it was an extra special occasion to witness, as he honored his son Braeden along with his fellow seniors, Garrett Cooper and Tanner Lewis in one of their very last regular season games donning the signature gray and blue colors.
Having already shared one of those final regular season moments together already on the hardwood this past winter, they would share another. This time, on the diamond.
Thursday night, Wight would receive the ball from his father and hit the mound to lead the Rebels out onto the field for action against Friendship/Scio. With it, the senior would go on to record a masterful performance on the season, holding the opposition to just one hit across 13 strikeouts and three walks while the offense syphoned the high-octane energy from it along the way to manufacture an 18-0 shutout win after five complete innings.
“I thought we came out locked in right away,” Wight said. “We only had one error and we had a solid first inning at the plate. Braeden had good command and threw a lot of strikes, striking out 13. Senior night wins are always a great thing and I’m glad we could send seniors Tanner Lewis, Garrett Cooper and Braeden out with a win. I’ll miss coaching those three guys for sure.”
With Wight’s dynamic outing on the rubber paying dividends on the field, the Rebels (6-6) would shift the momentum to their bats, as they used the opening frame to create all the room they needed to maneuver their way into the lead, scratching across 12 of their 18 total runs in immediate fashion.
Despite the runs, Cuba-Rushford mustered eight hits on offense, with Finn Ricketts and his 2-for-2 outing leading the charge, as he collected a triple, two RBI and two runs scored. Wight chipped in by scoring four runs, while Kadin Pierce extended the team’s lead in the bottom of the third with a two-run double. Dean Frank also recorded two RBI.
For Friendship/Scio (0-9), Cooper Greenman had the team’s lone knock on a base hit. On the mound, Aiden Golden fanned two and walked one during his tenure of relief. The team will turn around and head back home to host doubleheader action with Hinsdale tonight in Scio, beginning with their rescheduled Midseason Tournament contest from last weekend at 5 p.m.
The Rebels will look to take that one more step above .500 on the campaign Monday night when they hit the road themselves, traveling to visit red hot Wellsville in a 5 p.m. first pitch.
Friendship/Scio 0 00 00 – 0 1 3
Cuba-Rushford (12)05 1X – 18 8 0
F/S – Deacon Brown (LP) (3K, 9BB), Aiden Golden (3) (2K, BB) and Cooper Greenman.
C-R – Braeden Wight (WP) (CG, 13K, 3BB) and Dean Frank, Adam Shaffer (3).
Bolivar-Richburg 14, Andover/Whitesville 1 (F-5)
ANDOVER — The lone difference maker through the first two innings of play was a lead-off detonation that went yard for Bolivar-Richburg courtesy of Trey Buchholz, who gave them the trip into the driver’s seat. For the rest of the game, the Wolverines continued to add more onto the massive foundation to maintain all momentum on Thursday, as they strolled past Andover/Whitesville with a 14-1 win after five innings in Andover.
The home run was Buchholz’s only hit of the game for Bolivar-Richburg (12-1), as it produced enough resonation to ignite the bats again after a 1-0 lead through two innings. In the top of the third, the visitors in black and red broke the floodgates open with six more runs to push their advantage insurmountably against Andover/Whitesville, as they continued to assume total command of all facets on the field.
Bolivar-Richburg assembled 14 runs off 13 total hits, with four different Wolverines all posting at least a pair of hits. Leading was Caden Allen, who went 2-for-4 with a double, two RBI and two runs scored. Aydin Sisson recorded two hits and drove in two more runs, while Tavyn MacDonell and Kingston Loucks each had two hits, with MacDonell posting a double and Loucks driving in a team-leading three RBI. Reiss Gaines had a double.
On the mound, the win was claimed by Gaines across his three inning start, limiting Andover/Whitesville (2-8) to their lone run with six strikeouts and two walks.
The hosts in purple scavenged five hits in all to spark their offense, with Colton Calladine recording two of them. Brody Vance chipped in a double. Taking the ball to the rubber was Vinny Joyce, who recorded three strikeouts and a walk in his two-inning start for Andover/Whitesville, who will travel to Hammondsport on Saturday for a 12:30 p.m. first pitch.
Bolivar-Richburg is back home tonight to host a 5 p.m. contest with Cameron County hailing from Pennsylvania.
Bolivar-Richburg 106 25 – 14 13 0
Andover/Whitesville 001 00 – 1 5 1
B-R – Reiss Gaines (WP) (6K, 2BB), Charles Militello (4) (4K, 2BB) and Aydin Sisson.
A/W – Vinny Joyce (LP) (3K, BB), James Miller-Young (3) (2BB), Corbin Lowrey-Baker (5) (K, BB) and Colton Calladine.
Genesee Valley/Belfast 17, Hammondsport 0 (F-5)
HAMMONDSPORT — Behind 10 combined strikeouts between Ben and Matt Cater on the hill, alongside an 11-run first inning, Genesee Valley/Belfast displayed no signs of letting off the gas pedal Thursday night to complete a back-to-back roadstand in Hammondsport, as they peeled away towards a 17-0 shutout of the host Lakers.
A thunderous tone was set in an instant for Genesee Valley/Belfast (11-2), as they used their first at-bats of the game to their utmost advantage against the Lakers, posting 11 of their 17 runs to claim a lead they would never look back on from that point forward. To go with their runs, the visitors in black also tallied 12 hits at the plate, with Ian McKenzie and Nolan Hunter each garnering three hits and combining for five RBI.
On the mound, brothers Ben and Matt Cater came together as one to produce a one-hit shutout during their time on the hill, with Ben garnering the win behind six strikeouts through three innings, while Matt followed with four more strikeouts of his own in the last two innings to close up the five-inning victory.
Genesee Valley/Belfast is back on the diamond Monday night with a 5 p.m. visit to Fillmore.
Genesee Valley/Belfast (11)14 10 – 17 12 0
Hammondsport 0 00 00 – 0 1 4
GVB – Ben Cater (WP) (6K), Matt Cater (4) (4K) and Evan Turybury.
HAM – Ethan Robinson (LP) (BB), Ethan Beers (1) (3K, 3BB), Cayden Castlebury (3) (3K, 3BB) and Silas Scofield.
SOFTBALL
Friendship/Scio 5, Cuba-Rushford 0
CUBA — Two of Allegany County’s most powerful arms in the circle, Nevaeh Ross and Sydney Howard both put on a magnificent and incredible show for all to witness in their second and final clash of the season, Thursday night in Cuba. From start to finish, the two aces came together and produced a 23-strikeout coalescence to keep one another off balance.
In a dead heat that saw just seven hits come into formulation, it was an early lead for Friendship/Scio that wound up making all the difference, as they held onto the advantage and survived another strong challenge from the Lady Rebels to pick up the season-series sweep with a 5-0 shutout — their ninth straight win.
“Errors were our enemy tonight. Those bit us, but Sydney threw a great game to keep us in it,” said Lady Rebels coach Mary Keesler. “Despite giving up those two runs to start the game, we pretty much held Friendship/Scio in check until the seventh inning. Nevaeh is a tough pitcher, and we haven’t seen someone like her come around here in quite some time.”
Right off the bat, Friendship/Scio (10-2) broke the ice with a pair of runs off back-to-back errors from the Cuba-Rushford defense, with Nevaeh Ross and Avery Lamberson accounting for both to claim a 2-0 lead that would elongate for nearly the entire game. From the second to the sixth innings, both teams would combine to produce just four hits at the plate while both Ross and Howard exchanged five straight scoreless markers in the circle.
To ensure their lead would remain intact, the visitors in black and gold collected their last three hits of the game in the top of the seventh inning to grab three massive pieces of insurance, with Morghyn Ross’ phenomenal night of offense coming to a close on the highest of notes on her, blasting a two-run double to deep center field.
Friendship/Scio would close out their sweep of the Lady Rebels (4-7) with a quick 1-2-3 on defense, with Nevaeh Ross garnering the final out with her arm, as she finished as the winning pitcher in the midst of a 13-strikeout, two-walk one-hitter. As for the offense, Morghyn Ross finished with four of the team’s six hits, while Nevaeh had one to pitch in. Nora Thompson had a hit to add along the way.
The hosts in gray and blue were paced by a dynamic performance from Sydney Howard in the circle, who went the distance with 10 strikeouts and just one walk. At the plate, Arlah Shaffer garnered the team’s lone hit on a single in the sixth inning to break up Friendship/Scio’s no-hit bid. The Lady Rebels will look to rebound by traveling to Franklinville this evening for a 5 p.m. first pitch.
Friendship/Scio will finish off their Midseason Tournament battle from last weekend against Genesee Valley/Belfast at 11 a.m. on Saturday. Following that contest, they will get back on the road for a 5 p.m. battle with Bolivar-Richburg on Tuesday.
Friendship/Scio 200 000 3 – 5 6 0
Cuba-Rushford 000 000 0 – 0 1 6
F/S – Nevaeh Ross (WP) (CG, 13K, 2BB) and Morghyn Ross.
C-R – Sydney Howard (LP) (CG, 10K, BB) and Arlah Shaffer.
Bolivar-Richburg 8, Andover/Whitesville 1
WHITESVILLE — For the very first time in her Varsity career, Rylee Whiting assembled a no-hit performance from within the circle, as the Bolivar-Richburg sophomore continued to keep the fire burning while the bats came alive late to end a scoreless shootout with host Andover/Whitesville, marching towards a gigantic 8-1 road win in Whitesville to get back to .500 on the season on Thursday.
“Rylee was spot on tonight,” Lady Wolverines coach Brooke Lovell said. “She really mixed her pitches and she was really focused on the task at hand. The defense was able to limit the errors behind her as well. Overall, it was a great team effort.”
Whiting composed a boisterous symphony from within the circle for the Lady Wolverines (7-7) to keep Andover/Whitesville on edge all game long, as she struck out eight and walked two across her magnificent start. It was not an easy task by any means betwixt the two teams, as they both delivered back and forth haymakers across a three-inning stretch that saw only one hit develop at the plate.
Then the turbojets began to turn on in the fourth inning when the visitors in black and red gained the contest’s first advantage off a pair of putouts from both Danika Loucks and Alexa Fisk at the bottom of the lineup, scoring both Cassidy Stives and Danika Saunders to break the ice. Andover/Whitesville (2-7) responded by cutting the deficit in half with their lone run of the game.
In the fifth inning all the way to the end, Bolivar-Richburg accounted for the final six runs, including a three-run top of the fifth inning that allowed them to push the advantage out in insurmountable fashion to help finish off the victory over the road. The Lady Wolverines amassed 14 hits to go with their eight runs, with Jayna Thomas and Sommer Beckwith each recording three hits, while Saunders and Fisk both had two to pitch in.
Andover/Whitesville witnessed another fine effort from Makaila Brewster in the circle, as she handed out seven chairs and walked just one in her complete game. The team will look to rebound over the road Saturday afternoon with a 12:30 p.m. visit to Hammondsport.
“Both pitchers came ready to play tonight,” Andover/Whitesville coach Al Barber said. “Bolivar-Richburg capitalized on our lack of focus tonight, and that resulted in several defensive miscues at the wrong time. That had us fighting from behind again, and against a tough pitcher like the Whiting girl, it’s hard to get some momentum established.”
The Lady Wolverines will host tournament action this evening with Avoca-Prattsburgh, Canisteo-Greenwood/Jasper-Troupsburg and Keshequa all coming to town to partake in the action. Stan Harris Field will be surrounded with pink when it all commences at 5 p.m. for Bolivar-Richburg’s opening round matchup against Canisteo-Greenwood/Jasper-Troupsburg.
Consolation and Championship games will follow immediately after, at 7 p.m.
Bolivar-Richburg 000 231 2 – 8 14 1
Andover/Whitesville 000 100 0 – 1 0 3
B-R – Rylee Whiting (WP) (CG, 8K, 2BB) and Sydney Faulkner.
A/W – Makaila Brewster (LP) (CG, 7K, BB) and Reece Winters.
Genesee Valley/Belfast 16, Hammondsport 1
HAMMONDSPORT — The Genesee Valley/Belfast offense provided a prevalent presence across all phases of the game Thursday night in Hammondsport, as they put the puzzle pieces together and encapsulated a 16-run, 17-hit bonanza to bring the hammer down on the host Lady Lakers immediately in their 16-1 victory.
There was no extinguishing Genesee Valley/Belfast’s (8-3) bats at the plate, as five different hitters all dispatched at least a pair of hits to propel the victory. Of the 16 runs they would manage to scratch across the plate, 13 of them came in the first four innings of play to bring the hammer down on the Lady Lakers, with five of them coming in the second and six more coming later on in the top of the fourth frame to pull away out of reach.
Leading the bats for the visitors in black and gray was Hannah Southwick-Powers and her 3-for-4 outing that included a triple and double. Jenna Hill also had three hits to add in, while Whitney Young, Cassidy Hand and Morgan Yackeren all chipped in with two. On the mound, the victory belonged to Southwick-Powers, as she shelled out 10 strikeouts across six innings of work.
Kate Calanni would then receive the ball in the bottom of the seventh inning to finish off a three-hit combination with her junior counterpart, as she added one more strikeout into the ring.
Genesee Valley/Belfast will head back to the Rich Sullivan Complex in Belfast tonight to host Lima Christian in a 5 p.m. first pitch.
Genesee Valley/Belfast 151 600 3 – 16 17
Hammondsport 000 000 1 – 1 3
GVB – Hannah Southwick-Powers (WP) (10K), Kate Calanni (7) (K) and Jenna Hill.
HAM – Nicole Pratt (LP) (CG, 6K, 13BB) and Sam Pratt.
