After torrential downpour halts play, No. 2 Ark-Can picks up where they left off, finish job to capture 1st crown as combined program with a 6-2 edge over No. 1 GV/Belfast in D Finals

HORNELL — The weather forecast for Saturday afternoon was not a promising one.

With a wall of rain and wind maniacally charting its course across Western New York, it would threaten Championship weekend across the area. That included a day at Maple City Park in Hornell, where Arkport-Canaseraga and Genesee Valley/Belfast took the field for battle in their second matchup in just over a week’s time. This occasion — for everything Section V has to offer.

If that wasn’t enough, one of the teams was going to win their first ever Section V championship as a combined program.

After a wild start between both parties, one team built a full head of steam — the Wolves, who capitalized on a monstrous third inning to overtake Genesee Valley/Belfast in the driver’s seat for the next several innings. While the action continued to unravel, that wall of heavy precipitation and gusty winds inched closer and closer towards reaching the Maple City.

Then, the inevitable.

With sounds of thunder booming and lightning flashing and striking in the area, both teams were escorted off the field and the 30-minute wait now commenced. In a game with everything hanging in the balance, that half-hour away from the field can feel like a lifetime. Inside the respective dugouts, deafening silence and feelings of impatience resonated.

Behind Mother Nature’s ultimate crescendo, a curtain of downpouring rain. Maple City Park was taken by storm quite literally. At the snap of a finger, a 3-1 lead for the Wolves was frozen in place, as the game was officially put on hold until the next day, due to the weather’s wrath. At the same time, both starting pitchers — Micah Marvin and Ryan Daciw were not permitted to continue their outings after eclipsing the required pitch count.

So on Sunday, after the flood cleared on the diamond, it was a brand new ballgame.

After Genesee Valley/Belfast turned their attention to Matt Cater to finish off the fifth inning, Arkport-Canaseraga then shifted gears themselves and handed the ball to their next ace in the wings, Caden Carey to pick up and build on a dominant outing from Marvin. The two hurlers provided a pair of scoreless innings to keep one another at bay, but things took a dramatic turn come time for the seventh inning.

With a big comeback frame from Carey now put under wraps for the Wolves, they started to howl.

Then, they pounced.

In the top of the final stanza the Class D Finals would offer, Arkport-Canaseraga made a break to get out of Genesee Valley/Belfast’s reach, as they used a bundle of special teams plays once again to score three gigantic pieces of insurance. One of those was brought back by the top seeds in the bottom half, but it ultimately gave the Wolves all the room in the world to work with, as they went on to collect their first ever Section V Championship as a combined program with a 6-2 victory.

“I think our inexperience stuck out like a sore thumb today,” said GV/Belfast coach Dennis Miles. “In big time games, we just made a lot of mental and physical mistakes. We knew going in that their biggest strength was their pitching staff and for us, we needed to take that away. We didn't. The first 12 outs yesterday, 10 of them were strikeouts and the other two were a throw-out to second on a steal, and a throw to third. Their infield and outfield didn't even have to make a play.”

Before the Wolves were able to kick it into high gear early on, Genesee Valley/Belfast’s bats were on fire behind the connection of three straight hits to open the game — two of them off back-to-back doubles provided by Ian McKenzie and Matt Cater, with Cater garnering the first RBI to swap places with McKenzie in the middle of the infield.

The momentum rode with the top seeds, but only for a moment, as Arkport-Canaseraga took advantage of every single opportunity they mustered in the top of the second, scoring three go-ahead runs which stemmed from the surrendering of five errors by the Genesee Valley/Belfast in the frame, tilting the balance of power dramatically in the favor of the Wolves.

“We went down 3-1 on a very easy play to make on defense,” said Miles. “We threw it away instead of coming back into this game tied at one. If it's tied, it's a completely different atmosphere out there today. But Arkport-Canaseraga deserved it, they outplayed us. We made a lot of mistakes that we couldn't recover from.”

After giving up just the lone run in the first inning, Micah Marvin would then buckle down and deliver an incredible performance across the board for Arkport-Canaseraga, going all the way until the game suspended play in the bottom of the fifth inning, striking out 10 batters to keep Genesee Valley/Belfast stuck in neutral — six of those coming in consecutive fashion in the fourth and fifth.

The ball was handed to Caden Carey the following day when both teams resumed play at Maple City Park and just like yesterday, Arkport-Canaseraga picked up where they left off. It would begin with massive pieces of insurance, after they fed off Carey’s strong finish to the sixth inning, getting the next three batters to retire in order following the first pair of hitters reaching for the top seeds.

Three more runs came across on special teams efforts for the Wolves to help close the book on a first for the program, as they utilized another defensive error, a Bryson Jones sacrifice and a passed ball to the backstop to take a 3-1 lead and flip it upside down completely on Genesee Valley/Belfast.

In total, Carey provided four strikeouts and a walk to help finish off the game in relief, despite one last effort from the top seeds in the bottom of the seventh with Cater’s second RBI on a single into right, as the Wolves finished off the championship victory after the 24-hour wait to commence the long-awaited celebration on the diamond.

“The Carey kid, he's a very good athlete despite the fact that he's a freshman. He had a lot of big time experience in basketball this past winter that has now carried over into baseball. We knew he was going to be tough, but I thought we would have done a much better job against him.” said Miles.

Genesee Valley/Belfast totaled their two runs off nine big hits at the plate, including a monster 4-for-4 outing from Cater to lead the bats. On the mound, Ryan Daciw struck out five and walked two during his start.

The season is now over for the top seeds in Class D, as they turn an 8-12 season from a year ago into a 17-5 finish in Miles’ first year with the program. Looking back, the legendary head coach says that the thing that stood out the most about his team, was the desire to become better at the game.

“I was so impressed with how much they wanted to learn, and every day, they worked hard in practice to perfect their craft,” he said. “I can't remember a team that has worked as hard as this team this year. They really wanted to get better, and they did, but we've got 10 kids coming back next year. The JV team won 13 games, so there's a lot to be hopeful for next Spring.”

Genesee Valley/Belfast will look to build off the rebound campaign next year without four big pieces, as they bid farewell to their seniors in Cater, Kyle McCumiskey, Owen Heaney and Fisher Herdman, when Graduation arrives next month.

“Hopefully our kids will learn and move on,” Miles said. “These four seniors have been wonderful since I got here, absolutely wonderful. I hope they will take a lot of lifetime memories with them, especially after winning 17 games this year to get here after where this program was before. Not knowing any of the coaches, it was a brand new coaching staff. They all worked really hard all year.”

As for Arkport-Canaseraga, their magic carpet ride continues on to the Class D Far West Regional, which will take place Friday night in Salamanca, where they will face Section VI champion North Collins for an opportunity to advance into the New York State Final Four. First pitch is slated for a 4 p.m. start.

Arkport-Canaseraga 030 000 3 – 6 4 0

Genesee Valley/Belfast 100 000 1 – 2 9 7

A-C – Micah Marvin (WP) (10K), Caden Carey (5) (4K, BB) and Bryer Drake.

GVB – Ryan Daciw (LP) (5K, 2BB), Matt Cater (5) (K), Fisher Herdman (6), Cater (6) (3K, 3BB) and Evan Turybury.