Saturday Roundup: Southwick-Powers, Ross assemble pitching duel of season in resumption of Scio Tourney game, Fri/Scio captures 2-1 win 10 innings over GV/Belfast; C-R, And/Whi softball clinch wins

[PHOTO PROVIDED]

SCIO — It was a pitching spectacle you will not see anywhere else this season, in Allegany County and maybe even perhaps Section V entirely.

Picking up where rain suspended the action last weekend in Scio during their annual Midseason Tournament clash on Saturday, Genesee Valley/Belfast’s Hannah Southwick-Powers and Friendship/Scio’s Nevaeh Ross would go on to headline the game of the season from within their respective circles. One strikeout after another, the staring contest between the two teams continued on with absolutely no blinking.

The contest between the two foes would elapse across an entire MLB regulation game and then some, as the offenses remained frozen solid at the plate following nine straight shutout innings tossed by the pair of elite hurlers.

Something had to give way.

The scoreless drought on both sides would come to its conclusion in a 10th inning that would decide it all. With Genesee Valley/Belfast striking first to take the game’s very first lead, it would pin Friendship/Scio straight up against the wall at an instant. But like in some high-pressure situations they’ve faced already this year, the hosts in white navigated their way through it.

With some clutch small ball.

After Ross fought through thick and thin with Genesee Valley/Belfast to deliver a career-high 25 strikeouts, Friendship/Scio focused their attention to the plate by using a plethora of bunts to their utmost advantage. In all, they scavenged three of them in four at-bats to tweak the pressure in the field, loading the bases twice behind the defense during that span. With Grace Drumm and Kadence Sadler delivering back-to-back RBI to propel the team into a brief deadlock, the next sequence won them the game, as Sadler’s walk-off secured an incredible, gutsy and audacious 2-1 victory in extra innings.

“We are some proud coaches. The ladies never game up through this battle,” Friendship/Scio coach Deb Warner said. “This game today, this is right up there with one of the best we’ve played. We didn’t hit the ball well, but the short game has improved and it really paid off for us. They never put their heads down through this tough battle. Nevaeh was outstanding, Hannah was outstanding. This was one of those games that I hope will keep preparing them for games coming up that may see something like this happen again. I feel like we’ve built a ton of confidence from this.”

Ross has set a brand new record in Section V just hours after it was broken by Victor’s Olivia Steinorth and her 24-strikeout perfect game during their incredible back-and-forth fight against Bath-Haverling earlier in the morning. The newest established mark will now also stand as the third highest strikeout total in New York State High School Softball history, topping her previous record of 23 she recorded in last year’s State Championship game against Deposit/Hancock.

The battle was on between Ross and Hannah Southwick-Powers all game long, as they combined to record 44 strikeouts in the elongation, with Southwick-Powers firing back 19 strikeouts of her own to go with five walks in her two-hitter.

In the midst of their scoreless-inning exchange, both teams were presented with chances to end the game in the ninth inning, with Genesee Valley/Belfast’s go-ahead run being stranded on second, while Morghyn Ross occupied the middle bag to start Friendship/Scio’s (11-2) bottom half of the inning. She eventually worked her way over to third before providing a steal on home, but in the closest of calls at the plate, she was declared out to close the book on perhaps the biggest threat of the game.

When the top of the 10th inning settled in, Genesee Valley/Belfast (9-4) fed off the momentum with the aid of Hannah Southwick-Powers, smacking a clutch RBI single into the outfield to bring home Ava Aaronson for the first score of the game. That would be all the scoring the visitors would muster, as Ross closed up shop for the inning with her 23rd, 24th and 25th strikeouts in rapid succession to work the Friendship/Scio defense off.

In turn, the hosts countered with an even bigger response by using the short field to their advantage, as they whipped up three bunts during their final four at-bats, with Grace Drumm’s fake bunt standing out from the rest to score the game-tying run while reloading the bags in the same swing. On the very next at-bat, Kadence Sadler proceeded to end the game with the winning bunt to score Nora Thompson from third.

Sadler’s walk-off bunt, along with a seventh inning single from Morghyn Ross, served as Friendship/Scio’s two lone hits, while Southwick-Powers recorded both of Genesee Valley/Belfast’s knocks.

Both teams will have 5 p.m. first pitches coming up after the weekend, with Friendship/Scio traveling to visit Bolivar-Richburg on Monday, while Genesee Valley/Belfast heading over the road once again to take on the Lady Eagles of Fillmore on Tuesday.

Genesee Valley/Belfast 000 000 000 1 – 1 2 0

Friendship/Scio 000 000 000 2 – 2 2 0

GVB – Hannah Southwick-Powers (LP) (CG, 19K, 5BB) and Jenna Hill.

F/S – Nevaeh Ross (WP) (CG, 25K, BB) and Morghyn Ross.

Cuba-Rushford 14, Pioneer 0 (F-5)

YORKSHIRE — Behind the outstanding pitching from both Lizzie Kocsis and Jordyn Radomski, the rest of the pieces to the puzzle would fall perfectly into place for the Lady Rebels of Cuba-Rushford on Saturday, as they used a hot first inning start on the attack while holding host Pioneer at a near standstill on offense along the way to return home victorious with a 14-0 shutout in hand after five innings.

The offensive outburst for Cuba-Rushford (5-7) began right away in the top half of the opening frame, where they went on to score six of their 14 runs to set the tone in immediate fashion. Those efforts were aided by Aaliyah Kowalewski, who blasted a two-run single to light the way forward with a 6-0 lead.

After adding a run in each of the next two innings, the damage would then escalate in the final two innings of play where they would score their remaining six runs — four of them in the fourth and two in the fifth, both paced by a pair of RBI hits from Katelyn Radomski, as she belted a single and double in the back-to-back frames to help finish off an electric day of offense.

Radomski was Cuba-Rushford’s leading hitter, going 3-for-4 behind her pair of RBI, as the team would record eight hits in total. Molly Kunz chipped in to further the cause with two of her own, scoring two runs along the way.

On the mound, the win belonged to Kocsis, fanning one batter before Jordyn Radomski came in to shut the door with two no-hit innings of relief, striking out four and walking one.

The Lady Rebels will return to the field on Tuesday back home, hosting Andover/Whitesville in a 5 p.m. first pitch.

Cuba-Rushford 611 42 – 14 8 0

Pioneer 000 00 – 0 3 1

C-R – Lizzie Kocsis (WP) (K), Jordyn Radomski (4) (4K, BB) and Arlah Shaffer.

PIO – Peyton Comstock (LP) (5BB), Mackenzie-Leigh Johnson (4) (2K, 4BB) and Ella Owens.

Andover/Whitesville 18, Hammondsport 4

HAMMONDSPORT — With Reece Winters and Naudia Pierson both bringing the big bats to the table, Makaila Brewster was able to hold the fort down in the circle for Andover/Whitesville in return, as they powered up 11 unanswered runs following a three-run lead in the early stages of their battle in Hammondsport on Saturday, en route to an 18-4 victory.

A pair of two-run smacks allowed Andover/Whitesville (3-7) to commence the offensive jamboree off the bat, with Winters and Pierson guiding the way forward. The team would rip through their entire batting rotation in one full go during the inning, with Winters helping start it with a two-run triple to the outfield to open the scoring, followed by Pierson’s two run single later on to finish up a 5-0 lead of the Lady Lakers.

After laying claim on a 7-1 advantage in the third inning, Hammondsport made their way back to within arms reach of Andover/Whitesville with their largest stand of offense, posting three big runs to trim the deficit to three. But it would be as close as they would get, as the visitors in black went on to post the game’s final 11 runs to pull away for good, led by two more RBI singles from Winters and a two-run double from Pierson in the top of the fourth.

The two hitters for the visitors combined to record eight RBI in total to ignite the offense’s fuse, with Winters and her 3-for-5 outing leading the charge. Alongside Pierson, Lilly Ordway and Leigha Phelps each chipped in with two hits to help put the finishing touches on a 12-hit performance.

On the mound, Makaila Brewster went all seven innings for Andover/Whitesville, handing out five chairs.

Coming up on Monday, Andover/Whitesville heads back home for a 6 p.m. visit from Alfred-Almond in Andover.

Andover/Whitesville 511 614 0 – 18 12 0

Hammondsport 013 000 0 – 4 9 1

BASEBALL

Andover/Whitesville 12, Hammondsport 9

HAMMONDSPORT — With the early advantage in their possession, Andover/Whitesville was in position to utilize it any way they could during their latest trip over the road to Hammondsport on Saturday.

After going ahead by a single run, the offense would then go on to produce seven unanswered runs to push their buffer zone out to the farthest point it would go between the two squads. Despite the host Lakers and their incredible rally in the late stages, Andover/Whitesville was able to hang onto their victory to end the afternoon on a positive note by a 12-9 count.

“We definitely did a nice job coming out and having good at-bats,” Andover/Whitesville co-coach Jake Bannerman said. “We left 11 guys on base, so we have to continue to do a better job of cashing runners in. I am proud of Colton (Calladine), Brody (Vance) and Vinny (Joyce) for how well they threw, and Jake (Mattison) caught a great game for them. The sixth inning was a weird one with a swinging bunt, pop-ups missed and slow rollers all mixed in. But aside from that, I am proud of the guys and their job at the plate today.”

Following a 3-2 lead after the first inning of play, Andover/Whitesville (3-8) kick the tires on their offense while Colton Calladine remained in complete command of his game on the mound, as they scored the next seven runs to take a 10-2 lead of the Lakers entering the sixth inning. Calladine’s start would stretch into the fourth inning, as he held Hammondsport at bay behind eight strikeouts and a walk.

Because of his efforts, Calladine would claim the victory on the mound.

The eight-run lead would evaporate in the bottom of the sixth when the hosts in purple broke the scoreless wall down with a massive six-run stanza, fueled by special teams play, to climb well within reach of Andover/Whitesville again entering the final inning of play. But the response that the visitors provided would be just enough to hang onto their victory in the end, as the defense froze Hammondsport one last time in the bottom half to close the game out.

Between the two teams, 25 total hits were collected, with Andover/Whitesville claiming a 14-11 advantage. Of the hits, Rogan Perkins led the way with a 2-for-3 outing and four RBI.

Andover/Whitesville is back home Monday night for a 6 p.m. first pitch against incoming Alfred-Almond in Andover.

Andover/Whitesville 302 212 2 – 12 14 3

Hammondsport 200 006 1 – 9 11 2

A/W – Colton Calladine (WP) (8K, BB), Brody Vance (4) (K, 3BB), Vinny Joyce (7) (K, 2BB) and Jake Mattison.

HAM – Silas Scofield (LP) (9K, 5BB), Osmond (7) (K, 2BB) and Cayden Castlebury.