Friday Baseball: B-R provides major comeback off visit to Wellsville, shutout GV/Belfast at Houghton U with 12-0 win; Lions keep bats aflame behind Cowburn’s gem in 10-0 blank of Addison

HOUGHTON — There was no doubt that the Bolivar-Richburg Wolverines were going to let Wednesday night’s defeat in Wellsville haunt them. With all-day rains postponing the majority of the area’s action on Friday, a trip to Houghton University was made to meet Genesee Valley/Belfast in their second and final titanic Allegany County League showdown this year.

While the Wolverines were aiming to rebound after their defeat to the Lions, Genesee Valley/Belfast was looking to produce an act of redemption from earlier this season after a late rally from behind by Bolivar-Richburg to score the walk-off victory.

It was a much different story this time around. One that was authored immediately after the commencement of Bolivar-Richburg’s opening at-bats of the game, as they poured the fuel onto their bats and lit them on fire with the scratching of eight of their 12 runs across the plate in the first two innings of play, setting the tone automatically for the foreseeable future ahead to take care of business in just five innings in what was a 12-0 shutout of Genesee Valley/Belfast.

“This was a huge bounce back game for us,” Wolverines coach Dustin Allen said. “This was one of the most complete games we've had this year. That first inning was something that just kept going for us and it was something that we desperately needed. Caden (Allen) threw an excellent game for us tonight to go with it. He was in control. I was worried about how we were going to respond after the Wellsville game, and we responded better than I expected.”

Bolivar-Richburg (16-2) wasted absolutely no time firing on all cylinders against Genesee Valley/Belfast by bringing a 4-0 lead to the table, stemming off a double down the left field line to plate Reiss Gaines. Caden Allen and Landon Barkley each followed with back-to-back RBI before a dropped third strike throw to first went errant from the bag helped wrap up the frame.

After a strong first stand on defense, the momentum remained in their favor going into the second inning with another four-run formulation at the plate, led by a two-out single from Tavyn MacDonell that scored two to cushion their advantage to eight. Buchholz and Barkley would also each chip in RBIs to propel the offense along the way.

“It took a lot of wind out of their sails,” Allen spoke of the offense. “We've been preaching to hit the ball better, and we came out and hit the ball hard against a solid pitcher like (Ryan) Daciw. Genesee Valley/Belfast is very strong, and very well-coached by Dennie (Miles). Hopefully, we continue to keep it going, because this is the time of year where we need to fire on all cylinders.”

Following a scoreless trade in the third inning, the Wolverines went on to finish off the battle with the last four runs in the remaining two frames of play, using heads-up baserunning from third base in the fourth inning, while Aydin Sisson finished the game with a three-run double to the deepest part of the field in the top of the fifth.

In all, the Wolverines collected 12 runs off 11 total hits, with five different hitters all posting two hits, as Gaines, Buchholz, Sisson, Barkley and MacDonell led the way. On the mound, Caden Allen was superb in his complete game two-hit twirl of Genesee Valley/Belfast (14-3), striking out three and walking one.

As for the team in black, Ryan Daciw fanned three and walked one in his two-inning start on the mound. On offense, Matt Cater and Ty Hutchison each provided a hit. Genesee Valley/Belfast will look to regroup and bounce back in Cooperstown on Sunday, as they take on Andover/Whitesville at Doubleday Field in a 1:30 p.m. first pitch.

Bolivar-Richburg will look to put the finishing touches on an Allegany County League Championship after the weekend, weather permitting, as they pay a visit to Hinsdale at 5 p.m.

Bolivar-Richburg 440 13 – 12 11 2

Genesee Valley/Belfast 000 00 – 0 2 1

B-R – Caden Allen (WP) (CG, 3K, BB) and Aydin Sisson.

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

[PHOTOS PROVIDED]

Wellsville 10, Addison 0 (F-5)

WELLSVILLE — Fresh off an unbelievable and dominant victory against Bolivar-Richburg in the middle of the week, there was no better time than now to continue keeping the pistons firing on all facets.

Although rain put a damper on most action around the surrounding area, the Lions of Wellsville overcame a hole in their tarp covering the field and worked furiously to get it ready in time to face off with Addison on Friday.

After the hard work by many involved to get it back in working order, it was go-time in the Lion’s Den. And despite some of the early complications, the Lions did not lose a beat.

Behind a resilient three-hit gem tossed by Aiden Cowburn on the hill, Wellsville cemented another brick onto their foundation behind another divine offensive effort, assembling a 1-0 lead that soon snowballed into an advantage that the visiting Knights could not match, as they hit cruise control to finish off what was a 10-0 blank after five complete innings.

“Aiden pitched very well for us today. He got into a little trouble here and there, but it was nice to see him have a complete game shutout only giving up three hits,” Lions coach Tom Delahunt said. “That's the nice thing about this team, the depth we have with pitching. Every night we can throw someone else out there and they can do the job. We've marched Aiden out there once a week and he's done a great job. It was nice to see, and he's a competitor that is getting some great success after not having been able to pitch all last year.”

Following the first issuing of a scoreless inning to Addison, the top of the order struck gold for the Lions (16-1) to open the battle, with Ty Vogel garnering the first run of the game on his RBI double to score Cowburn. The momentum that Wellsville built was halted slightly by what was Addison’s biggest threat of the game a short time later.

In the top of the third inning with one out, the Knights found a potential momentum-shifting groove at the plate, loading up the bases behind the Lions defense not once, but twice. The hosts would manage to unjam the threat, scoring a humongous out at the plate following a wild pitch before Brennen Geffers took care of a fielder’s choice at third base to leave Addison frozen in their tracks.

From that point on, Wellsville regained a big charge of momentum on offense and kept Addison in the rearview mirror with the game’s last nine runs in consecutive fashion in the remaining three innings of action, scavenging a trio of them in the bottom of the third as their response to a terrific display of defense.

The Lions would go on to score four more runs in the fourth and then utilize a walk-off single from Cooper Brockway within their two-run fifth inning to put a bow on their 12-hit victory over the Knights.

Leading the bats were Ty Vogel and Trenton Green, as each Lion recorded a 3-for-3 outing at the plate, combining for four RBI and scoring five times. Alex Green chipped in with two hits, while Brockway had two more hits, including a double to couple along with his walk-off single, to chip in. On the mound, Aiden Cowburn allowed just three hits in his complete game twirl, fanning eight and walking three.

The Lions will now get set for battle for the final week of the regular season, beginning with their last road trip on the slate on Monday in a 5 p.m. visit to Wayland-Cohocton.

Addison 000 00 – 0 3 0

Wellsville 103 42 – 10 12 0

ADD – Kolby McLean (LP) (3BB), Zane Specht (3) (BB), Caleb Stuby (5) and Sawyer Westervelt.

WLSV – Aiden Cowburn (WP) (CG, 8K, 3BB) and Alex Green.