Sunday Sectionals: No. 9 Byron-Bergen dominates early, wards off No. 8 Rebels, heroic 7th inning to record upset; Barkley, Gaines combine to record no-no for No. 3 B-R over No. 14 Marion

CUBA — It was a brand new season of baseball, one that began in a rare Sunday night showcase for some teams that couldn’t quite open up their Sectional run due to the inclement weather. When the rain subsided in favor of much clearer and brighter conditions, there was no more waiting.

The time was now.

For the eight-seeded Rebels of Cuba-Rushford, they were interlocked in a 9/8 battle with Byron-Bergen that saw them get knocked behind the eight-ball early. As time progressed, the Bees on the opposite side of the field continued to buzz and swarm the field, pushing out their game-long advantage to as much as eight down the stretch.

But the hosts in gray and blue weren’t going to go down without one last fight. One that nearly turned the complexion of the game upside down.

With a potential complete game shutout bid waiting in the wings for Byron-Bergen’s Tyler Chapman, Cuba-Rushford made sure it was no longer an option on the table, as they produced a five-run rally from behind to trim their deficit back to within reach for the first time since the first three innings of play. But a last-out fan by the Bees halted the potential season-saving rebound by the Rebels in the end, edging their way towards an 8-5 win to end Cuba-Rushford’s campaign.

“Byron-Bergen swung the bats well. They put some pressure on us on the bases and took advantage of a bunch of our mistakes,” Rebels coach Pat Wight said. “Their pitcher really pounded the strike-zone, and their defense made all the plays behind him. It’s frustrating for sure, but we fought back in the seventh and made a game out of it. We just couldn’t find enough runs to complete the comeback. I want to extend my thanks to all six of my seniors for all of their work over the years. They will be missed.”

The Bees were most certainly buzzing around to start the battle against Cuba-Rushford (11-9) through the first three innings, as Marty McConnell helped play a big role behind the team’s early success with his first of two big RBI slugs coming in their opening tenure, as he smacked an RBI single up the middle before advancing to second, trading places with the previous lead runner in the process to break the ice.

After a scoreless second inning, which saw a fanning of the side by Chapman on the mound for the visitors, the momentum remained with the Bees going into the third where McConnell launched his next RBI poke out into left field before coming home himself a short time later on a scorcher past Finn Ricketts at short and into left center field, garnering a 3-0 lead after three complete innings.

Byron-Bergen would break the game open in the middle frames by taking total control of their baserunning, as they scored five more runs — four of which in the top of the sixth off a flurry of steals with the bases loaded, where the end result was the bags being freed up completely to take an 8-0 lead on the Rebels.

But despite it, Cuba-Rushford would not go down without one final opportunity to climb their way back. In their first three at-bats, they would load the bases behind Chapman on the mound and on the fourth at-bat with no out, Dean Frank cleared them all up with two runs coming in on a single into center. A third run followed behind on advancement after a throw home went wide of the plate.

Jacob Smith would have his turn at adding damage of his own, recording a smack to the left side that cannot be fielded by the Byron-Bergen defense, scoring Frank from third to cut the deficit in half.

The scoring would ultimately work its way towards its conclusion with one final run on special teams to close the gap to three. Before the Rebels would get any closer, the Bees would finally find a way to stop the bleeding and halt the miraculous comeback on a last-out strikeout by McConnell in relief against Preston Bilotta to end the game and the season for the Rebels.

In their final game, the Rebels posted five runs off seven hits, with Wight recording a pair of hits to lead the charge. Ricketts and Frank each chipped in with a hit to further the cause. On the mound, Eli Sleggs went all seven innings, fanning seven and walking five.

Cuba-Rushford’s 2023 campaign has reached its final chapter, as the Rebels wrap up with a record of 11-9 overall. The team will graduate six seniors just over a month from now in Jacob Smith, Jack Frank, Allen Fuller, Sam Grover, Preston Bilotta and Caleb Root.

Byron-Bergen 102 014 0 – 8 8 2

Cuba-Rushford 000 000 5 – 5 7 4

B-B – Tyler Chapman (WP) (7K, 4BB), Martin McConnell (7) (2K) and Frank Hersom.

C-R – Eli Sleggs (LP) (CG, 7K, 5BB) and Dean Frank.

No. 3 Bolivar-Richburg 9, No. 14 Marion 0

BOLIVAR — Landon Barkley and Reiss Gaines each took a turn conducting a magnificent symphony for the third-seeded Wolverines of Bolivar-Richburg on the hill to begin their four-peat Sectional title defense in a Sunday afternoon matinee, where No. 14 Marion could not touch the two hurlers, as they went on to floor it towards the Quarterfinal round after the weekend with a 9-0 no-hit victory over the Black Knights.

While the pitching masterclass by Barkley and Gaines was being orchestrated on the hill, the Bolivar-Richburg (17-4) offense was able to syphon a fair amount of energy off of the momentum, starting the game out of the gate with the first run during their first at-bats in the bottom of the first. Both teams would freeze at the plate for the next two scoreless innings before an explosion was detonated down the stretch.

The Wolverines dug in and found a way to connect with their bats in the middle frames to essentially lock up the victory, as they accounted for a pair of runs in each inning to pull away from Marion’s grasp, including a pair of three-spots in the fourth and fifth innings. In all, the hosts in red and black recorded nine runs off eight hits at the plate.

Pacing the attack was a big day from David Baldwin, going 2-for-3 with three RBI. Trey Buchholz added two hits of his own and drove in two more runs, while Barkley and Caden Allen each recorded a double.

On the mound, the win belonged to Barkley and his powerful start for the Wolverines, handing out 13 chairs and walking two before Gaines delivered a relief appearance of the same stature with six more strikeouts to keep the Black Knights off the board.

Bolivar-Richburg now cruises into the Class C2 Quarterfinal round, which will begin tonight at the Rymer Complex at Keshequa, as they now gear up for a battle with No. 6 Red Jacket in a 4 p.m. first pitch.

Marion 000 000 0 – 0 0 2

Bolivar-Richburg 100 332 X – 9 8 0

MAR – Liam McKay (LP) (CG, 6K, 5BB) and Reegan Fenn.

B-R – Landon Barkley (WP) (13K, 2BB), Reiss Gaines (6) (6K) and Aydin Sisson.

SOFTBALL

Class D1 Play-In

No. 7 Genesee Valley/Belfast 5, No. 10 Arkport/Canaseraga 2

BELFAST — With Hannah Southwick-Powers taking complete command of the circle, and a key hit from Jenna Hill coming late in their opening round battle against No. 10 Arkport/Canaseraga, seventh-seeded Genesee Valley/Belfast was able to mix to the two ingredients together to cook up a Sectional debut in the win column, as they completed a 5-2 win in Belfast on Sunday.

“We left a lot of baserunners on base and we’ve left the bases loaded a couple times, but we hit the ball really well. Their pitcher did well mixing up her pitches, and Hannah came out with just as good of an effort as she did,” said GV/Belfast coach Mark Sullivan. “We just have to find a way to get better timely hitting, especially at this stage of the game. If we can’t do that, we’re doomed. But I was pleased, a win is a win and we’ll take it anyway it comes. We’re 1-0.”

Genesee Valley/Belfast (9-10) struck first and took over possession of the lead for the foreseeable future ahead right away, as they scored their first two runs in the first and second frames to break the ice. After both teams traded a scoreless third frame, the hosts went back to work building onto their lead with their third run in the fourth.

The floodgates were then broken open in the fifth inning to push out Genesee Valley/Belfast’s lead permanently. With the assistance of a humongous two-run double to the outfield by Jenna Hill, they were able to ward off Arkport/Canaseraga’s late seventh inning push after ending Hannah Southwick-Powers’ shutout bid from within the circle.

Despite it, Southwick-Powers was able to complete another elite performance, holding the Lady Wolves to just three hits across 15 strikeouts and two walks to tally the win. At the plate, she along with Hill each recorded three hits, with Southwick-Powers recording a triple in the midst of her outing. Cassidy Hand chipped in with two hits of her own to help round out an 11-hit team effort.

For Arkport/Canaseraga, Grace Groves fanned seven and walked one in her complete game on the mound. At the plate, Madelynn Kellogg recorded a double.

Up next is the Class D1 Quarterfinal round on Tuesday, as Genesee Valley/Belfast now takes on No. 2 Lyndonville on the grounds of Oakfield-Alabama, in a 5 p.m. first pitch.

Arkport/Canaseraga 000 000 2 – 2 3

Genesee Valley/Belfast 110 102 X – 5 11

A/C – Grace Groves (LP) (CG, 7K, BB) and Nicole Merry.

GVB – Hannah Southwick-Powers (WP) (CG, 15K, 2BB) and Jenna Hill.