Saturday Sectionals: Miller’s brilliant 10-strikeout complete game, 8-run 5th inning propels No. 8 Fillmore over No. 9 Naples; No. 8 And/Whi baseball downed in upset by No. 9 Hammondsport

FILLMORE — The Lady Eagles of Fillmore had all phases of their way work in their favor despite some less-than-ideal conditions outdoors on a Saturday afternoon that pushed all of the rest of the Sectional slate back one extra day.

With the bats working and a tremendous day from Mylee Miller coming into fruition from within the circle, the Lady Eagles would not be denied victory against No. 9 Naples on their home field to open their second season journey on a massive note with a 13-4 victory to send the Lady Big Green home packing.

The Lady Eagles (7-12) struck the game’s first chords after two complete innings, breaking the ice during their first at-bats before adding onto the early advantage just a single inning later with a pair of runs, branching out the lead to three over Naples to remain in control. The Lady Big Green would respond with their first run in the top of the fourth to cut the deficit down, but that would be as close as they would get to the hosts in black and green.

After a scoreless Fillmore frame to end the fourth, and then a fourth shutout inning tossed by Miller in the circle, the Lady Eagles would navigate their way towards the finish line with a brilliant fifth inning of dominance, scoring eight dynamic runs to eclipse the 10-run mark, never looking back from that point forward, as they ensured their trip to the Quarterfinal round.

The Lady Eagles totaled 13 runs off nine hits at the plate, with Mattie McCumiskey and Annika Wiltsey leading the bats with two hits each. Five different Lady Eagles — Oakley Frazier, Julia Beardsley, Skylar Gaddy, Grace Russell and Jenna Austin, all rounded off the attack with a hit each.

While the bats were coming alive, Miller held down the fort in the circle with one of her best performances of the season, as she handed out 10 chairs and walked just one in her complete game gem, holding Naples to just five hits.

Up next, Fillmore will get set to hit the road for the Quarterfinal round in the Class D1 playoffs, as they get set to face top-seeded Keshequa on Tuesday at a time to be determined at the Rymer Complex.

Naples 000 103 0 – 4 5 4

Fillmore 120 082 X – 13 9 2

NAP – Emily Lester (LP) (CG, 2K, 10BB) and Grayce Hebding.

FIL – Mylee Miller (WP) (CG, 10K, BB) and Oakley Frazier.

BASEBALL

Class D2 Play-In

No. 9 Hammondsport 13, No. 8 Andover/Whitesville 6

ANDOVER — Although the rain put a damper on much of the first day of Sectional play, eight-seeded Andover/Whitesville would not allow the precipitation to deter their opportunity to start their journey on the right foot, Saturday morning.

Their opposition was No. 9 Hammondsport, who looked to play spoiler themselves. And through the first three innings of play, the visiting Lakers were able to garner enough of a strong start against the hosts to build a lead they would not relieve from start to finish, holding a lead by as much as eight down the stretch to pull off the upset in Class D2 Play-In action with a 13-6 win in Andover.

Hammondsport grabbed a jump right off the hop in their opening at-bats to keep the Andover/Whitesville defense on their feet early, plating four big runs to take the opening advantage. The frame, paced by a clutch two-run single off the bat of Cayden Casselbury with two out on the board.

While the Lakers were able to continue building on, Andover/Whitesville would work their way onto the board themselves along the way with a run scoring on error in the second, and a sacrifice fly from Colton Calladine in the next inning to trim the deficit to 7-2.

The scoring ways continued for the visitors in purple and black, as they went on to score their last six runs in the next three innings to eclipse the 10-run mark, including another big four-run frame in the top of the sixth which was conducted off multiple special teams plays around the bases, which would ultimately give them all the room they needed to secure the upset bid at the end of the game.

Andover/Whitesville was allowed just four hits across the contest, with CJ Estep leading the bats with two of them. Oliver Smith and Skylar Orpet each had the remaining pair, with the latter driving in a run in the bottom of the sixth. On the mound, Brody Vance struck out 10 and walked eight in his relief appearance.

The 2023 campaign for Andover/Whitesville is now over, as they wrap up with a record of 4-13 overall. The team will graduate just three seniors next month in Estep, Layton Miller and Landon Cook.

Hammondsport 421 114 0 – 13 6 2

Andover/Whitesville 011 021 1 – 6 4 8

HAM – Ben Dluzak (WP) (11K, 4BB), Ethan Buckley (7) (3K, BB) and Silas Scofield.

A/W – CJ Estep (LP) (K, 2BB), Brody Vance (1) (10K, 8BB) and Colton Calladine.