Saturday Roundup: Nix homers but late Lady Wolverines rally falls shy in regular season finale vs. Portville; GV honors Gordon before finale for Section V record-setting performance

Written By Chris Brooks

RICHBURG — Saturday morning’s regular season finale was perhaps Bolivar-Richburg’s toughest test of the season. In order to end their regular season on a high note, they would need to knock off a Class C powerhouse in Section VI from right down the road in Portville.

The crosstown rivals went to war in what a close battle right down to the finish with two outs in the bottom of the seventh inning during final at-bats for the Lady Wolverines. With two outs on the board and the game-tying run on second base, it was down to Jianna Nix to try and tie the game. But the Lady Panthers would find a way to end the game by fielding her groundout to the left side, as they hold off a late comeback attempt by the hosts to secure the 5-4 win in a duel.

Right away, the duel began in the first two innings of play when both Portville and Bolivar-Richburg exchanged fairly quick glances on defense, both garnering 1-2-3 innings to keep each other on their toes. In the second inning, both teams would record their first hit with Portville earning theirs in between a trio of Jessica Majot strikeouts that helped the Lady Wolverines (12-3) get off the field.

Majot responds with Bolivar-Richburg’s first hit which went to the left side of the infield. She would eventually work her way to third to provide the game’s first run, but Portville remained vigilant by recording a 2-3 double play after a bunt popped up straight above the catcher. In the next stint of offense in the third inning, the hosts in gray and red made sure to cash in on their opportunity to break the ice.

Kayli Giardini poked a one-out single into shallow left field to reach base, moving over to second base in the process after a McKinlee Harris bunt. On the next at-bat, Giardini would score off of Madigan Harris’ line drive up the middle to grab the 1-0 lead. Malayna Ayers added to the damage with Harris scoring off of her single on the next at-bat to end the inning with a two-run lead.

In the fourth, back-to-back singles started the next stint of offense for Portville, with the runners ultimately finding their way towards second and third base. With some heads-up baserunning off a bunt, it would score both runners to tie the game at two. But the brief lead would not last for long, as the Lady Wolverines took it right back again with Trinidy Miller moving Jianna Nix over to third on her stand-up double to center field. Gracie Zilker would provide the RBI an at-bat later on her hard hit directly back to the pitcher’s mound, in for a fielder’s choice after taking a ricochet off the glove.

The Lady Wolverines went back up top with a 3-2 lead but Portville would not be denied another chance to tie the game once more in the top of the fifth with their biggest inning of the game, one that gave them the lead back ultimately for good, as Mia Hlasnick, Brooke DeYoe and Felecia Capito all recorded RBIs, with DeYoe and Capito going back-to-back to break the 3-3 tie and take a two-run lead.

With the momentum in Portville’s favor after Bolivar-Richburg remained at a standstill on offense, a spark reignited for the Lady Wolverines in the bottom of the sixth inning to keep them alive, as Nix obliterated a lead-off solo blast to deep center field, and then some to cut their deficit down to a single run. Two more baserunners would reach off back-to-back walks, but with two outs, a hard line drive by Madigan Harris was caught in left field to end the stand.

One last chance was garnered by the Lady Wolverines offense after they recorded a 1-2-3 on the field with Majot recording her ninth strikeout in between a Kelsey Pacer line drive catch at first, and a fielded groundball by McKinlee Harris at third. After two consecutive outs started the final ups, Pacer kept the team alive with her two-out stand-up double to left to provide the game’s tying run for Nix.

Looking to add to her home run on her next at-bat, Portville would foil that chance, as they managed to field a groundball to the left side of the infield to leave Pacer on and end the game with a one-run victory over the Lady Wolverines.

Bolivar-Richburg recorded four runs off eight hits altogether on offense, with Majot leading the bats with two hits including her double. In the circle, Majot provided a solid outing in her complete game, holding Portville to just four hits with her nine-strikeout, two-walk twirl.

The regular season has come to a close for the Lady Wolverines, who finish up and now await the completion of Sectional seeding in the Class C2 tournament after the weekend with a 12-3 record.

Portville 000 230 0 – 5 4 1

Bolivar-Richburg 002 101 0 – 4 8 3

PORT – Brooke DeYoe (WP) (CG, 3K, 6BB), and Mia Hlasnick.

B-R – Jessica Majot (LP) (CG, 9K, 2BB), and Madigan Harris.

Andover drops Saturday twinbill with Friendship, Belfast

ANDOVER — The Lady Panthers closed their season on Saturday with a pair of visitors in town for a visit Saturday morning. When it was all said and done, a lightning fast start by the Lady Golden Eagles, and some big endgame runs by the Lady Bulldogs of Belfast were the keys to victory by both visiting squads, as Friendship came away victorious in five innings by an 18-2 count, and Belfast by a 13-9 decision over Andover.

In game one, the Lady Golden Eagles (10-2) provided the lumber to begin the first three innings with a 10-0 lead, led by a four-run top of the first, and a five-run top of the third to break the game wide open. On the field, Nevaeh Ross provided another dominant showing from within the circle, as she handed out 10 chairs to keep the Lady Panthers at bay before the shutout was lost in the bottoms of the third and fourth, with a run in each half being scored.

At the plate, Ross along with Caitlin Stewart each recorded three hits, with Ross scoring four runs along the way. On the other side, Kelsie Niedermaier and Reagan Ordway provided the two hits. In the circle, Makaila Brewster fanned five and walked eight in her complete game tossed.

Friendship has finished their regular season with a record of 10-2, and will likely receive one of the top seeds to begin the Class D2 tournament after the weekend.

In the second game of the day, Andover (3-10) began to see some upside in their contest against Belfast, as they quickly garnered a 6-0 lead on the frontlines. It would soon evaporate into a single-run lead after Belfast (8-5) scored four runs in the top half of the fourth, but the advantage was branched once more with two runs in the bottom of the fifth which was led by Katie Calladine’s lead-off solo home run. Calladine was one of three hitters for the Lady Panthers that recorded at least two hits.

But clutch runs were beginning to unravel for the Lady Bulldogs in the final two innings of play. Down 8-5, the outburst began in the sixth when they scored five big runs to take the lead away from the Lady Panthers, ultimately for good, as they continued their momentum swing into their final at-bats of the afternoon with three runs in the top of the seventh.

Emma Sullivan earned the win on the mound for the Lady Bulldogs, fanning nine and walking one to keep the Lady Panthers off kilter at the plate. On the attack, Sondra Guilford provided three of the team’s eight hits, driving in a run and scoring two of her own. On the other side, Brewster provided her best outing of the day behind 10 strikeouts and five walks for the Lady Panthers.

Along with Calladine’s two-hit day, Gabby Terhune led the offense with three hits, while Olivia Hanks added in two of her own.

Both teams have closed the book on their regular season, as Belfast concludes with a record of 8-5, while Andover wraps up at 3-10. Both teams now await their Sectional fate with seedings being handed out over the weekend.

Game 1

Friendship 415 35 – 18 8 2

Andover 001 10 – 2 2 4

FRI – Nevaeh Ross (WP) (CG, 10K), and Morghyn Ross.

AND – Makaila Brewster (LP) (CG, 5K, 8BB), and Katie Calladine.

Game 2

Belfast 001 405 3 – 13 8 1

Andover 240 021 0 – 9 11 4


BEL – Emma Sullivan (WP) (CG, 9K, BB), and Harley Proctor.

AND – Makaila Brewster (LP) (CG, 10K, 5BB), and Katie Calladine.

BASEBALL

Andover 5, Genesee Valley 3

BELMONT — 24 combined hits were tallied between both Andover and Genesee Valley when they met to close out their regular season slates on a hot Saturday afternoon in the Jungle.

It was clear that the offenses were apparent in the contest, but it was a matter of who would score more runs after fueling the bats? Through the early stages of the game, the largest lead was three held by the Panthers. It was deemed a lead that they didn’t lose, despite some late pressure by the Jaguars, as they went on to edge out the hosts by a 5-3 count to end their regular season on a high note.

The Jaguars and Panthers both got the festivities start with a pair of RBI singles in the first two innings of play, which would account for an early 1-1 tie through the first two innings. Andover (4-8) would then find their groove on offense later on with three unanswered runs across the next two innings of offense to grow their lead to 4-1.

Genesee Valley (2-9) clawed back in the bottom half of Andover’s two-run frame, countering with a two-run frame themselves to bump their deficit back down to a single run. But the deficit would grow back out once more, and for good, as the Panthers provided their final and daggering run in the sixth to pull away from the hosts in green.

Layton Miller and Brody Carlin combined to strike out seven Jaguars batters at the plate, with Miller earning the win with three strikeouts. He would also have the team’s big bat, going 3-for-4 with an RBI and two runs scored. Spencer Cook was responsible for Andover’s first RBI hit in the second inning, tying the game up with his base hit out of two total hits. Kayden Zengerle added in two runs of his own and drove in a run.

Elden Aquila led the bats for the Jaguars with three of their 13 hits. Gavin Szalay chipped in with two hits of his own and scored an RBI, while Trent Scott and Thai Norasethaporn had two hits each. On the mound, Scott struck out one and walked one in his five-inning start.

Before the Jaguars took on the Panthers, the team honored senior Riley Gordon for his Section V record-setting performance to begin their season in Hinsdale at the beginning of May, where he hit three home runs against the Bobcats in their 17-5 victory.

Andover concludes their regular season with a record of 4-8, while Genesee Valley finishes at 2-9 as the wait for Sectional seeding begins.

Andover 011 201 0 – 5 11 2

Genesee Valley 100 200 0 – 3 13 1

AND – Layton Miller (WP) (3K), Brody Carlin (4) (4K), and Spencer Cook.

GV – Trent Scott (LP) (K, BB), Joe Ward (6) (K), and Thai Norasethaporn.

Wellsville 16, Cuba-Rushford 6 (F-6)

WELLSVILLE — For the first time in over a week, the Lions returned to the field to close out their regular season before Sectional fever begins to hit beginning after the weekend, as they played host to Cuba-Rushford for their annual Senior Day celebration.

It was a game that the Lions, after developing a quick lead in their favor, had to fight back from after the Rebels posted their biggest inning of the day. Their response was just a tad better in the bottom of the fourth, as they scored eight big runs to take a 5-2 lead away from Cuba-Rushford for good, ultimately forcing the 10-run rule along the way to sweep their season series with a 16-6 home win on Saturday.

The Lions went on to take the 2-0 edge after both teams dealt a scoreless first inning, as they plated the two icebreaking runs to do so. But almost immediately after, the lead was lost, as Cuba-Rushford (10-5) came away with five big runs in top of the third to overtake Wellsville at the top to grab the 5-2 lead.

The two foes would record zeroes on the board up until the bottom of the fourth when the Lions broke the game open for good, as they scored 14 of the game’s final 15 runs, eight of them coming from within that frame to fuel their 10-run victory all the way to the finish.

Wellsville concluded with 16 runs off 10 total hits, with three different Lions batters recording at least a pair at the plate with Liam McKinley leading the way, belting a pair of doubles in his three-hit afternoon, driving in three runs and scoring three of his own. Logan Dunbar drove in four more runs off his two hits, while Alex Ordiway grabbed two hits including a triple, two RBI and two runs scored. On the mound, Jere Havens recorded the win behind three strikeouts and one walk.

Although the Rebels saw the loss swing their way, Benson McCumiskey remained hot at the plate, going 3-for-4 with an RBI, and run scored. Ethan Rix added in two hits of his own, driving in a run and scoring twice. Trent Chamberlain dished out four strikeouts and walked six in his three innings of relief.

At the conclusion of their contest with Cuba-Rushford, the Lions picked up another victory to officially close out their regular season, as they concluded their suspended April 30 contest with Arkport/Canaseraga that was tied at seven heading into extra innings, and ended it needing just one more inning to finish it off by scoring the winning run in the bottom of the eighth to take the 8-7 victory.

With that, the Lions will now await seeding results for their trek through the Class B2 field, as they finish with a record of 8-4. Cuba-Rushford will await their destiny through the Class C2 field after finishing with an overall record of 10-5.

Cuba-Rushford 005 001 – 6 9 1

Wellsville 020 824 – 16 10 1

C-R – Benson McCumiskey (K, 4BB), Trent Chamberlain (LP, 4) (4K, 6BB), Ethan Rix (6) (4BB), and Logan Lewis.

WLSV – Dominic Sawyer (3K, 4BB), Jere Havens (WP, 3) (3K, BB), and Alex Green.


Belfast sweeps road twinbill at Hinsdale, Walsh

HINSDALE/OLEAN — The Bulldogs of Belfast hit all strides on offense to end their regular season with two more wins in their back pocket, as they went over the road and took care of business against Hinsdale in game one, and Archbishop Walsh in game two later in the day to officially clinch their share of the Allegany County Division II title with Friendship/Scio, Saturday morning.

In their first game to open the day, the Bulldogs (8-5) blasted a trio of home runs all in the second inning of play to kickstart what was a 12-run frame, as Carter Stout blasted a pair of three-run shots while Matt Cater followed with a two-run home run himself to account for eight of the team’s 12 runs, putting the hammer down on their 16-4 victory permanently in five innings.

On the hill, Matt Weaver tallied the victory behind five strikeouts and two walks after Stout struck out three to begin his start. Stephen Struckmann had a big day to help the cause on the offensive side, going a perfect 5-for-5 that included a double. Hinsdale (1-11) was led by Damion Brown, who recorded a double from within the team’s four-hit afternoon.

Hinsdale finished their regular season with an 1-11 record.

The momentum didn’t stop after they hopped on the bus and went further down Interstate-86 to visit Archbishop Walsh in Olean to finish off their regular season later in the day, scoring 17 more runs to force another 10-rule game against the host Eagles that featured a 15-run top half of the third in their 17-0 shutout in game two.

The Bulldogs collected 17 runs off 14 total hits, with Cater and Max Miller leading the bats with five combined hits. Cater would go 3-for-3 with two runs scored, while Miller added in two hits of his own and scored twice. Justin Hill provided a single, and also scored two runs. On the mound, it was a combined no-hit performance between Nick Ellison and Steven Buchholz, with Ellison garnering the victory with six strikeouts. Buchholz added in three strikeouts of his own, and walked two during his fifth inning relief session.

Belfast will now await Sectional seeding, which will take place overnight and await their road ahead in the Class D2 field, as they wrap up the regular season with an 8-5 record.

Game 1

Belfast 0(12)0 04 – 16 11 1

Hinsdale 0 0 0 04 – 4 4 3

BEL – Carter Stout (3K), Matt Weaver (WP, 2) (5K, 2BB), Matt Cater (4) (K, BB), Jason Drozdowski (5) (BB), and Justin Hill.

HIN – Sam Cashimere (K, 5BB), Xavier Pascucci (LP, 2) (7K, 2BB), Damion Brown (5) (K, BB), and Phil Cummins.

Game 2

Belfast 11(15) 00 – 17 14 1

Archbishop Walsh 00 0 00 – 0 0 2

BEL – Nick Ellison (WP) (6K), Steven Buchholz (5) (3K, 2BB), and Matt Weaver.

AW – Max Garvin (LP) (4K, 2BB), Tufino (4) (2K, 4BB), and Greg Carl, Aiden Smith.

Fillmore 19, Whitesville 2 (F-5)

WHITESVILLE — The Eagles of Fillmore created a massive wave of momentum to surf on heading into Sectionals, as they came away victorious for the 10th time this season with a 19-2 road win against the host Jays of Whitesville, Saturday morning.

Statistics and a complete box score were not made available upon publication.

Fillmore finishes the regular season with a record of 10-4, and will now await their future in the Class D1 tournament, while Whitesville finishes at 0-11 and will likely play Hinsdale on Monday in the Class D2 play-in game.

TRACK

Bolivar-Richburg boys, girls sweep to become County Champions

WELLSVILLE — You couldn’t ask for a more beautiful day to officially close out the regular season slate, Saturday morning. With nothing but warm sun and blue skies, the day was perfect for all track teams from within Allegany County to come together and compete to become this season’s County Champion.

After the long day reached its end in Wellsville, it was the Bolivar-Richburg Wolverines that came out on top, as both the boys and girls track squads delivered a myriad of top six finishes to propel them toward Allegany County Championship royalty, claiming this year’s crown with 177 and 130 first place points respectively.

On the boys side, Rudy Polk scored perhaps his most dominant performance of the season for the Wolverines to lead the boys team, recording first place finishes in all three of his events — the 100 dash (11.52), long jump (20-2.5) and triple jump (39-9.75) to take the gold. Jason Greeson and Ethan Coleman also recorded first place finishes on the track, finishing first in the 400 dash (54.46) and pole vault (9-0), while Hunter Stuck provided a sweep of both hurdling events — the 110 (17.39) and 400 hurdles (1:03.63).

The four Wolverines converged to deliver their only first place relay victory, crossing the finish line with a medaling time of 4:06.53 in the 1600 relay. In addition to their first place wins, Greeson added a second place finish in the 200 dash, Coleman placed third in the 400 dash and Stuck concluded in third in the high jump. The team would also record a second place finish in the 3200 relay, and fourth in the 400 relay.

From the field, Lloyd Kinnicutt added in his sweeping pair of victories to become a County champion in the shot put (42-8.5) and discus (123-10). Other individual top-six finishers for the Wolverines include: Dom Baldwin (4th, 800 run), Logan Pforter (2nd, 3200 run; 4th, 1600 run), Ryder Easton (4th, 3200 run; 6th, 1600 run), Caden Giardini (5th, 1600 run), and Colden Higley (3rd, 400 hurdles; 4th, 110 hurdles).

On the girls side, the Lady Wolverines were propelled by Carmen Crowley and Ryleigh Kemp, who both had three top-six finishes, with Crowley tallying a first place finish in the high jump (4-2), and adding second and sixth place finishes in the long jump and 400 dash respectively, while Kemp finished in fourth in the 200 dash, and fifth in the 100 dash.

The final first place finish for the Lady Wolverines came from Madison Sisson, who became a County champion with the winning distance on the discus (77-8), adding a third place finish in the shot put along the way. In the relay department, the team finished second in the 3200 relay, and third in both the 400 and 1600 relay events. Other indiviudal finishers include: Willow Worth (5th, 400 dash), Rylie Osgood (2nd, 1500 run), Kori Thomas (2nd, 100 hurdles; 2nd, 400 hurdles), Nadia Baldwin (4th, long jump), Sarah Clark (2nd, triple jump; 5th, long jump), Brena Walp (3rd, triple jump), and Genecis Easton (6th, shot put; 6th, discus).

The Scio boys placed second overall with 79 points, with Ayden Faulkner’s four top-six finishes leading the way, with his best finish coming in the long jump, where he placed second. He would added a third place triple jump, fourth place 400 dash and fifth place 100 dash finish along the way. Greg Wesche tallied the team’s lone first place finish with a 2:23.82 winning time in the 800 run, and finish second in the 1600 run later on. Cam Loucks from the field recorded a pair of second place finishes in both throwing events to help the cause.

Other individual winners include: Brenden Loucks (5th, 400 dash; 6th, long jump), and Max Morris (3rd, 110 hurdles; 5th, high jump). On the girls side, Lexi Crossley led the way with a pair of first place finishes, becoming a County champion in the 200 dash (28.56) and triple jump (27-4.5) to guide the Lady Tigers toward a 43-point fourth place finish. In the relay department, the team would collect a second place 400 relay finish. Jenn Dickens (4th, 100 hurdles), Melana Davenport (5th, 800 run; 5th, triple jump) and Brooke Crossley (6th, 800 run) all added finishes of their own.

The Cuba-Rushford boys and girls squads both finished third overall in each division, with the boys concluding with 77 total points led by Brayden Lavery, who became champion in two events on the track — in the 200 dash (24.26), and racing alongside Alex Baron, Maddox Keller and Josh Ward to provide the winning 48.16 time in the 400 relay. Lavery would add a third place 100 dash finish, while Ward would finish with three top-six finishes for the Rebels, placing second in both the 100 dash and high jump, and finishing fourth in the long jump.

The Rebels added one more top-six finish in the relays, placing third in the 1600, while Noah Seigel (2nd, 400 dash; 2nd, 110 hurdles) and Hunter Williams (6th, shot put; 6th, discus) added individual finishes. For the Lady Rebels, Hailey Kumpf collected two County titles to lead a 112-point effort, finishing first in the 800 run (2:52.07) and long jump (14-6.5). Natalie Goble (2nd, 200 dash) would also contribute a first place finish in the 100 dash to become champion. The two would race alongside Sofia Riquelme and Ava Belec to collect their next County title with a winning 54.09 time in the 400 relay.

The Lady Rebels would add a second place 1600 relay finish along the way with other individual winners chipping in their finishes. Those include: Belec (2nd, 100 dash; 5th, 200 dash), Riquelme (3rd, 200 dash; 4th, 100 dash), Lillie Kreamer (4th, 400 dash), Tara Duvall (2nd, shot; 2nd, discus) and Lauren Neu (5th, discus).

The boys and girls teams of Genesee Valley placed fourth and fifth respectively, with Morgan Torrey becoming the boys team’s lone Champion, earning the gold in the high jump to fuel a 62-point point effort. Torrey would add a third place long jump finish to his resume along the way. In the relay department, the Jaguars would pick up second place finishes in the 400 and 1600 relays. Christian Lopez (2nd, triple jump), Zach Bourne (2nd, 400 hurdles; 5th, 110 hurdles), Melvin Hamer (4th, triple jump; 6th, 400 dash) and Kaden Layman (5th, long jump; 6th, 200 dash) added individual finishes.

For the Lady Jaguars, Lizzy Bentley was the team’s only County champion, as she garnered the winning distance on the shot put (27-8.75), adding a third place finish in the discus in the process. Moriah Clendenin and Jillian Gates each added a sixth place finish in the 100 and 200 dash, respectively, while the team grabbed a fourth place finish in the 400 relay to finish fifth overall with 23 total points.

The Houghton Academy boys placed fifth with 40 points total, as Zach Tucker led the way with his sweep of the distance running events for the Panthers, netting gold in the 1600 run (5:12.60) and 3200 run (12:46.41). Simon Sardina added in third and fourth place finishes in the 200 and 100 dash each, while James Adenuga placed fifth in the triple jump. The team recorded a third place 400 relay finish in addition. For the Lady Panthers, Nicole Torraca became a County champion with the winning time in the 400 dash (1:08.68).

Fillmore would place sixth overall with 31 total points led by a County championship winning 3200 relay team of Ben Beardsley, Matt Majoros, Hayden Rust and Damon Wood, as they converged to collect the medaling 10:07.36 time. Individually, Rust had the team’s best finish with a second place finish in the 800 run, while Wood and Majoros finished third each in the 800 and 1600 runs respectively, while Ben Beardsley finished sixth in the 100 dash.

On the girls side, the Lady Eagles recorded 117 big points behind another myriad of finishes to place second overall behind Bolivar-Richburg, with Jessi Rust leading the individual pack with her sweep of the hurdling events, grabbing the gold in both the 100 (19.76) and 400 hurdles (1:25.36). The team would also finish as County champions in two of the three relay events with the team of Rachel Hatch, Grace Russell, Ava Sylvester and Kiera Engler earning gold for their winning 4:59.82 time in the 1600 relay. Russell and Engler would be joined by their siblings, Hope Russell and Abby Engler to record their final championship-winning relay time in the 3200 relay (12:56.54).

Sophia Templeton had the last individual first place finish for Fillmore, crossing the finish line with the winning time in the 3000 run (13:02.05). Other finishes include: Kiera Engler (2nd, 400 dash; 2nd, high jump), Ava Sylvester (3rd, 400 dash; 3rd, 800 run), Rachel Hatch (2nd, 800 run; 3rd, 110 hurdles; 6th, long jump), Grace Russell (2nd, 3000 run; 4th, triple jump), Delaney Hillman (4th, shot put) and Alex Thur (4th, discus; 5th shot put).

For Whitesville, Matt Garis recorded 10 points total for his three top-six finishes on the track, garnering his best in the 3200 run by placing third. He would add fifth place finishes in the 800 and 1600 runs along the way.

Chris Brooks
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Monday Sectionals: Bess, Allen combine to toss three-hit shutout to No. 13 Byron-Bergen, guiding No. 4 B-R’s advancement into Quarters; No. 5 C-R upset at home by No. 12 Letchworth

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Friday Roundup: Ayers twirls magnificent no-hit performance to help Lady Wolverines officially claim County D-I title; victories by Rebels, Eagles help clinch 3-way tie for D-I title with B-R