Thursday Sectionals: No. 1 Lions jettison No. 4 Livonia behind another Vogel gem, go-ahead sacrifice by Grover to earn trip to Finals; GV/Belfast, Fillmore baseball, softball lock up trips to Finals
WELLSVILLE — Last Spring in downtown Rochester, Ty Vogel painted a masterpiece.
For the Lions of Wellsville, to win their second Section V Championship in four years at Innovative Field — the home of the Rochester Red Wings, the final product on the diamond was a tapestry woven with an incredible story that will continue to be retold all across Wellsville baseball lore, time and time again.
One year later, the then-junior now became the senior, and with the top-seeded Lions looking to slingshot back into the Class B Finals once again, all eyes were on him to try and lead them back there once again. This time against the Livonia Bulldogs — A No. 4 seed that has more than proven the type of baseball caliber they have procured over the years.
With the spotlight beaming straight down in the Lion’s Den on Thursday, the stage was awaiting the entrances of two of Section V’s most storied baseball programs. For Vogel and his opposing counterpart, Livonia’s Kaidan O’Connor, the race to the finish line at the end of the night was on.
All throughout the battle, there was absolutely no comfort to be had. But at this stage of the game, is there really any comfort to barter for?
With O’Connor and Vogel going back-and-forth on the mound reminiscent of Andy Pettitte and John Smoltz back in the 1996 World Series, the runs were also going to come at the most extreme of premiums. In a game such as this, you had to make every chance count, no matter how small the window of opportunity may be.
As time progressed, both the Bulldogs and Lions were spared just enough wiggle room to work with in the midst of their heated pitcher’s duel to each supply one run to keep the playing grounds level beneath them.
With time of course, comes pressure. And there was plenty of it to go with some high-rising emotion along the way.
The end was in sight, and the build-up leading towards it developed a similar symmetry in regards to what the Lions faced against Notre Dame-Batavia last year. In one of their final chances to parade onto the scoreboard before the visitors worked to the plate, they strung together a fine team effort beginning with stellar base-running from Matt Ritter to work his way on after his second of the team’s four hits, moving instantly into scoring position.
Ringing any bells?
Just one out occupied the scoreboard with Ritter now standing 90 feet away after a groundout to the right side moved him over. The next batter, a vital piece to the equation: Karson Grover. Although he was jammed by O’Connor and the Livonia defense, his efforts were for a good cause, as he corralled a deep fly ball to center field far enough to send Ritter bolting towards the dish, giving the Lions the advantage back in the heat of crunchtime.
After the conclusion of the frame, it was now on Wellsville’s senior ace to come through once again. One. More. Time.
The end result they gathered was quick work. The high-fives ensued and their tickets back to the Finals were punched.
They have occupied their championship throne all season long, and now this weekend, the Lions will get a chance to defend it once again, as Vogel and the defense behind him sat Livonia down in 1-2-3 rapid fire fashion to close up the Semifinal book, capturing their spot in Saturday afternoon’s Class B Finals with one last victory in front of their home crowd — a razor-thin 2-1 win over the Bulldogs.
“It was another outstanding performance from Tyler on the mound. It definitely reminded me a lot of his game last year in the Finals against Notre Dame. He matched pitch for pitch, run for run and we were able to squeeze out a couple of runs ourselves as well,” said Lions coach Tom Delahunt. “We turned a double play, we had some great defense behind him, which was nice to go with his 10 strikeouts to keep Livonia at bay. It’s tough to beat a program like they have. Their coach (Scott Gilman) does an outstanding job there and he just surpassed a record to become the winningest coach in their school’s history the other day. It’s just really nice to go up against and beat a team of that caliber.”
The bar was set almost immediately in the first two innings of play between the two respective defenses, as Livonia and Wellsville (15-3) both made quick work of one another, all despite a two-out hit from Matt Ritter in the bottom of the first to become the only featured runner on base in the midst of two clean outings on the diamond.
But the scoreless vision was altered in the third inning by the hosts in black and orange, which was captained by Aiden Cowburn and his skying two-out shot to deep center field that ultimately landed at the base of the fence. Without pause, the senior continued to gallop his high horse all the way to third base with a clutch triple to immediately place himself in scoring position as the game’s first threat.
On the very next at-bat, with Vogel standing in the box, a wild pitch fluttered wide of the plate and Cowburn hit the afterburners to make his way across as the ice-breaking run.
The pressure now shifted towards Livonia to formulate a response entering the back-end of the contest.
After the two teams traded a pair of scoreless frames in the fourth — including a massive fanning of the side from O’Connor in the bottom half, the momentum shifted to the attack in the fifth, as the Bulldogs provided three solid connections in each of their opening at-bats. Two of those runners stood on the corners, with the third at the plate grounding into a double play to allow the game-tying run to come home and score.
Both teams left runners stranded in each of the next two outings at the plate, setting up shop for a bottom of the sixth inning that ultimately paid an abundance of dividends, beginning with a lead-off single from Ritter. He then became aggressive around the bases, working his way to second on a steal before heading to third on Trent Green’s infield shot to the right side.
The scene was set for Wellsville to take the lead once again, this time for the remainder of the game, as Karson Grover stepped into the box and delivered a towering shot to straight-away center field, garnering enough distance to allow Ritter to score easily and reclaim the 2-1 advantage.
“Aiden came up huge with that triple in the third and then the wild pitch scored him, and then a bit later on, Ritter was magnificent working the bases to get Karson in a position to drive him to ultimately win the game for us,” said Delahunt. “Karson doesn’t really get enough credit for the job that he continues to do for us. He plays a tremendous first base and we found something in him when we moved him there last year. To see him get this kind of success tonight was awesome and I am really happy for him.”
When the action transitioned to the top of the seventh, it was now on Vogel to finish the job once again. In one foul swoop, Wellsville put the finishing touches on their return trip to the Finals this weekend with a fierce 1-2-3 finish to send the Bulldogs home packing.
Vogel scored the win with a magnificent complete game performance, as he handed out 10 chairs and walked three to wrap up his final game on his home stomping grounds.
The Lions collected their two runs off four total hits, with Anthony Button helping round off the hitting jamboree with a single to go with Ritter’s pair of smacks and Cowburn’s third inning triple.
Coming up on Saturday, the Class B Finals picture is set, as the spotlight now navigates to Maple City Park in Hornell where the Lions will now go head-to-head with the No. 2 LeRoy Oatkan Knights, who defeated No. 3 Wayland-Cohocton, 3-2 in stunning walk-off fashion later in the evening to claim the other championship game vacancy.
First pitch between the Oatkan Knights and Lions is tentatively set for a 12 p.m. start.
Livonia 000 010 0 — 1 6 0
Wellsville 001 001 X — 2 4 0
LIV – Kaidan O’Connor (LP) (CG, 7K, 3BB) and Jake Benitez.
WLSV – Ty Vogel (WP) (CG, 10K, 3BB) and Matt Ritter.
Class C2 Semifinals
No. 2 Genesee Valley/Belfast 4, No. 3 Gananda 3
HORNELL — Mother Nature simply would not allow Genesee Valley/Belfast to take the field and continue their potential return trip to the Finals on Wednesday. But after a day of rain where it felt like there was no end in sight, the wait was officially over in the Maple City on Thursday.
Almost a week after their electrifying walk-off victory over defending State Final Four finalist Bolivar-Richburg, they now set their sights on yet another ferocious battle, this time with second-seeded Gananda, now just a single stepping stone away from going back to where their season closed up last Spring.
With both teams throwing their best pitchers out on the mound once again, the pitching rampage then ensued.
Their Class C2 Semifinal bout began with three scoreless innings, with the hits and the application of base-runners off of them becoming limited. It was a game that witnessed no walks from both Gananda’s Henry Shutts and Genesee Valley/Belfast’s Ethan Davenport, along with no errors from the defenses behind them.
A clean sheet of baseball? — A clean sheet of baseball.
One thing that legendary baseball coach Dennis Miles has always preached throughout his career, has been timely hits. In a game that possesses a strong magnitude such as this, when a trip to the Finals is hanging in the balance, you have to do everything in your power to work in scoring position. When the homestretch arrived in full, the two squads had their fair share of chances, with the Blue Panthers springboarding ahead of Genesee Valley/Belfast late in the sixth for their first lead of the game.
Now the No. 2 seeds were tasked with assembling perhaps their biggest response of the season. Their first chance came in the bottom half of the penultimate frame.
And they didn’t need any more than that.
Genesee Valley/Belfast went on to load the bases behind the Gananda defense with not a single run on the board. Although they suffered a minor setback with a strikeout, Nolan Hunter delivered the team’s most prized hit of the bunch, hitting the jackpot with a two-run single to catapult them back ahead of the Blue Panthers. As the action transitioned to the top of the seventh, the No. 2 seeds held the fort down and wrapped up their return trip to the Finals, this time in Class C2, as they came away victorious with another 4-3 win.
“It was a very rewarding game. Both pitchers were hitting around 84 with lots of bite on their breaking balls. The big thing was neither pitcher walked a batter and there were no errors either,” said GV/Belfast coach Dennis Miles. “There weren’t many strikeouts in the game between the two pitchers as well. It was as clean of a game as you could hope for, on both sides. Ethan had a little bit of a hiccup in the sixth inning, but the response in return was huge. Nolan’s a great hitter and he’s struggled lately, but it was really nice to see him really get a piece of one to give us the lead back. IT came down to those timely hits, and we were able to get by with them in a fantastic high school baseball game.”
With both teams charting their course through three shutout innings that saw no movement whatsoever, the action ramped up in the fourth inning where Genesee Valley/Belfast (21-1) became the first to shatter the scoreless facade by way of their hottest batter in the lineup — Ryan Daciw, who continued his red hot tear at the plate with two men on, driving both home on a single.
Gananda began to formulate a response in return in the top of the fifth inning, despite back-to-back strikeouts from Davenport to open the stanza, as the Blue Panthers utilized a clutch two-out triple to apply the advantage-carving run on base. Genesee Valley/Belfast was able to leave the runner frozen however, as Davenport buckled right back in and helped the defense behind him come away unscathed to remain in the driver’s seat.
The Blue Panthers did manage to crack through in the top of the sixth with multiple runners on base, ending Davenport’s shutout bid with a string of hits — including an RBI double that cut their deficit in half upon claiming their first lead of the game moments later on a two-run double to help wrap up the frame.
But the newly-garnered advantage from the No. 3 seeds was short lived, courtesy of Nolan Hunter who aided Genesee Valley/Belfast in the largest of ways with the bases loaded, driving home two runs off his single to give them the advantage right back heading into the night’s final sequence.
In it, Genesee Valley/Belfast managed to keep Gananda frozen across all phases in the top of the seventh to officially put the ribbon on their return trip to the Finals this weekend.
When it was all said and done, Genesee Valley/Belfast accumulated six hits to go with their four runs. On the mound, the win belonged to Davenport, who struck out six in his tossed complete game.
The quick turnaround will come into effect for Genesee Valley/Belfast tonight, as they now head north to compete for all of the glory in the Class C2 Finals, taking on the No. 1 Kendall Eagles at Dwyer Stadium in Batavia. First pitch is set for a 7:30 p.m. start.
Gananda 000 003 0 — 3 7 0
Genesee Valley/Belfast 000 202 X — 4 6 0
GAN – Henry Shutts (LP) (CG, 7K) and Jackson Giancursio.
GVB – Ethan Davenport (WP) (CG, 6K) and Evan Turybury.
Class D Semifinals
No. 6 Fillmore 14, No. 2 Keshequa 5
WAYLAND — The Eagles of Fillmore were absolutely feeling it when they started their Sectional journey late last week against Hammondsport. Then, they proceeded to survive by the skin of their teeth in an extra-inning battle of wits against Elba back on Tuesday. Now, they stood one game away from making their trip to the Finals since they last won it back in 2022.
With the Rymer Complex in Nunda still suffering the effects of Wednesday’s constant rain shower, the Eagles and their Semifinal opposition, No. 2 Keshequa, would have to relocate to Wayland-Cohocton in order to do battle the following day. But despite the minor bumps in the road leading up to the first pitch, the No. 6 seeds would prove that it was absolutely no issue whatsoever.
That’s because the bats were at full strength once again.
With the two foes nearly trading equal barbs across the first three innings of play, the Fillmore bats soon became relentless, as they conducted what was a 17-hit symphony at the plate to put Keshequa on pins and needles for the remainder of the game, taking what was a one-run advantage and cushioning it permanently with a powerful middle-frame performance to officially aid their push to the Class D Finals this weekend with a 14-5 rout of the Wildcats.
“These kids just love coming to the ball field to get better. They took things one pitch at a time and provided some great at-bats today,” said Eagles coach Kaiden Bowers. “They’ve put tremendous effort into the process that we’ve been preaching since the start of the year. It’s been really fun seeing some of those pieces come together these last couple of weeks.”
Fillmore (13-7) and Keshequa hung right alongside one another throughout the first three innings of battle on the diamond, with the Eagles delivering the first word in a clamorous fashion in the top of the second inning, when they unleashed a 4-0 lead on the Wildcats. The No. 2 seeds remained within reach despite the early adversity, as they nearly overcame it in full with a three-run bottom of the frame to cut their deficit down to a single run.
But it ultimately would be as close as the Wildcats reached to Fillmore, as the No. 6 seeds provided a volcanic eruption across the next three innings of play with 10 of the game’s next 11 runs — five of them coming in the top of the fourth as their immediate response in return to Keshequa, to pull away at an instant.
The big benefactor amidst the run-scoring — five different hitters recording at least two hits at the dish for the Eagles. Leading the charge was Isaac Wilcox, who went 3-for-4 with a double, four total RBI and two runs scored. Jared Boon, James Hillman, Damon Potter and Jack Boon all had two hits each to chip in, with Potter and Jack Boon each driving in a pair, while Hillman scored three runs.
On the mound, the win belonged to Brayden Hennard across just over two innings of work against the Wildcats, striking out one and walking four.
Up next on Saturday, the Eagles will now prepare to battle for Section V glory in Hornell, as they travel to Maple City Park to take on the defending Class D State Champion Arkport-Canaseraga Wolves in the Class D Finals, which is set to commence at 3 p.m. immediately following the LeRoy-Wellsville Class B Finals contest.
Fillmore 040 523 0 — 14 17 0
Keshequa 003 100 1 — 5 8 4
FIL – Brayden Hennard (WP) (K, 4BB), Malcolm Nusbickle (3) (K), Isaac Wilcox (6) (2K), Kalen Beardsley (7) (K, BB) and Connor McCumiskey.
KES – Ryan Fox (LP) (K, 3BB), Nathan Hillier (3) (2K, BB), Nolan Therrien (6) (K, 2BB) and Owen Pike.
SOFTBALL
Class C2 Semifinals
No. 2 Oakfield-Alabama 9, No. 3 Genesee Valley/Belfast 0
OAKFIELD — There was plenty of momentum to go around for the Genesee Valley/Belfast ladies early on in their Class C2 Semifinal clash with No. 2 Oakfield-Alabama, Thursday night. With Hannah Powers generating a great deal of it behind her fabulous start in the circle, the two foes would remain glued at the hip through the first two innings of play without a score to be had on the board.
But in the third inning, the Lady Hornets turned it all upside down to bring their offense to life, capitalizing on crucial errors by the Genesee Valley/Belfast defense in the midst of a game-altering five-run frame to pull ahead with the advantage, keeping the No. 3 seeds in the rearview mirror for good to claim their spot in this weekend’s Finals with a 9-0 shutout of the No. 3 seeds on their home field.
Genesee Valley/Belfast provided an excellent start to their evening on the field behind the guidance of Powers, who went on to strikeout five of her first eight batters of the game — three of them in consecutive fashion to keep the Lady Hornets absolutely silent in the bottom of the second inning. In return, they issued multiple base-runners against the Oakfield-Alabama defense in their third inning term of offense, turning up the heat at an instant.
But with two outs, Lady Hornets hurler Savannah Durham maintained her composure and kept Genesee Valley/Belfast quiet at the plate with a monstrous and resonant strikeout to keep them off the board. As a result, the momentum they established off the inning-ending strikeout turned into a giant five-run snowball in the bottom half of the third, with three of the runs coming across off two crucial errors to help claim a 5-0 lead.
Oakfield-Alabama added to their lead in the bottom of the fourth after they limited Genesee Valley/Belfast once more with another scoreless inning, as they scratched across three more runs to extend their advantage out of reach. The Lady Hornets finished off their scoring with one final run in the sixth inning.
Genesee Valley/Belfast concluded their final game of the Spring with just four hits at the plate — one each from Madison Yackeren, Lily Green, Madison Tarar and Keanna Sands. In the circle for the very last time in her high school career, Powers went on to hold Oakfield-Alabama to just five hits, striking out eight and walking five.
Powers will be joined by five more seniors in Tarar, Sands, Jenna Hill, Kate Calanni and Morgan Yackeren when Graduation arrives at the end of next month, as the team finishes their 2025 campaign on the field with a record of 17-5.
Genesee Valley/Belfast 000 000 0 — 0 4 3
Oakfield-Alabama 005 301 X — 9 5 3
GVB – Hannah Powers (LP) (CG, 8K, 5BB) and Jenna Hill.
O-A — Savannah Durham (WP) (CG, 15K) and Ysabella Schrauger.
Class D Semifinals
No. 4 Fillmore 2, No. 1 Lyndonville 1
LYNDONVILLE — Ever since her arrival from Friendship/Scio to Fillmore this past year, Morghyn Ross has made an immediate impact. From upon the soccer pitch, to the basketball court, you name it. Now, as the weather transitioned to take its rightful shape for the Spring, the Fillmore junior now took her talents to the softball field where she has risen as one of the Lady Eagles’ major playmakers since the very beginning.
The Lady Eagles have become one of the hottest teams in Allegany County softball entering the postseason, having won eight of their last 10 regular season games before pushing straight down on the gas pedal to cruise past both Lima Christian and Andover/Whitesville to reach the Class D Semifinal round on Thursday.
The long road trip in store was to visit the top-seeded Lyndonville Lady Tigers for a chance to once again reach the Championship game for the first time in seven years.
As for Ross, it has almost been automatic for her to reach base in some capacity. But when she does, she provides a very immediate threat to any defense in front of her. She went on to reach in her first two appearances at the plate against the Lady Tigers, both by way of walk. Then, she became the difference maker.
Mylee Miller provided the extra punctuation behind her. Some Championship game-worthy punctuation.
Behind some great base-running to work her way into scoring position not once, but twice, the Lady Eagles junior linked up with her battery partner in the first three innings of play, as Miller drove in Ross on each occasion to serve as the ultimate difference maker against Section V’s top seeds in Class D, as the Lady Eagles hurler went on to hold Lyndonville at a standstill for the rest of the game to officially lock up their first trip to the Finals since 2018 with a 2-1 road win.
“Tonight was just a hard-fought close decision that went our way. Offensively, we couldn’t ever string anything together, but when we got Morghyn into scoring position, we scored her. Defensively, after the first inning, we were rock solid in tense moments and Mylee was locked in on the mound again,” said Lady Eagles coach Jon Beardsley. “It was just a complete game team win, and it happened against a very good 21-win Lyndonville team. We will have our hands full come Saturday, but for now, we’re excited to be going to the Finals. We’ve grown a lot as a team and they have earned everything so far. I am happy for these girls to have the opportunity to play for a title. We went a long way to Lyndonville tonight, so winning makes that bus so much sweeter.”
It was a rapid-fire first inning that started the festivities for both teams, with Fillmore (16-4) reaching the board first off a series of advances around the bases from Ross, as she utilized a passed ball to move to second before stealing third to climb into scoring position with two outs on the board. With Miller approaching the plate, the early damage was done on a single into left field that broke the ice with a 1-0 lead over the Lady Tigers.
Lyndonville quickly made up the lost ground during their opening stance at the dish, also with two outs, with Arnie Sturtevant scoring on a Fillmore error.
The two teams went on to trade a scoreless second inning jab before the Lady Eagles went back to work again with the top of the order returning to the plate for the third inning. With Ross reaching on another walk, she then worked her way towards scoring position once again for Miller to bring her home again with another RBI single into left center field to double their lead on the Lady Tigers.
For the remainder of the conflict, no more than four hitters reached the plate between both teams, as Miller buckled down and delivered a fabulous finish to her complete game three-hit performance, striking out nine Lyndonville batters.
At the plate, Mattie McCumiskey helped power the offense further with two hits of her own, while Summer Friedl and Chloe Hennard each had a hit to chip in.
The Lady Eagles have now unlocked the opportunity to play for championship glory in the Class D Finals coming up Saturday morning, as they prepare for a long trip to Honeoye Falls-Lima, where they will meet No. 2 Keshequa for the brick beginning in an 11 a.m. first pitch.
Fillmore 101 000 0 — 2 6 2
Lyndonville 100 000 0 — 1 3 0
FIL – Mylee Miller (WP) (CG, 9K) and Morghyn Ross.
LYN – Arnie Sturtevant (LP) (CG, 6K, 3BB) and Addison Dillenbeck.
Additional reporting was provided by Dan Geyer, Pat Wight, Sarah Powers, Jeff Fuller and Matt Warren (Wellsville Softball, issued separately).
