Wednesday Roundup: In busy afternoon of golf at WCC, Fillmore edges out host Lions, GV/Belfast strolls past B-R; Button nets trifecta of Varsity firsts in Wellsville’s 12-0 blank of C-G in Hornell

WELLSVILLE — For the first time this season, the Wellsville Country Club was booked full for Allegany County action, with four of the five teams all meeting at one place and at one time for battle, as Bolivar-Richburg took on Genesee Valley/Belfast, and Fillmore duked it out with the host Lions of Wellsville on each side of the arterial along Riverside Drive.

Between the two matches on full display on Wednesday, Genesee Valley/Belfast’s Grant Preston had the medalist round honors for the eighth time in a row this season to power up the team’s latest victory over the Wolverines by a 204-309 count, as he fired the match’s lowest round of 40 to set up their sixth win in first eight matches on the links.

Following right behind him was Afton Hamer and his round of 48. Jackson Barney carded a round of 53, while Conan Tallman turned in a round of 63 to round off the scoring for Genesee Valley/Belfast (6-2).

Bolivar-Richburg (0-6) was led by Owen Unfus and his round of 52. Jordan Boldt had a 78. Addison Hackett finished with an 80.

Alongside both teams on the course, it was Anderson Wiltsey and his terrific round of 42 to score medalist round honors in Fillmore’s edging of the host Lions by a 216-222 final tally.

Following up for the Eagles (7-1) right behind him was Sam Cool, who pitched forth his round of 52. Jameson Rhett contributed a 55, while Alex Hatch had a 67 to round off.

The Lions (2-4) were paced by a team-low round of 52 fired by Blake Kalkhof. Noah Brogan carded a round of 54. Rowen Ader finished with a 57, while Fletcher Kaye finished off the scoring with a 59.

Listed below are the next matches for all four teams that were in attendance at the Wellsville Country Club:

GV/Belfast: vs. Jasper-Troupsburg (WCC) Today, 4 p.m.

Fillmore: vs. Genesee Valley/Belfast (Allegany Hills) Tuesday, 4 p.m.

Wellsville: at Addison (Indian Hills GC) Today, 4:30 p.m.

Bolivar-Richburg: vs. Wellsville (Bolivar GC) Tuesday, 4 p.m.

BASEBALL

Wellsville 12, Canisteo-Greenwood 0 (F-5)

HORNELL — No matter the sport, there is always room for plenty of firsts for absolutely everything. On a night spent under the lights of Maple City Park in Hornell, Anthony Button had himself a performance to remember on Wednesday.

To go with one of many big bats that the Lions mustered against the Canisteo-Greenwood Chargers, the Wellsville sophomore was simply lights out.

Along with his first career Varsity hit, Button was handed the ball for his first career start on the bump and emerged victorious with his first ever victory for the Lions, holding the Chargers to just one hit with five strikeouts and four walks to fill out a night covered in positives, as they strolled towards a 12-0 five-inning victory to get back on track.

“This was a big game for the sophomore. He's been working hard and biding his time, and he took the ball today and ran with it,” said Lions coach Tom Delahunt. “He threw a lot of strikes and he put together a great outing to start his pitching career on the Varsity level. We hit some shots tonight, shots that would have gone out at our field. Ty (Vogel) hit a triple, and then he hit another to left that was crushed, but it was snagged at the wall. Aiden (Cowburn) hit the ball hard, Trenton (Green), everybody. We definitely got busy tonight.”

The Lions (8-3) were quick on their heels right from the start, scoring three runs off three colossal hits — two from the bat of Ty Vogel, who crushed an RBI triple in the top of the first before bringing home another run later in the second on a single, all sandwiched in between a Trent Green RBI single to ring up an early 3-0 lead over Canisteo-Greenwood.

Button then helped his own cause in the top of the third with his first Varsity hit — a two-run double to right center field, scoring both Tyler Rahr and Cam Lyons on the play to branch out the Wellsville advantage to five.

After solid defense from both parties across the fourth inning, the floodgates were broken down with heavy force in the fifth by the team in black and orange, as they posted their last seven runs to officially solidify their victory. Wellsville totaled their 12 runs off 11 strong hits at the plate, as Vogel, Green and Aiden Cowburn each had two hits to lead the way.

For the Chargers, Thomas Sirianni provided four outstanding innings on the mound, striking out six and walking one.

The Lions are back home tonight to host their Senior Night celebration, as they welcome the Allegany-Limestone Gators in for battle beginning at 5 p.m.

Wellsville 212 07 – 12 11 0

Canisteo-Greenwood 000 00 – 0 1 4

WLSV – Anthony Button (WP) (CG, 5K, 4BB) and Matt Ritter.

C-G – Thomas Sirianni (LP) (6K, BB), Dan Stilson (5) (BB) and Stilson, Sirianni (5).

Alfred-Almond sweeps doubleheader with Fri/Scio

ALMOND — There were absolutely plenty of runs to go around for the Alfred-Almond Eagles, as they scored in all but one inning between both games of their Wednesday night doubleheader against Friendship/Scio, utilizing a strong complete game from Malakhiyah Ball in game one and an unanswered stretch of scoring in game two to finish off the complete sweep by 25-4 and 17-11 counts.

In game one, it was an early sequence of attack from all fronts for the Eagles, as they harnessed the spotlight to formulate a 5-0 first inning lead, an advantage they never looked back on. Despite surrendering a pair of runs in both the second and third innings along the way, Ball settled in and delivered a dynamic outing, holding Friendship/Scio (0-11) to four hits while striking out nine and walking four.

With the majority of the runs all coming on special teams, Alfred-Almond supplied seven hits at the plate, with Jonas Lockner and his 2-for-4 outing leading the charge.

For Friendship/Scio, Cooper Greenman had two of the team’s four hits, including a double.

To wrap up the night under the lights, the two teams went back-and-forth right from the start, with two different game-tying scenarios coming to light. With a 4-1 lead in hand for the Eagles after the second inning, Friendship/Scio fought their way back with the first of two epic responses, collecting three more unanswered runs to tie the game at four during their third term at the plate.

But the deadlock was brief. As a result, the Eagles found their groove around the bases again, scratching across seven runs in the bottom of the third to eclipse the double-digit mark for the contest, carrying an 11-4 lead into the fourth. Friendship/Scio showed no signs of backing down though, as they came right back with seven runs of their own to tie the game at 11.

Alfred-Almond would go on to end the scoring permanently with one more lead change in their fourth inning counter to the visitors, scoring six straight runs to pull away for good.

The Eagles put together a nine-hit effort at the dish with Malakhiyah Ball and Sam Bensley each recording two hits. On the mound, the win was granted to Gavin Beaver in relief, as he fanned six and walked four.

Friendship/Scio recorded eight hits at the plate — three of them belonging to Deacon Brown, who finished a perfect 3-for-3 at the dish. Mike Wade chipped in with two hits of his own and scored three runs.

Up next, Friendship/Scio will get set to play two more games beginning Saturday morning with a 10 a.m. road trip to Hammondsport. Later on in the afternoon, the team will come home to Wellman Field in Friendship to host Bolivar-Richburg in a 2 p.m. first pitch.

Game 1

Alfred-Almond 529 81 – 25 7 2

Friendship/Scio 022 00 – 4 4 10

A-A – Malakhiyah Ball (WP) (CG, 9K, 4BB) and Atley Barnett.

F/S – Matt Donohue (LP) (10BB), Cooper Greenman (4) (3BB), Blake Perry (4) (2BB) and Greenman, Charlie Taylor (4).

Game 2

Friendship/Scio 013 700 0 – 11 8 4

Alfred-Almond 407 222 X – 17 9 2

F/S – Sean Dieter (K, 6BB), Matt Donohue (LP, 3) (K, BB), Mike Wade (6) (3K, 3BB) and Noah Roberts.

A-A – Jonas Lockner (4K, 3BB), Sam Bensley (3) (3K, BB), Liam Ruthven (4) (2BB), Gavin Beaver (WP, 4) (6K, 4BB) and Zavier Rao.

SOFTBALL

Avoca-Prattsburgh 16, Bolivar-Richburg 4 (F-5)

RICHBURG — With games against Addison and Canisteo-Greenwood now off the table at the start of what was a six-day, six-game week for the Lady Wolverines of Bolivar-Richburg, they would have to wait until the weather finally subsided on Wednesday to get their engines refired in time for a colossal showdown with the Avoca-Prattsburgh Lady Titans.

Without hesitation, the Lady Titans were on a roll to start the heat of battle, claiming the opening advantage in the process. But although the wheels had trouble spinning early, the Lady Wolverines pressed down on the gas and entered maximum overdrive to make up for an early deficit in a big hurry, creating a level playing surface once again going into the middle frames.

In spite of that, the response provided by the visitors in black and gold was of devastating variety. In the top of the fourth, the Lady Titans used a special teams mixed bag of base-running and walks, along with a string of hits to assemble what was a mammoth 12-run blitz against the Lady Wolverines, ultimately forcing the mercy rule into effect down the stretch to seal the deal on what was a 16-4 victory over the road.

There was plenty of knocking on the door for the Lady Titans right out of the gate, loading the bags behind the Bolivar-Richburg (4-4) defense for the first of many occasions over the course of time, scoring just one off a bloop single into right field that dropped. The Lady Wolverines nearly provided a response of their own off a pair of two-out singles, but could not find their way across, as Meyah Putnam shoved a big strikeout straight down the chute to keep the hosts silent.

Avoca-Prattsburgh went on to keep the momentum in their favor with three more runs across the next stretch of outings at the plate, scoring one in the second off a passed ball and two more in the third — one off an infield single from Celine Switzer to extend their advantage to four. In the bottom half of the third, the hosts in white and red created a brand new game with four runs of their own, beginning with a Teegan Sibble bunt to advance two runners onward to second and third base.

Then, the RBIs would follow, with Kylee Whiting driving in both runs on a single into right field before coming home on Rylee Whiting’s single into shallow right field immediately after. Rylee would then peel towards home on a passed ball to the backstop to tie the game at four.

But the scoring ceased for the Lady Wolverines, as Avoca-Prattsburgh took over from the top of the fourth until the last pitch was thrown, using a monstrous 12-run stanza to their utmost advantage to break the game wide open for the game-shortened victory at Stan Harris Field over the road.

Bolivar-Richburg finished with four runs off five hits, with the Whiting siblings combining for four of them. Danika Loucks had the team’s remaining hit. On the mound, Rylee Whiting fanned three and walked six across her start that extended into the fourth inning.

Avoca-Prattsburgh was led by Ellie Harrell and Alydia McIntyre, each recording two hits. On the hill, Meyah Putnam fanned four and walked four across her complete game victory.

The Lady Wolverines will look to regroup quickly tonight right back on Stan Harris Field, as they host the Fillmore Lady Eagles at 5 p.m.

Avoca-Prattsburgh 112 (12)0 – 16 7 2

Bolivar-Richburg 004 0 0 – 4 5 4

A-P – Meyah Putnam (WP) (CG, 4K, 4BB) and Ellie Harrell.

B-R – Rylee Whiting (LP) (3K, 6BB), Sommer Beckwith (4) (4BB), Kylee Whiting (5) (3K, BB) and Sydney Faulkner.

Fillmore 4, Portville 3

PORTVILLE — The Portville Lady Panthers jumped the gun early against the Lady Eagles of Fillmore on Wednesday, scattering a collection of hits across the field off Mylee Miller to establish an early advantage on their home field. With a two-run deficit to dig out of, the Lady Eagles remained within a stone’s throw.

After a brief discussion on the mound, Miller and the defense behind her turned it up to a brand new level.

The tune of choice? — Absolute silence.

With Portville clinging to their advantage down the stretch, the Lady Eagles began to soar by turning the ship around behind Miller’s heroic game-saving efforts, as she held the Lady Panthers absolutely hitless for the remainder of the game. In return, the offense soon followed with three go-ahead runs to flip the game upside down, officially overcoming their early deficit to score a 4-3 victory — their seventh in the last eight games.

“Tonight took a complete team effort,” said Lady Eagles coach Jon Beardsley. “Our top of the order gets a lot of notoriety, but tonight, it was our bottom half that had some really timely plate appearances that helped us win this game. As for Mylee, she settled down after a tough first three plus innings, but after a quick visit to the mound, she fought back. I am proud of her grit to fight her way out of that, along with some timely defense from her teammates behind her.”

The Lady Eagles (9-2) were the first to strike on special teams with two runners occupying the bases. With Morghyn Ross navigating towards third on a passed ball, she then found her way home for the first run off of Miller’s grounder to the left side of the infield. Portville then began to find solid connections at the plate, delivering a pair of two-out RBI singles to take a 2-1 lead.

With the hosts in maroon extending their lead in the third, it would be the last run they score, as Fillmore proceeded to turn it around on all fronts. After surrendering all six hits and walking seven against the Lady Panthers early on, it was Miller that helped reverse the momentum with the strongest of finishes, fanning seven and walking just three across the next four shutout innings.

Miller went on to finish up with nine strikeouts and 10 walks in the circle.

In the midst of it all, the Lady Eagles tied the game at three in the top of the fifth inning before taking the lead once and for all a short time later with much-needed aid from the bottom of their order, with Chloe Hennard leading off the frame and scoring on Morghyn Ross’ sacrifice fly, while back at the top of the lineup, Tenlee Miller found the plate herself on error to deadlock the contest.

The bottom of the lineup came through one more time in the sixth inning for the visitors in black and green, in a four at-bat outing that they made the most out of. Following a lead-off walk drawn by Abby Earley, she then crossed the plate on Lily Sisson’s incredible two-out smack to right field that put them into the driver’s seat for the very first time in the contest.

Each team would see four at-bats in the seventh inning, but no more runs would come across, as Fillmore completed their comeback with resilience.

The Lady Eagles posted their four runs off seven hits, with Mattie McCumiskey’s triple and double pacing the efforts. Morghyn Ross recorded a double.

It will be a quick turnaround for Fillmore tonight, as they head back out on the road for a 5 p.m. visit to Bolivar-Richburg.

Fillmore 100 021 0 – 4 7 1

Portville 021 000 0 – 3 6 2

FIL – Mylee Miller (WP) (CG, 9K, 10BB) and Morghyn Ross.

PORT – Bella Morales (LP) (CG, 4K, 3BB) and Lauren Lyle.

Friendship/Scio 16, Hammondsport 15

SCIO — By the most razor thin of edges, the Friendship/Scio ladies charted their course back into the win column after a back-and-forth duel with visiting Hammondsport on Wednesday, as they squeezed their way out on top in Scio with a 16-15 victory.

Stats and a complete box score were not made available to report upon publication.

Friendship/Scio (2-7) is back on the field Friday night in Scio, hosting the Alfred-Almond Lady Eagles at 5 p.m.

BOYS TENNIS

Fillmore 3, Avoca-Prattsburgh 2

HOUGHTON — There is always cause for concern when a team goes the extra mile without seeing a healthy dose of action. With Avoca-Prattsburgh now fully eclipsing over the horizon entering Wednesday, it was the first battle for the Eagles of Fillmore in just over a week’s time.

But with a dominant display of tennis from both of their doubles teams, Fillmore would look to Ezra Schilke to lock up the victory in its entirety.

With the visiting Titans laying claim on the bookending singles matches, Schilke battled through thick and thin, tooth and nail against Avoca-Prattsburgh’s Gavin Mills from start to finish to deliver the victory that the team needed to remain undefeated with their seventh straight win, as they squeezed towards a 3-2 win at Houghton University.

“It was nice to get a big win against a quality team today,” said Eagles coach Randy Crouch. “We haven't played since last Tuesday, so I was worried we might get off to a slow start. Both doubles teams really jumped out early and cruised to victories. Ezra was the clincher at second singles. He played an efficient first set, but let his opponent dictate play in the second. In the third, Ezra got back to trusting his return of serve and ground strokes and picked up a big win for us.”

The Eagles (7-0) captured their victory behind a dynamic doubles performance from both duos, with the first doubles team of Ezra Knapp and Carson Sanasith controlling their own destiny after a strong first set start to survive a second set bounce back from their opponents, Braelynn Dowdle and Parker Nichols, claiming the 6-0, 6-4 win. Brayden Walton and Kallan Sanasith countered with a victorious 6-2, 6-2 win over Landon White and Gracyn Rumsey at second doubles.

With the two wins in the bag, the match laid on the shoulders of Schilke after the visiting Titans saw Elias Putnam and Josh Dabby take control of their respective matches at first and third singles, starting strong before Mills came back and delivered a second set match-tying haymaker. Despite it, Schilke remained confident and vigilant, as he delivered a big third set punch in return to finish off Fillmore’s victory in the fashion of a 6-2, 3-6, 6-2 decision.

Fillmore is right back down the road to Houghton University tonight for a 5 p.m. visit from Cuba-Rushford.

Singles

1. Elias Putnam (A-P) def. Isaiah Sisson (FIL), 6-4, 6-1.

2. Ezra Schilke (FIL) def. Gavin Mills (A-P), 6-2, 3-6, 6-2.

3. Josh Dabby (A-P) def. Levi Russell (FIL), 6-2, 7-6 (2).

Doubles

1. Ezra Knapp/Carson Sanasith (FIL) def. Braelynn Dowdle/Parker Nichols (A-P), 6-0, 6-4.

2. Brayden Walton/Kallan Sanasith (FIL) def. Landon White/Gracyn Rumsey (A-P), 6-2, 6-2.