Friday Roundup: Ground rule double by Davis, Miller’s complete game sees Hornell past Bolivar-Richburg in defensive battle; Wellsville, Fillmore softball victorious with home wins
HORNELL — In recent seasons, the Bolivar-Richburg/Hornell battle has become a tight battle that has been worth the price of admission. It has also become an early season matchup that has been used as fuel for the journey forward into Sectionals.
Friday night’s newest entry into the saga was no different in the Maple City. With both Landon Barkley and Gates Miller going toe-to-toe off the mound for their respective teams, the defenses behind them energized the competition on the field with dominant outings. But there were times where the offense found a way to crack through, with Bolivar-Richburg striking first almost immediately in their first at-bats.
The lead was held up until the homestretch when lightning struck. The Red Raiders took advantage of a big opportunity.
After finding a way to tie the game at one in the fourth, the energy carried over into the fifth where Hornell broke open the contest with a three-run frame, including a deep drive into the outfield that brought in two enormous runs to cushion what was their first lead of the game. In the end, they would use a quick 1-2-3 in the seventh to close down the victory by a 4-1 count over the Wolverines.
“It was a well-played game,” said Wolverines coach Dustin Allen. “They got the key hits when they needed them, and their pitcher did an outstanding job keeping us off balance while we were being aggressive at the plate. Landon came out strong and got into a couple of jams, but he was able to get us out of them, which was nice to see. They were just able to grab those timely hits, and we couldn’t. That determined the game.”
Bolivar-Richburg (2-3) was on top of it with their first two at-bats of the game, as Trey Buchholz began with an absolute rocket into deep right field, taking one bounce off the bottom of the fence to allow himself to reach third easily on a lead-off triple. On the very next play, he came home to score on a fielder’s choice to the right side of the infield from Reiss Gaines, giving the Wolverines the early edge.
The defenses would begin to solidify through the next two innings of play, as both squads came up with nifty plays on the field behind their pitchers, who continued to wheel and deal to the plate each step of the way to keep the opposing attack off balance. Hornell would ultimately creep their way onto the board however, as they grab a clutch two-out hit from Jacob Ponticello on a base hit into left.
The next at-bat, Andrew Davis would begin to turn the tide by tying up the game with another hit squeezing past third and back into left field, going far enough to bring Ponticello around to score.
Following the momentous play for the hosts in red, they would then proceed to reload the bags behind Barkley on the mound on the next three terms at the plate. With their biggest threat of the game looming with two outs still on the board, a pop out was secured on the run by Evan Pinney in left to leave them all loaded after four innings.
With a strong outing of defense to come back off the field in the fifth, the momentum then shifted fully towards Hornell, as they pulled ahead of Bolivar-Richburg with a game-changing, three-run spurt powered up by a two-run ground rule double by Ponticello. Davis would then follow with his second RBI of the game on the next at-bat, recording another RBI single to add a piece of insurance onto the team’s 4-1 lead.
The newly-founded lead for the Red Raiders would wind up holding in the end, as Bolivar-Richburg went down in order to close out the night in their final stand.
In total, Bolivar-Richburg gathered their first inning run off four total hits, with Aydin Sisson, Caden Allen and Evan Pinney all recording a single each. Barkley would finish with two strikeouts and two walks on the mound in a start that progressed into the fifth inning.
For Hornell, the Red Raiders scored four runs off six hits, with Ponticello and Wyatt Argentieri paving the way with two each. On the hill, Gates Miller was credited with the big win, handing out nine chairs to the Wolverines while walking just one.
Bolivar-Richburg is back on the road Monday night, as they take aim at a potential bounce back chance with a 4:30 p.m. visit to Coudersport.
Bolivar-Richburg 100 000 0 – 1 4 1
Hornell 000 130 X – 4 6 1
B-R – Landon Barkley (LP) (2K, 2BB), Trey Buchholz (5) (3K) and Aydin Sisson.
HHS – Gates Miller (WP) (CG, 9K, BB) and Jacob Ponticello.
Canandaigua 4, Wellsville 1
CANANDAIGUA — Some strong hitting was strung together by the Lions of Wellsville in their first game back home from Myrtle Beach on Thursday, as they survived some late pressure from Olean down the stretch to secure the win. The hope for the next day was to carry over the momentum into another humongous clash, this time up towards the Finger Lakes with a visit to Canandaigua on Friday.
Branching across most of the battle, the Lions and Braves defenses were sound, delivering the plays behind their respective pitchers. With time running out and a tie on the board needing to be broken, a crucial moment arose.
In the bottom of the fifth, Canandaigua broke through, as they jumped ahead with their first lead in the game. Shortly after, the Lions attempted to bring it back with a pair of big hits. But the Braves defense would not have any of it, as they caught both runners on base to end the inning, also ending Wellsville’s biggest chance to strike to hang onto the lead for good by a 4-1 count at the end of the night.
“It was too bad, because Canandaigua was a really quality opponent,” Lions coach Tom Delahunt said. “We struggled at the plate the whole night. We didn’t have good at-bats, we didn’t take advantage of certain counts. It’s something that we need to learn from, and make those corrections. We did get another solid pitching performance from Coop. He pitched down in Myrtle and got a win, and he pitched just as well tonight. He gave us a chance to win, but the bats unfortunately didn’t wake up for him.”
The Lions (3-3) were no-hit across the first five innings of play by Johnny Mohammed on the mound for Canandaigua, as he kept his opposition off balance all night. Despite it, the visitors in black and orange were able to sneak their way onto the board in the top of the third with special teams play, using their baserunning to make their way home for the early 1-0 lead.
Not long after, the Braves responded with a run of their own to immediately tie the game. It would remain tied up until the fifth when the hosts in red found a way to crack through the Lions defense, scoring three massive runs to pull ahead with their first lead.
Down by three, Wellsville had to act fast. Cody Costello and Cooper Brockway each helped the cause by ending the team’s no-hit bout with a pair of singles, with Costello digging one out on a shallow knock into the infield. But a short time later, the Braves would grab the out after picking off Costello at second base.
Brockway would reach on a single into right field, which would send Ty Vogel to the plate. Vogel connected with a deep ball into right field, but a heads up play by the Canandaigua defense ensured a magnificent catch, allowing the right fielder to double off Brockway, who attempted to make his way back to first on the catch, to end the inning.
The biggest threat against Canandaigua was averted, as the Braves were able to hang on the rest of the way to secure the win.
Brockway went five solid innings on the hill for the Lions, striking out eight and walking two before being relieved by Karson Grover in the sixth. Grover would add two more strikeouts and a walk of his own.
Next up, Wellsville is back home after the weekend for another big test in the Lion’s Den, as they prepare to host the Red Jacket Indians in a 5 p.m. first pitch.
Wellsville 001 000 0 — 1 2 2
Canandaigua 001 030 X — 4 7 2
WLSV — Cooper Brockway (LP) (8K, 2BB), Karson Grover (5) (2K, BB) and Trenton Green.
CAN — Johnny Mohammad (WP) (CG, 9K, 2BB) and Jack Clark.
SOFTBALL
Wellsville 22, Gowanda 0 (F-5)
WELLSVILLE — Going into the weekend, the Lady Lions of Wellsville made sure that all the momentum that they have built since their return home from Spring Break, was maintained.
And then some.
Six different Lady Lions all pitched in with a pair of hits, including two deep drives out of the park by both Makenna Dunbar and Averee Palmatier, as they helped set the table for another explosive outing at the plate while the defense powered by Dunbar and Makenzie Cowburn strung together their fourth combined no-hit performance of the season, concluding the night at Tullar Field with a 22-0 blank of Gowanda on Friday.
“We have tremendous leadership on this team,” said Lady Lions coach Matt Burke. “Makenzie and Makenna were tremendous in the circle tonight, and Makenna made an even bigger impact swinging the bat. Emma Dunaway has been on fire at the plate, and Averee came up with a big hit for us in the third inning. Marissa (Ordway) and Brazen (Beckwith) hit the ball on the button a bunch of times tonight.”
No time was wasted in the opening frame for the Lady Lions (8-1), as they acted quickly against Gowanda with their first five runs which was powered up by a two-run blast by Dunbar. After a sixth run came across in the second, the floodgates would soon come down, as the hosts collected nine more runs to further distance their lead on Gowanda.
In it, came a humongous smack of the bat from Averee Palmatier for her first homer of the season — a grand slam that left the field in a hurry, pushing the Wellsville lead out in insurmountable fashion. The team would go on to add four more runs in each of the next two innings to close the night out under the lights.
Emma Dunaway and Marissa Ordway led the bats with three hits each, combining for two doubles and four RBI. Palmatier, along with Cowburn, Dunbar and Brazen Beckwith all had two hits, with Cowburn and Beckwith each driving in a pair along the way. Natalie Adams drove in four RBI in all during her offensive tenure.
In the circle, Cowburn and Dunbar combined to toss a fourth no-hitter for the Lady Lions, as Cowburn fanned five and walked two in her victory. Later on, Dunbar handed out five more chairs in relief, beginning in the fourth inning.
Wellsville is back in action with a big battle out west on Monday, as they head for Joyce Field at St. Bonaventure to square off with defending Section VI, Class B2 champion Fredonia in a 5 p.m. first pitch.
Gowanda 000 00 – 0 0 5
Wellsville 519 44 – 22 16 0
Fillmore 15, Canisteo-Greenwood/Jasper-Troupsburg 9
FILLMORE — A long week of softball for the Lady Eagles of Fillmore reached its conclusion Friday night.
On the fourth straight night to close up shop, the Lady Eagles rebounded after being shut down by Genesee Valley/Belfast, as the bats came alive to deliver a massive finish after a close, early battle with Canisteo-Greenwood/Jasper-Troupsburg, pulling away towards a 15-9 home win to split the week’s action at 2-2 overall.
Between the two squads, they combined for 24 runs off 22 total hits, with the first three innings starting off hot in favor of the Lady Eagles (2-2), scoring an early 5-1 lead before Canisteo-Greenwood/Jasper-Troupsburg was able to cut it back down to a single run with a three-run frame in the third.
But the offense began to heat up again for the hosts in black and green, as they went on to ignite an inferno consisting of 10 of the next 11 runs stretching across the third to the sixth innings to grab a lead as big as 10 on the visitors. In the top of the seventh, Canisteo-Greenwood/Jasper-Troupsburg made one final push to apply the pressure late on Fillmore, scoring the game’s last four runs. But time ran out, as the Lady Eagles managed to hang on for the win to split the week’s action in half.
Mylee Miller was awarded the victory in the circle across six innings, striking out seven and walking six. Miller would also add some offense of her own along the way, going 2-for-4. Skylar Gaddy would provide the big bat for the hosts, recording three hits including a double, and driving in four total RBI.
For Canisteo-Greenwood/Jasper-Troupsburg, Kadyn Pilero, Brooke Burd, Kaley Davis and Sydney Drouin all had two hits. In the circle, Drouin fanned two and walked seven in her complete game.
Fillmore will now take the weekend away to regroup before they square off with Letchworth back on their home field Monday, beginning at 7 p.m.
C-G/JT 013 010 4 – 9 10 2
Fillmore 230 334 X – 15 12 3
CGJT – Sydney Drouin (LP) (CG, 2K, 7BB) and Alexis Allen.
FIL – Mylee Miller (WP) (7K, 6BB), Mercedes Wolcott (7) (K) and Oakley Frazier.
GOLF
Addison 198, Wellsville 219
ADDISON — Wellsville’s Ethan Bailey and Addison’s Ryan Thompson went back and forth at the top of the leaderboard all match long as the top two golfers on the links, early Friday evening. But when the sun set, Thompson remained alone at the top after firing for the medalist round of 41 for the Knights to power a 198-219 victory over the Lions at Indian Hills Golf Club.
Leading the way at the top of the Wellsville (1-1) scorecard was Bailey and his team-low round of 44. Following behind were Maddy Parks, Fletcher Kaye and Jackson Shoughrue, as they all recorded rounds of 59 to further the team’s cause. Rounding off was Noah Brogan, who chipped in with a 65.
The Lions are back home to the Wellsville Country Club after the weekend, as they prepare for a 4 p.m. tee time against Genesee Valley/Belfast on Monday.
