Saturday Roundup: Adams lays down lumber with late icebreaking 2-run triple to propel Lady Lions to 2-0 blank of DuBois Central Catholic; GV/Belfast baseball hurls perfect game against Northeast
WELLSVILLE — In each matchup of their three-game, three-day homestand, the Lady Lions of Wellsville had to discover and chart a new course towards victory.
Rewinding the tape back to Thursday night, the Lady Lions used a dynamic pitching performance from Makenzie Cowburn while capitalizing on clutch small ball to set up shop against Bloomfield. The next night, it was a fast five-run start in the first inning that gave them room to work up front against Iroquois, playing with the lead before Makenna Dunbar cemented it with a sixth inning homer in their Class B Far West Regional rematch.
To close the facade on a rainy Saturday afternoon, the Lady Lions had one more trick up their sleeve. And it would come with just a simple swing of the bat.
Natalie Adams’ bat, that is.
The Wellsville junior stepped to the plate and remained inside that chalked batter’s box for as long as she could against Pennsylvania’s DuBois Central Catholic. With two runners on and the score still without an alteration on the scoreboard, Adams would battle pitch after pitch to find that perfect connection. Crossing into double-digit pitches during the at-bat, the absolutely unbelievable sequence came to an end with a line drive two-run triple to left center field, allowing the Lady Lions to author and illustrate a 2-0 lead and hold it all the way to the end for their 10th win of the campaign.
“It was so nice to get that hit, she really worked hard for it after battling behind in the count,” said Lady Lions co-coach Shelley Chaffee. “The girls were really focused today and every at-bat, we battled. Their pitcher threw decent speed, but she had a lot of spin, so we were getting pieces of the ball and not the whole thing. Makenzie (Cowburn) did the same thing with her pitches. Every game this week, we’ve found a different way to win in addition to having some key pitching.”
Three scoreless innings would zoom by between DuBois Central Catholic and the Lady Lions (10-1), as both Rylee Kulbatsky and Makenzie Cowburn buckled in to lead the charge from within their respective circles. In the amalgamation, only one hit was garnered across the frames leading into the fourth, where the hosts in gray and orange would find that lucky strike from Adams at the plate.
The go-ahead play was set up with Brazen Beckwith and Lindsay Stuck both reaching on singles. After a Cowburn fielder’s choice recorded an out at third, along with Lexi Irish entering the field of play to serve as Cowburn’s pinch runner, two would remain on behind the Lady Cardinals defense. The Lady Lions would break through behind the triple of Adams to take a 2-0 lead from that point on, but not without some added pressure by the visitors down the stretch.
Perhaps their biggest attempt to threaten Wellsville’s lead came in the sixth with the game-tying run stepping to the plate. After a fly out to Averee Palmatier in right field, she would then gun the ball straight down to second to catch the lead runner off guard before she could tag up, finishing off a divine double play by the defense to set up the exit off the field.
That would allow the Lady Lions to halt all momentum DuBois Central Catholic looked to build, as they went on to bring out the brooms and sweep the action at Tullar Field in a span of 72 hours.
Wellsville assembled just four hits on offense, with Sawyer Burke adding a single of her own alongside Stuck, Cowburn and Adams. In the circle, the win belonged to Cowburn, as she held the Lady Cardinals to just three hits with nine strikeouts and two walks.
Up next, the Lady Lions hit the road for a 5 p.m. visit to the Penn Yan Lady Mustangs on Monday.
DuBois C.C. 000 000 0 – 0 3 1
Wellsville 000 200 X – 2 4 0
DCC – Rylee Kulbatsky (LP) (CG, 10K, BB) and Jessy Frank.
WLSV – Makenzie Cowburn (WP) (CG, 9K, 2BB) and Brazen Beckwith.
B-R bests Naples, falls to host Waterloo at Strike-Out Tourney
WATERLOO — After going deep into the night against Genesee Valley/Belfast in an all-out, wire-to-wire offensive war, an early morning was in store for the Lady Wolverines of Bolivar-Richburg nearly 12 hours after their Friday night battle at the Rich Sullivan Complex concluded, as they loaded up the bus for a trip to Waterloo and their annual Strike-Out Cancer Tournament.
The Lady Wolverines would flip on the switch again and spark their bats at the plate, mixing together 23 total hits across their two-game set in the afternoon to conduct an electric 16-5 win in their opening game against Naples before the Lady Tigers of Waterloo used a mammoth first inning swing to set the tone in game two, splitting the twinbill in half for Bolivar-Richburg .
In the first contest of the day, the Lady Wolverines (4-7) went right to work by going through their entire lineup in the first inning, using a combination of walks and errors, along with a three-RBI inning from Sydney Faulkner to lay the foundation down for an eight-run stanza to break the ice.
The lead would remain in Bolivar-Richburg’s possession ever since, as they went on to cushion their advantage with seven unanswered runs — five of them in the bottom of the fourth, proceeding the first two scores of the game from Naples in the third. When the first chapter closed, the Lady Wolverines recorded 16 runs off 13 hits, with Jayna Thomas and Sydney Faulkner each recording three hits to lead the way.
In addition, Kylee Whiting went 2-for-4 with a two-run double to set the stage in the fourth inning, totaling three RBI. Cassidy Stives pitched in with a lead-off triple in the team’s two-run second inning. On the mound, the win belonged to Rylee Whiting, who twirled a four-hit performance with 10 strikeouts and five walks.
To finish off their appearance in Waterloo, the Lady Wolverines fought another offensive fight with the Lady Tigers, as the game saw nearly 30 hits come to fruition. In the end, eight unanswered runs following a two-run lead in the first inning allowed Waterloo to take full advantage while avoiding a late sixth inning rally by Bolivar-Richburg down the stretch to claim the 13-7 win.
The Lady Tigers swung for the fences out of the cage with all three of their runs coming in courtesy of a three-run homer from Gwyneth Panek to get the engine off and running. Following a response from Bolivar-Richburg in the bottom of the first, Waterloo would maintain all momentum for the next four innings, scoring eight unanswered markers to claim an 11-1 lead.
Despite falling into a deeper hole, the Lady Wolverines would not give in, as they fought their way back with a sixth inning centered around special teams play, scoring a pair of runs off back-to-back hit-by-pitches with the bases loaded, followed by a two-run double off the bat of Rylee Whiting to trim the 10-run deficit down to four.
But Waterloo was able to hang on for victory, as they scored two big pieces of insurance in the top of the seventh inning to keep their advantage glued together.
Bolivar-Richburg totaled seven runs off 10 hits, with Jayna Thomas and Sydney Faulkner both leading the way again on the attack, each recording two hits alongside Rylee Whiting. On the mound, Kylee Whiting went all seven innings, scoring seven strikeouts and a pair of walks.
The Lady Wolverines will return home and welcome in the Cuba-Rushford Lady Rebels for a 7 p.m. contest, Monday night.
Game 1
Naples 002 030 0 – 5 4 6
Bolivar-Richburg 802 501 X– 16 13 3
NAP – Emily Lester (LP) (CG, 3K, 6BB) and Grayce Hebding.
B-R – Rylee Whiting (WP) (CG, 10K, 5BB) and Sydney Faulkner.
Game 2
Waterloo 301 214 2 – 13 17 0
Bolivar-Richburg 100 006 0 – 7 10 1
WAT – Jillian Robinson (WP) (CG, 6K, 9BB) and Brooklyn Hack.
B-R – Kylee Whiting (LP) (CG, 7K, 2BB) and Sydney Faulkner.
Scio Tournament
Andover/Whitesville 19, Arkport-Canaseraga 4
SCIO — The offense came alive for Andover/Whitesville bright and early in the middle of the rain, Saturday morning, as they used the hot bat of Reece Winters to set up shop in their opening round battle against Arkport-Canaseraga in Scio’s Midseason Tournament, never looking back on what was a 19-4 win over the Lady Wolves in Friendship.
Winters helped Andover/Whitesville (2-5) with a 3-for-4 outing at the plate, driving in five total runs — two of them off a double to help break the game open in the midst of a five-run third inning. Lilly Ordway and Olivia Waters each recorded two hits to further the team’s cause.
Going the distance in the circle, Makaila Brewster picked up the victory behind three strikeouts and five walks.
Additional in-depth statistics and a complete box score were not made available to report upon publication.
All three remaining baseball and softball contests in Friendship and Scio were suspended mid-game, due to rain. No make-up dates to resume play have been made, as of yet.
Andover/Whitesville will make their return to Scio on Tuesday to take on host Friendship/Scio in regular season play at 5 p.m.
BASEBALL
Scio Tournament
Alfred-Almond 5, Andover/Whitesville 4 (F-5)
SCIO — Amidst the pouring rain in Scio on Saturday, Alfred-Almond and Andover/Whitesville rode out the storm in their opening round contest of Scio’s Midseason Tournament until the conditions were no longer playable after five complete innings.
There was even playing ground through the beginning stages between both teams, but an opening was created by Andover/Whitesville going into the fourth, where they would hold the game’s largest lead. But then the Eagles pulled some late magic out of the hat, scoring the final four runs in consecutive fashion to pull ahead with a 5-4 advantage before weather immediately halted play to mark the official end to the contest.
After both teams traded a run across the first inning, followed by a scoreless stand of defense in the next frame, Andover/Whitesville (1-7) went on to score three straight runs to break the deadlock — two of them in the top of the third, set up by a ground-rule double for Colton Calladine with two runners on. Vinny Joyce added to the lead with a sacrifice fly a short time later, plating Calladine.
Alfred-Almond would cut the deficit down to a single run after the fourth inning with a pair of runs, but then diverted their attention to clutch small ball, with Nathan Munson and Brogan Donlan each laying down a bunt to get on base. With the pistons firing, the Eagles posted two go-ahead runs — one of them off an RBI single to take the lead away for good.
Andover/Whitesville would finish with four runs off three hits on offense. On the mound, Colton Calladine went all five innings with six strikeouts and three walks.
Up next, Andover/Whitesville will get set for a 5 p.m. visit to Scio to take on host Friendship/Scio, Tuesday night.
Andover/Whitesville 102 10 – 4 3 2
Alfred-Almond 100 22 – 5 7 0
A/W – Jonas Lockner (WP) (CG, 10K, 4BB) and Nathan Munson.
A-A – Colton Calladine (LP) (CG, 6K, 3BB) and Jake Mattison.
Genesee Valley/Belfast 25, Northeast 0 (F-5)
BELFAST — The weather outside was not perfect by any means Saturday afternoon, but Genesee Valley/Belfast most certainly was at the Rich Sullivan Complex in Belfast, as they engulfed their bats with flames for a 17-hit outburst against visiting Northeast while the duo of Ryan Daciw and Ben Cater held the fort down on defense to deliver a perfect game across five innings of play in their 25-0 victory.
“We were pretty lucky and definitely blessed to have been able to get this game in with the window of opportunity that we had this afternoon,” said GV/Belfast coach Dennis Miles. “Those two combined to record a perfect game for us, and that’s something you don’t really see happen a lot down here, no matter how good or quality the other team is. It’s a hard feat to achieve.”
Genesee Valley/Belfast’s hits were unstoppable, making their impact known immediately in the first of two nine-run frames the offense would produce, setting the tone in the opening frame before a Matt Cater grand slam in the bottom of the third inning started the final nine-run eruption. In all, they would total 17 hits against Northeast, with Cater’s 4-for-5 outing at the plate leading the way, totaling six RBI and five runs scored.
Providing more aid, Evan Turybury went 3-for-5 with two RBI, while Owen Heaney and Kyle McCumiskey each had two hits to chip in. On the mound, Ryan Daciw and Ben Cater combined to deliver a perfect defensive effort, as both hurlers handed out six chairs during their respective tenures, with Daciw being awarded the win in his start.
Genesee Valley/Belfast will look to get to the 10-win mark on Wednesday back on the road, visiting the Alfred-Almond Eagles in a 5:30 p.m. first pitch.
Northeast 000 00 – 0 0 3
Genesee Valley/Belfast 919 6X – 25 17 0
NE – Jaciel Saiz (LP) (2BB), Octavio Figuero (3) (2K, 2BB) and Josh Velesques.
GVB – Ryan Daciw (WP) (6K), Ben Cater (4) (6K) and Evan Turybury.
