Tuesday Roundup: B-R redeems extra-inning defeat with Fillmore, ignite late 7th inning comeback to swipe away 5-3 win; Fri/Scio’s Ross reaches 1,400 career strikeouts in team’s shutout of A-A
FILLMORE — The Lady Eagles of Fillmore have assembled some of their best softball of the season as of late. Stemming back at the end of April with an extra-inning propeller past Bolivar-Richburg over the road. Since then, they would go on to win six of the next nine games leading up to their final clash with the Lady Wolverines on Tuesday.
As for the Lady Wolverines, they were seeking redemption from that game, all while getting back on the right side of the tracks in the nick of time before Sectionals officially kicks into high gear coming up this weekend.
For much of the evening in Fillmore, the two teams played a game of tug-of-war on both sides of the spectrum, exchanging responses one after another while the defenses did their very best to keep each other at bay.
With the Lady Eagles gaining control of the steering wheel after the opening frame, they responded to everything that the Lady Wolverines threw at them. But down the stretch, the visitors in pink and red came together for one final stand. And with it, they swiped complete control of the game, as they scored the last three runs — two of them coming off massive special teams in the top of the seventh to break a 3-3 tie, finishing off the comeback victory with a rapid 1-2-3 on defense to claim the 5-3 win.
“It was just a hard-fought battle between two solid teams. We capitalized on their mistakes early in the game and they did the same to us later in the game,” Lady Eagles coach Jon Beardsley said. “They were able to muster a few more hits, but both pitchers, although they walked a few, never allowed the batters to get comfortable in the box. At times, both teams played good defense, which kept the game close. We've played competitive softball for the past two weeks and our four seniors, Preslee (Miller), Oakley (Frazier), Kylee (Ellsworth) and Delaney (Hillman) have been integral parts to our late season turnaround. Sectionals are next up and we will see what happens next.”
Across the first three innings of play, both teams were stride for stride, exchanging corresponding blows that began right in the first inning of play with the Lady Wolverines (10-9) behind Jayna Thomas’ lead-off single. After working her way around the bags and into scoring position, a slight and shallow poke into center field from Rylee Whiting allowed her to come home, beating out the throw to the plate to catch her off guard.
Fillmore’s (9-9) response in the bottom half of framework was aided by a couple of key special teams plays into the infield, as both Mylee Miller and Kylee Ellsworth served up a pair of RBI, with Miller scoring Mattie McCumiskey and Ellsworth scoring Oakley Frazier to help them double their advantage.
Proceeding a rapid fire 1-2-3 between both teams in the second inning, the scoring would resume with another game-tying response, this time by Bolivar-Richburg with the aid of Kylee Whiting and her double into center field, plating Jayna Thomas. But just like the first inning, the advantage was short-lived, as Fillmore countered right back with their third run off an offensive put-out into the infield, with Mylee Miller supplying it and some incredible heads-up baserunning from Mattie McCumiskey to speed home for the go-ahead score.
For the rest of the game, many more chances to hang more runs onto the scoreboard, especially in the fifth inning where the Lady Eagles aimed to take the lead right back with a bases-loaded situation with two outs. But the Lady Wolverines created a big defensive spark off a flyout by Delaney Hillman to carry into the sixth inning, where they ultimately re-tied the game one more time off an RBI single from Danika Loucks.
Bolivar-Richburg went on to take the lead away once and for all in the top of the seventh inning behind a pair of runs — the first off a fielder’s choice from Rylee Whiting that resulted in an error, and then a Cassidy Stives insurance run off a wild pitch to secure the eventual victory waiting in the wings.
The Lady Wolverines finished the game with five runs off seven total hits. On the mound, Rylee Whiting collected the win across all seven innings of work, holding Fillmore to just two hits behind five strikeouts and five walks.
As for the Lady Eagles, they saw Mylee Miller go the distance with two strikeouts and four walks from within the circle. At the plate, Miller, along with her older sister Preslee Miller, had the team’s lone hits off back-to-back singles in the fifth inning. Fillmore’s regular season is now over, as they now await Sectional seeding in the Class D bracket later this week.
Bolivar-Richburg’s regular season will reach its conclusion tonight with a 4:30 p.m. first pitch in the Maple City, taking on the host Hornell Lady Red Raiders.
Bolivar-Richburg 101 001 2 – 5 7 3
Fillmore 201 000 0 – 3 2 2
B-R – Rylee Whiting (WP) (CG, 5K, 5BB) and Sydney Faulkner.
FIL – Mylee Miller (LP) (CG, 2K, 4BB) and Oakley Frazier.
Friendship/Scio 10, Alfred-Almond 0
SCIO — Nevaeh Ross is ready to make one final run at the Empire State’s grand prize. On Tuesday, Friendship/Scio’s phenom in the circle proved every bit of it with one final dominant performance in regular season play, striking out 18 Alfred-Almond batters in 24 hitters faced in total — in the midst of it all, the collection of her 1,400th career strikeout, as they strolled past the Lady Eagles with a 10-0 shutout in Scio.
It was not easy by any means right out of the starting gate for Friendship/Scio (15-3), as they fought the scoreless battle right alongside Alfred-Almond through the first two innings of play before the offense kicked into gear a short time later behind an RBI from Kadence Sadler in the bottom of the third inning to break the ice.
After another scoreless stand from the Lady Eagles in the fourth, the hosts in white and gold added to their lead with four more runs to create a 5-0 lead. Five more runs would help solidify the advantage once and for all in the fifth inning, with Nevaeh and Morghyn Ross helping free up some of the bags with the bases loaded, along with an RBI from Jadyn Wonderling.
In all, Friendship/Scio totaled their 10 runs off six hits, with Morghyn Ross captaining the bats with her three total RBI and three runs scored to go with her pair of hits. Avery Lamberson also had two hits.
The regular season is now over for the defending Class D State Finalists, as Friendship/Scio now awaits the formulation of the Class D Playoff picture later this week.
Alfred-Almond 000 000 0 – 0 1 0
Friendship/Scio 001 450 X – 10 6 2
A-A – Olivia Flaitz (LP) (CG, K, 10BB) and Alexis Kuhn.
F/S – Nevaeh Ross (WP) (CG, 18K) and Morghyn Ross.
BASEBALL
Bolivar-Richburg 3, Fillmore 2
HOUGHTON — On their final day of the regular season, Bolivar-Richburg and Fillmore took their talents to a big stage with some pretty bright lights, as the two foes convened at Houghton University on Tuesday. For the Wolverines, it was their second trip to the complex in three games.
With the teams and their respective cheering sections amassing the field, the battle from upon it was easily worth the price of admission.
What was a heavily defensive game between the Wolverines and the Eagles had transitioned into a seventh inning fight for your life. With Trey Buchholz continuing to hold the fort down behind a magnificent performance, the team in green and white emerged from the fog and danced one final dance in the bottom half to turn the heat up as high as they could.
The Eagles would put themselves in a prime position to create level playing ground for the first time in the game, with the game-tying run just 90 feet away and down to their last out. But despite the Wolverines being backed into a corner, Buchholz maintained his composure and rectified the situation on his own terms — with a strikeout, his 13th of the game against Fillmore to help seal up a perfect 12-0 record in Allegany County League play and potentially Class C2’s No. 1 seed in Sectionals, as they held on for dear life to secure a 3-2 victory.
“It was a very excellent game for both teams to get ready for Sectionals. It was a great atmosphere, a nice crowd at Houghton for this game tonight,” said Wolverines coach Dustin Allen. “Trey really threw a very nice game to keep Fillmore off balance. We had some trouble in the seventh, but he dug deep and got us out of it when we needed him to. We had some key hits when we needed them as well. Caden (Allen) with a big double, Brayden (Zilker) with his early on, and then Trey with one of his own. We’re 18-2, but come Thursday, it’s back to 0-0. A new season starts, and the hunt for a title starts.”
After both squads could not generate their offenses to begin the game in the first inning, the action shifted on to the second where the Wolverines (18-2) capitalized with the first of three crucial RBIs with the aid of Brayden Zilker, who grounded into the infield to plate a run from third base to break the ice.
With the run and the advantage now in their back pocket, the offenses would freeze again for the next two innings of play leading up to the fifth where Bolivar-Richburg recorded some massive insurance down the stretch. In the process of loading the bases behind the Eagles (8-8) defense, Caden Allen would score one run before that would occur, as he blasted an RBI double to the outfield to extend their lead to a pair. The Wolverines would contribute their final run in the sixth off an RBI single from Buchholz.
Three runs would wind up serving as the game’s largest lead held by either side, but in the remaining two innings of play, Fillmore exponentially turned the heat up on the Wolverines, closing the gap to a single run behind gargantuan RBIs from Damon Potter and Braylon Hatch. It would set up shop for a thrilling finish with the Eagles knocked down to their final out and the game-tying run standing on third base, waiting for the arrival home.
Instead, Buchholz had other plans, as he maintained his composure, rocked and fired the game-ending strikeout to the plate to keep him on and the Wolverines on top with the one-run victory to finish undefeated in Allegany County League play, and additionally perhaps, Class C2’s top seed entering Sectionals this weekend.
The Wolverines mustered their three runs off eight hits at the plate, with Allen, Landon Barkley and Tavyn MacDonell each garnering two. On the mound, Buchholz finished the game in a four-hit victory behind 13 strikeouts and a walk.
For Fillmore, Potter led all hitters with two of the team’s four hits. Wade DeRock chipped in with a triple. On the bump, Brayden Hennard went into the fifth inning during his start, striking out and walking three each.
The regular season for both parties is now in the books, as both Bolivar-Richburg and Fillmore now await Playoff seeding later this week.
Bolivar-Richburg 010 011 0 – 3 8 2
Fillmore 000 001 1 – 2 4 1
B-R – Trey Buchholz (WP) (CG, 13K, BB) and Aydin Sisson.
FIL – Brayden Hennard (LP) (3K, 3BB), Kalen Beardsley (5) (2K, 2BB), Isaac Wilcox (7) (K) and Nolan Krzeminski.
Andover/Whitesville 11, Hinsdale 5
HINSDALE — Although Hinsdale struck while the iron was hot right away on Tuesday, visiting Andover/Whitesville evaded a slow start to their game and made up for lost time at an instant. With a 3-3 deadlock awaiting its fracture on the scoreboard, the offense came alive with all 11 of their runs in a three-inning span, springboarding ahead of the Bobcats permanently to coast their way towards an 11-5 regular season-ending victory.
“We did not get off the bus ready to play. We were missing our cuts and we have didn’t many good at-bats to start out,” Andover/Whitesville co-coach Jake Bannerman said. “But then we did a great job of having quality at-bats the rest of the game. They focused in with some tough at-bats, drawing walks and putting the ball in play. When we scored, Colton (Calladine) came right back and shut Hinsdale down. They have a tough top of their line-up that is very hard to deal with, but this was a great game for us going into Sectionals.”
Following a 2-0 lead taken by the Bobcats in the opening inning of play, Andover/Whitesville (5-11) provided a bounce back beginning in the third, when they assembled a three-run frame to go ahead with their first lead. Despite it being repossessed by the Bobcats in favor of a 3-3 tie, there was no momentum lost, as the visitors in purple went on to score the next eight unanswered runs — five of them in the top of the fifth inning to get all the room they needed to keep the hosts behind them.
Andover/Whitesville posted 11 runs off nine total hits, with Colton Calladine and his masterful 4-for-4 outing leading the way, as he recorded a triple and drove in three runs. Jake Mattison pitched in with two hits and scored a team-high four RBI, while Vinny Joyce had two hits including a double and scratched across the plate three times.
On the mound, Calladine collected the win with a strong performance, handing out eight chairs and walking three. For Hinsdale (3-10), Jake Elliott countered Calladine in his start that stretched into the fourth inning, fanning six and walking seven. Hitting statistics for the Bobcats were not made available.
Andover/Whitesville’s regular season is now over, as they now await their place in the Class D Playoff picture, while Hinsdale turns right around to host Friendship/Scio in their regular season finale tonight in a 5 p.m. first pitch.
Andover/Whitesville 003 350 0 – 11 9 2
Hinsdale 201 010 1 – 5 8 4
A/W – Colton Calladine (WP) (8K, 3BB), Brody Vance (7) (BB) and Jake Mattison.
HIN – Jake Elliott (LP) (6K, 7BB), Henry Schwartz (4) (2K, 5BB), Tyler Richards (6) (2K, BB) and Peyton Keller.
Alfred-Almond 14, Friendship/Scio 4 (F-5)
SCIO — Behind a complete game performance on the hill from Jonas Lockner, along with an early first inning lead to build on, the Alfred-Almond Eagles navigated the path towards victory after five complete innings of play on Tuesday, as they traveled to Scio and left town on a positive note by recording the 14-4 victory over host Friendship/Scio.
The visiting Eagles would not be denied a regular season-ending triumph to put into the win column, as they established their presence right in the opening sequence with a pair of runs to claim the 2-0 lead on Friendship/Scio (0-16). The hosts in gold and black would counter a short time later with their first run to cut the deficit in half, scratching it across in the bottom of the second to apply some early pressure against the visitors in blue.
But when the top of the third inning approached, the balance of power would shift completely in Alfred-Almond’s direction, as the offense went on to score nine unanswered runs to take a 2-1 lead of Friendship/Scio and flip it upside down completely, en route towards a five-inning victory to close out the regular season.
Alfred-Almond recorded their 14 runs off 11 total hits at the plate, with Brogan Donlon’s 2-for-3 outing helping lead the charge, adding three runs along the way. On the mound, Lockner held Friendship/Scio to just five hits, fanning eight and walking three.
As for the hosts, Matt Donohue struck out three and walked four during his start into the fourth inning. As for the bats, Deacon Brown chipped in with a hit, drove in a run and scored once.
Friendship/Scio will close out their regular season on the road with a 5 p.m. visit to Hinsdale this evening.
Alfred-Almond 204 53 – 14 11 2
Friendship/Scio 010 30 – 4 5 3
A-A – Jonas Lockner (WP) (CG, 8K, 3BB) and Nathan Munson.
F/S – Matt Donohue (LP) (3K, 4BB), Nick Sortore (4) (K, BB), Deacon Brown (5) (K, 3BB) and Charlie Taylor.
GOLF
Bolivar-Richburg 207, Hinsdale 226
BOLIVAR — Both Hinsdale and Bolivar-Richburg’s season reached its very end at the Bolivar Golf Club on Tuesday. With their match being moved ahead a day early due to the impending weather forecast, the host Wolverines were able to celebrate their Senior Night in style with a big victory over the visiting Bobcats, as Cayden Gaines’ best round of the season helped them propel their way towards a 207-226 victory.
Gaines put the pieces of the puzzle together to card his best round of the season in the midst of a balanced Bolivar-Richburg scorecard from start to finish, as he posted the team’s lowest round of 49 to aid their victory. Right behind him was David Abdo, who recorded a round of 50. James Margeson chipped in with a 53, while Zach Mitchell rounded out with his score of 55.
Hinsdale was paced by Caden Miller and his medalist round of 47. Brett Bergstrom pitched in with his round of 54. Lilly Howell added a 57, while Alex Dove finished the scoring with his round of 68.
Both teams have reached the conclusion of their 2024 campaign on the links, with the Wolverines wrapping up at 2-8 overall, while Hinsdale finishes at 0-12.
BOYS TENNIS
Class B2 Quarterfinals
No. 3 East Rochester 5, No. 6 Wellsville 0
COHOCTON — After a tough and fierce battle with No. 11 Marcus Whitman to earn their place in the next round just 24 hours ago, the end of the line was ultimately reached by the sixth-seeded Lions of Wellsville on Tuesday, as No. 3 East Rochester brought out the brooms in both departments of action to lay claim on a 5-0 shutout at Wayland-Cohocton in the Class B2 Quarterfinal round.
The Lions gave it one final fight with tough performances across the board, including Adam Iantorno and Michael Bidzerkowny at first and third singles, respectively, with Iantorno falling to East Rochester’s Milo Warner by a 6-1, 6-1 count, while Bidzerkowny was downed by a 6-2, 6-2 decision by Sean Lewis. Sean Hogan finished off the singles sweep for the Bombers with a 6-0, 6-1 win over Wheeler Dahlgren.
In the doubles department, the No. 3 continued the victorious trend with two more wins, as Keenen O’Connor and David Anderson were defeated by a 6-0, 6-1 count at first doubles by Dom Romach and Eli Tanner, and Cayden Grimes and Jonah MacCartney were defeated in a straight-set shutout by Joseph Markajani and Vincent Antonicelli at second doubles.
The 2024 campaign on the court is over for Wellsville, as they officially wrap up with a 10-6 record overall.
Singles
1. Milo Warner (ER) def. Adam Iantorno (WLSV), 6-1, 6-1.
2. Sean Hogan (ER) def. Wheeler Dahlgren (WLSV), 6-0, 6-1.
3. Sean Lewis (ER) def. Michael Bidzerkowny (WLSV), 6-2, 6-2.
Doubles
1. Dom Romach/Eli Tanner (ER) def. Keenen O'Connor/David Anderson (WLSV), 6-0, 6-1.
2. Joseph Markajani/Vincent Antonicelli (ER) def. Caydon Grimes/Jonah MacCartney (WLSV), 6-0, 6-0.
Class B4 First Round
No. 6 Alexander 5, No. 11 Andover/Whitesville 0
HOUGHTON — At Houghton University, No. 6 Alexander would rule the evening in opening round festivities of the Class B4 tournament, as they took care of business with a dominant 5-0 sweep of No. 11 Andover/Whitesville to end their season while moving on to the Quarterfinal round the very next day.
The Trojans took advantage of everything on the tennis court from the beginning to the end, as they performed a sweep of both departments of action to fuel the gas tanks for a trip to the Quarterfinal round, using a tough 6-2, 6-3 victory from Owen Dunbar over Andover/Whitesville’s Elden Terhune at first singles, along with straight-set shutouts from Paul Schmitt and Aubrey Hamm at second and third singles to finish off the 3-0 win in the singles matches, over Tristan Meehan and Allyson Schweigart.
Alexander went on to record a 6-3, 6-1 victory from the team of Kendrick Ochoa and Kristen Thompson at first doubles over Andover/Whitesville’s duo of Janiyah Gilliam and Jizel Kyoseva. The No. 6 seeds would grab their fifth and final win via forfeit at second doubles.
Andover/Whitesville’s season has come to an end, as they finish off their 2024 campaign with a record of 0-8.
Singles
1. Owen Dunbar (ALEX) def. Elden Terhune (A/W), 6-2, 6-3.
2. Paul Schmitt (ALEX) def. Tristan Meehan (A/W), 6-0, 6-0.
3. Aubrey Hamm (ALEX) def. Allyson Schweigart (A/W), 6-0, 6-0.
Doubles
1. Kendrick Ochoa/Kristen Thompson (ALEX) def. Janiyah Gilliam/Jizel Kyoseva (A/W), 6-3, 6-1.
2. Alexander by for.
