Friday Sectionals: Wellsville Boys Tennis clinch 1st Section V championship in program history with win at LeRoy in C1 Finals; Wellsville, B-R reach Finals with home wins

The Wellsville Lions boys tennis squad stands together as one, as they came away Section V champions for the first time in program history under head coach Bill Stives, left, defeating LeRoy by a 3-2 count in Friday’s Class C1 Championship match. Wellsville finishes the 2021 season with a 13-1 record overall. [PHOTO BY TIM MCARDLE]

Wellsville head coach Bill Stives, right, hoists the Class C1 Championship brick alongside his players, from left to right: Matt Bittel, Walker Waldon and Dahlton Mattison on Friday in LeRoy. [PHOTO BY TIM MCARDLE]

Wellsville’s Dahlton Mattison returns his shot back to LeRoy during first singles action of Friday’s Class C1 Finals over the road in LeRoy. [PHOTO BY TIM MCARDLE]

Wellsville’s Jake Schrlau returns to the ball back to LeRoy during first doubles action in Friday’s Class C1 Finals over the road in LeRoy. [PHOTO BY TIM MCARDLE]

Wellsville’s Ryan Haggerty prepares to return the ball to LeRoy during second doubles action in Friday’s Class C1 Finals over the road in LeRoy. [PHOTO BY TIM MCARDLE]

Wellsville’s Ryan Carlton returns the ball back to LeRoy during second doubles action in Friday’s Class C1 Finals over the road in LeRoy. [PHOTO BY TIM MCARDLE]

BASEBALL

Class B2 Semifinals

No. 2 Wellsville 8, No. 3 Bath-Haverling 5

WELLSVILLE — After a performance of the Delahunt Miracle that saw their season remain alive, the second-seeded Lions of Wellsville were suddenly on the prowl, as their hunt for Class B2 royalty remained alive. Friday night’s Semifinal contest against No. 3 Bath-Haverling would prove to be paramount, because the winner would be given one distinct advantage — the opportunity to host the Class B2 Finals.

It was a 2-2 game through the opening frame, and then the Lions defense began to lock the Rams down on offense with four straight shutout innings. It would allow the number two seeds to capitalize on more offense to take a lead that would become as big as four, but would shrink to one toward the homestretch.

Then the big bat. And it was a massive one.

Taking a 6-5 lead with No. 3 Bath-Haverling right on their coattails, Wellsville made sure their lead stayed in tact until the final pitch was thrown, as Alex Green destroyed a ball to the deep outfield, which ultimately found its way out of the park for a two-run home run, providing much needed insurance to help the Lions punch a return ticket back to the Class B2 Finals with an 8-5 victory over the Rams in the Lion’s Den.

“I am proud of the boys and the way they played tonight,” said Lions coach Marc Agnello. “They came out on fire, and this year has been good in a sense that our defense has been great along with that. I told the guys today that it’s going to be a great game, and we have to hunt early. They came to hit, and our top three guys had eight of our 11 hits. I’m proud of the way they performed, and they knew what was on the line, and they executed the game plan.”

Green had the biggest bat out of the bunch to lead the Wellsville (10-4) offense, going 2-for-4 with a triple, two runs scored and five total RBI driven in out of the team’s eight on the board. The Lions would go on to break at 2-2 tie with Bath-Haverling after the opening frame of play, scoring four answered to take a 6-2 lead, powered by a three-run fifth inning that provided an extension for a lead that was pressured, but never lost in the end.

“Alex absolutely smoked that ball. That was a big play for us,” Agnello said. “It was 6-2, they came back to cut the deficit down to one at that point in the sixth, and I told everyone to just keep their composure, and then he goes up to the plate and hits his bomb. He came ready to play, and everyone else did behind him too.”

With the Rams beginning to creep in with three late runs coming in the top of the sixth, Wellsville countered with two runs back the other way with Green’s home run giving the team all the room they needed to make their way back to the Finals to close out their season next week.

Liam McKinley and Alex Ordiway recorded three hits each to lead the Lions in the top of the order, while Logan Dunbar chipped in with two hits of his own, including a double. Cody Costello drove in two runs while recording a hit to further the offensive cause. On the mound, Jere Havens went all seven innings recording eight strikeouts and walking two to preserve the win with his arm.

With the victory, the Lions have now earned the opportunity to host the Class B2 Finals as the tournament’s highest seed remaining, as they return to the Lion’s Den one last time to try and win it all in front of their home crowd for the first time in nearly 10 years, facing either No. 8 LeRoy, who was the last opponent they faced in the 2019 B2 Finals, or No. 5 Penn Yan.

First pitch is set for a 5 p.m. start in Wellsville.

“Everything the guys have been through over the past year with COVID, is tough, but to be able to have home field advantage throughout is absolutely beautiful,” Agnello said. “I am so proud of the work that they have put in to get to this point. Our guys are hungry, and we’re really excited to go out and have a chance to win this thing in front of our fans.”

Bath-Haverling 200 003 0 – 5 11 1

Wellsville 201 032 X – 8 11 3

B-H – A.J. Brotz (LP) (K, 2BB), Brendan Strong (4) (4K, 2BB), and Gavin Buckley.

WLSV – Jere Havens (WP) (CG, 8K, 2BB), and Alex Green.

Class C2 Semifinals

No. 4 Bolivar-Richburg 4, No. 8 Campbell-Savona 0

BOLIVAR — Defense was the name of the game. Between both Campbell-Savona and Bolivar-Richburg, just four total hits at the plate were garnered, with each team recording a pair, while their respective pitchers went the distance. But in the end, a quick two-run lead was all that was needed to navigate their way by.

Trey Buchholz was able to win the pitcher’s duel against Campbell-Savona’s Kade Cochran, and in the process, the offense led by a pair of clutch at-bats from Logan Bess kickstarted No. 4 Bolivar-Richburg’s lead in the early stages, building upon it with one run at a time while shutting down the No. 8 Panthers along the way to move on to the Class C2 Finals with a 4-0 shutout at home on Friday.

“Trey pitched phenomenally and he didn’t give up a hit until the seventh inning. For a freshman, that’s incredible,” said Wolverines coach Dustin Allen. “The defense was amazing again, and the plays they made behind him were very impressive. Logan really stepped up for us at the plate with three huge at-bats. That’s what we need out of a Senior. The whole team brought a lot of energy, put the ball in play and did the little things right to get the win.”

After a scoreless first inning was traded between both clubs, Bolivar-Richburg (14-4) got off to a 2-0 start led by Bess’ single to left field, and Wayne Karnuth reaching on a walk, they were both driven in off an error during Caden Allen’s at-bat, and a sacrifice fly by Brayden Ellis to right field.

The smallball trend continued further for the Wolverines with their last two runs both being scored on special teams, capitalizing on an error in the bottom of the fourth off another Ellis potential hit to the right side of the infield, which was misplayed by the Panthers defense to allow Allen to score. The scoring finished with Bess, who scored on a wild pitch after reaching third on his drive into left field caused Campbell-Savona’s final error on defense.

Wyatt Karnuth had the team’s final hit on a single to finish off the offensive efforts, while Buchholz led the way on the mound, twirling a magnificent two-hit gem behind four strikeouts and three walks to keep the Panthers at bay.

The Wolverines will now go for it all once again in the Class C2 Finals on Tuesday, as they look for their fourth Section V title in the last five years on the road by paying a visit to the No. 3 Golden Knights of York.

“As we pointed out, we’re still the defending champions, because we didn’t have a season last year,” Allen said. “We have to come ready to play against York, and they’re a strong team. We’ll get a good practice in on Monday, and head up Tuesday and see what happens.”

First pitch is slated for a 5 p.m. start in Retsof.

Campbell-Savona 000 000 0 – 0 2 4

Bolivar-Richburg 020 101 X – 4 2 0

C-S – Kade Cochran (LP) (CG, 5K, 3BB), and Lucas Feldman.

B-R – Trey Buchholz (WP) (CG, 4K, 3BB), and Brayden Ellis.

Class D1 Semifinals

No. 1 Keshequa 15, No. 5 Fillmore 5

NUNDA — It was an ideal start that the fifth-seeded Eagles of Fillmore garnered. Right from the get-go, they struck while the iron was hot in their first at-bats with four big runs to spring out toward a 4-0 lead of top-seeded Keshequa, Friday night.

Then, a surge began in the bottom of the fourth when the host Indians found a way to tie the game up at four. From that point, a back-and-forth exchange of runs ensued. But the top seeds made sure they had the final punch to throw after stealing a 5-4 lead away from Fillmore, as they went on to score 11 unanswered runs in the last two innings of play to power their way toward eliminating the Eagles with a 15-5 victory in the Class D1 Semifinal round.

After Fillmore (11-5) found a way to build a 4-0 lead in the first inning of play, Keshequa came right back with their first run in the bottom of the second inning to cut the lead down to three before tying it up two offensive tenures later, plating three big runs to make it 4-4 heading into the fifth. In that inning, the Eagles were able to take the lead back with their final run of the game.

But it was short lived as the Indians began to run the table in the last two innings of play, scoring 11 unanswered while capitalizing on their bats, winding up with 15 hits in all, as well as some miscues by the Fillmore defense in the field, which allowed them to score three go-ahead runs in the fifth and seven big pieces of insurance in the sixth to secure their double-digit lead permanently.

Connor Potter got the start on the mound for the fifth seeds, fanning three and walking two in his final start of the season. At the plate, Graham Cahill led the bats with a hit, and two RBI. Potter and Isaiah Voss each had a hit and drove in one run, while Aiden Wagner rounded off with the team’s last hit.

Fillmore’s season has come to an end, as their 2021 campaign concludes with a record of 11-5 and a piece of the Allegany County Division I title.

Fillmore 400 010 0 – 5 4 3

Keshequa 010 347 X – 15 15 2

Class D2 Semifinals

No. 2 Northstar 6, No. 3 Friendship/Scio 1

ROCHESTER — Third-seeded Friendship/Scio scored the game’s first run right from the starting line to get the early jump on No. 2 Northstar over the road on Friday. But led by a magnificent performance by Northstar’s Bryce Turner on the rubber, the host Knights would not be denied, as they scored a four-run bottom of the third that cracked the ice massively in their 6-1 win in the Class D2 Semifinal round, eliminating the Golden Eagles and ending their season.

Turner was simply unstoppable on the mound for the Knights, as he held Friendship/Scio (10-4) to just their single run off two hits at the plate, handing out a whopping 19 chairs to go with three walks to keep the Golden Eagles permanently docked until the very end.

Of their hits, Cam Loucks and Cory Bolzan both provided them off singles. On the mound, Bolzan and Joey Bednez combined to post a five-hitter for the Golden Eagles, with Bolzan fanning six and walking three to lead the way. Bednez added a strikeout along the way in his final appearance of the season.

Friendship/Scio’s first season as a combined unit has come to an end, closing the book on a highly successful season that saw them clinch a share of the Allegany County Division II title with Belfast behind an overall record of 10-4.

Friendship/Scio 100 000 0 – 1 2 3

Northstar 004 011 X – 6 5 0

F/S – Cory Bolzan (LP) (6K, 3BB), Joey Bednez (6) (K), and Ian Romero.

NC – Bryce Turner (WP) (CG, 19K, 3BB), and Dom Kirk.

No. 1 Avoca/Prattsburgh 14, No. 4 Belfast 1

PRATTSBURGH — The fourth-seeded Bulldogs of Belfast were able to hang right along side with top-seeded Avoca/Prattsburgh in the early-going, but as the game went on, the host Vikings became stronger, as their offense came alive with numerous hits and multiple capitalizions off Belfast’s defensive miscues, scoring all 14 runs in a row to propel their way toward the Class D2 Finals with a 14-1 rolling of the Bulldogs, Friday in Prattsburgh.

“It was a good learning experience,” said Bulldogs coach Derek Kenyon. “These kids had a good year, and I am so proud of them. At least we got to the Semifinals. They played all year to make it this far, and it was a lot of fun along the way. Their three top hitters got us, and they were on it all night long. We were able to get the rest of their hitters, but not them, and that played into being a big difference.”

The Bulldogs (9-6) were held to just a single hit at the plate, provided by Matt Weaver’s single. The run came in the top of the seventh inning, when Matt Cater scored on a passed ball to the backstop. On the mound, Carter Stout struck out two and walked two in his three-inning start.

Avoca/Prattsburgh was able to break a two-inning scoreless drought in the third with the game’s first three runs, but it proved to be only the beginning, as they scored a massive six-run bottom of the fourth to bust the game wide open, branching their lead insurmountably for good to ultimately send Belfast home packing.

The shortened 2021 season for the Bulldogs has reached its end, as they wrap up with a piece of the Allegany County Division II title and a 9-6 record.

Belfast 000 000 1 – 1 1 7

Avoca/Prattsburgh 003 623 X – 14 10 0

BEL – Carter Stout (LP) (2K, 2BB), Nick Ellison (4) (K, BB), and Justin Hill.

A/P – Caleb Clements (WP) (14K, 2BB), Tucker Gerych (7) (3K, BB), and Ashton McMahon.