Wednesday Roundup: Friendship/Scio stays alive in Division II title hunt, knocking off host Belfast with 4-2 win through pitcher’s duel

Written By Chris Brooks

BELFAST — It was deemed the game of the year, according to Bulldogs head coach Derek Kenyon. After their 16-4 loss to the hands of Cuba-Rushford back on Monday, Belfast’s forthcoming matchup with rival Friendship/Scio two days later was one that saw multiple implications shroud the diamond when the on-and-off rain showers dissipated, and the lights switched on.

A win for the Bulldogs meant their fifth straight year locking up the Allegany County Division II Championship. But on the other end of it, a loss to the Golden Eagles would dwindle their chances of winning this year’s title to an outright position with four games remaining on their schedule.

The message? — Go out and win the game.

“It’s the game of the year. If we win, it’s our fifth straight County title. That was it, and I told the kids that this was the game we needed to do it in,” Kenyon said. “This is what we play for so we can get that home Sectional game in a couple of weeks time. We match up well with Friendship/Scio, and I would rather play in a game such as this, games that we can learn from, as opposed to being on winning and losing ends of lopsided games.”

Both teams were well represented in attendance, with the atmosphere surrounding the Rich Sullivan Complex reminiscent of a Sectional game — something Friendship/Scio and Belfast will get to experience officially in short time, with the end of the regular season coming to a close next week. It was clear the stakes were high, and it was also clear that the two rivals gave everything they had to make sure they came out on top.

While Friendship/Scio hurler Cory Bolzan and Belfast ace Carter Stout traded punches on the rubber throughout the evening, it was up to the offenses to decide who would deliver the signature Mike Tyson knockout.

With the game tied at two heading into the last two innings, the Golden Eagles provided such a punch.

After starting the season 0-2, Friendship/Scio would go on to post their seventh straight victory, as they used a massive RBI double from Ian Romero to take the lead back from Belfast before extending upon it with their baserunning in the seventh, surviving a late bases-loaded threat from the Bulldogs along the way to secure the bag on a 4-2 edging which renders them still alive in the hunt for this year’s Division II title.

“I’m pretty excited, and I’m excited for the kids. It’s like we just won the championship, and beating a team like Belfast doesn’t come around very often,” said Friendship/Scio coach Brad Gertis. “We battled right with them the whole way through, especially when they came back to tie the game at one point. We never gave up, and Bolzan threw the limit when we needed him to, and Joey (Bednez) came in and threw strikes, we made plays behind them and he shut the door. It’s an exciting time of the year to see the kids be up on every pitch, cheering them on and running out there to celebrate the win.”

With the victory, the Golden Eagles, in their first official season as a combined unit with Scio, are in contention for at least a share of the Allegany County Division II title with Belfast. How they managed to do it? — They had to fight their way through a pitcher’s duel and a defensive battle behind them.

Zeroes were exchanged left and right through the first three innings of play between Bolzan and Stout on the rubber for their respective teams, and multiple bases were awarded with runners. But no runs would come in to score, with the exchange rate of many quick innings behind the cause of the battle.

When the back half of the game came around in the fourth, the offenses began to come around beginning with Friendship/Scio (7-2) in the top half, as they were the first the break through the ice when Joey Bednez and Cory Bolzan led off the inning with back-to-back singles. After Cam Loucks moved Bednez over on a fielder’s choice to the left side, it provided Ian Romero a chance to bring him in on the next at-bat.

He did just that with the first of two massive RBIs, poking a blast into right field that hugged the right field line but stood fair to give the Golden Eagles the early lead on the Bulldogs. That lead would branch to two later on when the visitors in black and purple loaded up the bags behind Stout and the defense, scoring it off heads-up baserunning to complete their fourth inning.

Strikeouts would be exchanged across the next full inning of play between both squads before Belfast’s (4-5) response came in the bottom of the fifth. It would bring a 2-2 tie to the dinner table with a pair of runners reaching, with their first ultimately coming home to score on a passed ball to the backstop, and their next off a Matt Weaver sacrifice fly to deep right field to score Garrett Miller to close the gap to dead even after five complete.

But the deadlock would not stay secure long.

With one swing of the bat, Romero gave the Golden Eagles the lead right back in the top of the sixth after Loucks reached on a lead-off walk, providing another massive belt into the outfield — a no-out double to deep center field to put Friendship/Scio back on top, and in control of their own destiny with a 3-2 lead on the Bulldogs.

“It wasn't our usual group of guys that put this together either,” Gertis said. “We had a bunch of kids step up, including Joey Nickerson who took one for the team to get on base and get us started. The bottom guys got on and moved us along. Then Cam and Cory as a threat, and then Ian had a couple of big shots to get us in it. It's not just one or two kids, everyone is doing their part no matter what it is.”

Perhaps the biggest chance for Belfast to make some noise came in the bottom half of the sixth inning — one of the more crucial times of the contest. After a Stephen Struckmann lead-off mammoth double to left field, the bases would soon begin to fill until there was no more vacancies on the dirt. With all the bags loaded and nobody out, a quick conversation on the hill between Bolzan, joined by his teammates, and his coach — Kevin Mole.

Soon after, a complete running of the table. Bolzan would go on to strike out the next three batters at the plate to leave every single bag loaded to get Friendship/Scio off the field, and eliminating Belfast’s best opportunity to strike.

“He’s a senior, and he’s a kid that’s played a ton of baseball all throughout his career.” Mole said of Bolzan. “Just like Cam the other night, this was a great moment for him. He’s a very upbeat and competitive kid, and there’s no place he’d rather be than right in the middle of it. It was really a great performance out of him tonight.”

With the propulsion established after Bolzan’s rebound inning, Friendship/Scio had one last run come across in the final inning that extended their lead back out to a pair on Belfast, using a throwing error to their advantage to score from third to make it a 4-2 game for good, as the Golden Eagles concluded the night with Bednez strikeout in relief and a game-ending 6-3 pop fly double play conducted by Loucks at shortstop.

“That was a good game, a really good game,” Kenyon said. “They just played better than us, and we let ourselves out of the game with our errors and our baserunning mistakes. They wanted this more, and we tried to keep it at a one-run game, but a bad throw got in the way of that. But that’s why you play the game. Aside from that, we did what we could to keep ourselves in it until the end.”

Although the Bulldogs fell on the wrong side of the decision, they would get a masterful performance out of Carter Stout on the mound with a whopping 14 chairs being handed out along with just one walk across just over five innings of his start. Kenyon applauded his ace’s efforts.

“Carter's big time, and he's young. He knows how to play the game of baseball, and he looks good in our future. He wanted the ball tonight, and that's what I want out of my pitchers.” he said.

On the other side, it was Bolzan that picked up the win in a six-inning start, recording nine strikeouts of his own to pair with four walks. On offense, the Golden Eagles out hit the Bulldogs narrowly by a 7-6 count, with Bednez and Romero each leading the way with their two hits.

As for hosts in red and black, Max Miller recorded a 3-for-4 outing that included a pair of doubles. Belfast will return to action on Friday, looking to rebound over the road with a 5 p.m. first pitch slated in Whitesville.

With the victory, all Friendship/Scio will need to do to clinch a share of this year’s Division II title is win out the remaining two league games on their slate — hosting Andover and visiting Whitesville coming up next Wednesday and Thursday, respectively.

But beforehand, the Golden Eagles have perhaps their toughest test of the season coming up after the weekend, as they look to extend their win streak to eight straight when they hit the road again on Tuesday to face off against the Rebels of Cuba-Rushford in a 5 p.m. first pitch.

Gertis and Mole both agree on a word that describes their next opponent — quality.

“We’re definitely going into every game feeling like we can win the game,” Gertis said. “That’s how we’re going to approach Tuesday. Cuba-Rushford is a quality team, and we’re going to put our best nine out there and give them everything we have. Hopefully, we can use that and move on toward Andover, and then to Whitesville to finish it off.”

Mole added, “They are quality, and they will be a great barometer as we come into the homestretch. We’re playing better every day. Seven wins in a row is great, but Cuba will bring a great test to us. It might be our biggest one of the year when that day comes. It’s definitely one we’re looking forward to, that’s for sure.”

Friendship/Scio 000 201 1 – 4 6 1

Belfast 000 020 0 – 2 7 2

F/S – Cory Bolzan (WP) (9K, 4BB), Joey Bednez (7) (K), and Ian Romero.

BEL – Carter Stout (LP) (14K, BB), Stephen Struckmann (6) (BB), and Justin Hill.

Elmira 12, Wellsville 1

WELLSVILLE — The Elmira Express took advantage of everything that came their way when they hit the road for the Lion’s Den on Wednesday, as they scored a hot start right from the get-go and built upon it, scoring the last nine runs of the game after a 3-1 lead to take the 12-1 decision over the Lions.

Elmira held Wellsville to just a single run in the bottom of the third winning, which came from Liam McKinley, who also had one of the team’s four total hits at the plate. The top of the Express order wreaked havoc against the Lions (6-4), with their second and third hitters — Matt Coon and Trevor Morrell combining for seven RBI, with Coon blasting the game open even further in the top of the seventh with a three-run blast to straightaway center field.

Alex Ordiway and Alex Green led the Wellsville bats with a double each, while Tim Jones recorded a single off the bench. On the mound, Logan Dunbar struck out three and walked four in his start.

The Lions will look to regroup when they return to action Friday night with a 5 p.m. first pitch slated against Genesee Valley in the Lion’s Den.

Elmira 300 240 3 – 12 8 0

Wellsville 001 000 0 – 1 4 5

ELM – Landon Morton (WP) (11K, 3BB), Matt Coon (5) (4K, BB), and Ryan Ess.

WLSV – Logan Dunbar (LP) (3K, 4BB), Jere Havens (2) (2K, 2BB), Cody Costello (6) (K, BB), and Alex Green.

Cuba-Rushford 13, Fillmore 10

FILLMORE — The Rebels and Eagles were engaged in a wild, high-scoring affair that eventually found its way toward a 10-10 tie heading into the final inning of play, Wednesday night.

In the end, one hit changed everything. That belonged to Trent Chamberlain, as the Cuba-Rushford senior blasted a hit to break one final deadlock — a bases-clearing double to the deep portion of the outfield in the top of the seventh to give the team back a 13-10 lead that they would hold onto toward victory, their sixth in the last seven, over host Fillmore.

12 hits combined between the two foes were gathered at the plate, with Fillmore outhitting the Rebels by a 7-5 count. But a load of the runs by Cuba-Rushford (8-3) were scored using their baserunning to their advantage, capitalizing on multiple errors committed by the hosts in gray and green to keep themselves one step ahead.

After multiple trades were exchanged, the game eventually landed at a 10-10 tie after the Eagles (6-4) scored a massive five-run bottom half of the sixth inning to get there. But it would not last long when the seventh approached, as Chamberlain delivered the devastating blow to put the visitors in blue and maroon back out on top for good with his massive bases-clearing double to earn the 13-10 lead, and ultimate victory.

Chamberlain would also provided a solid showing on the rubber in his five-inning start, striking out five and walking five. Noah Seigel added in a double to help further the offensive cause. On the other side, Fillmore saw Zach Sisson fan six and walk three in his four-inning start on the hill. At the plate, Mitch Ward and Graham Cahill each gathered two hits to flare up the offense for the hosts, who hit the road on Friday to visit Hinsdale at 5 p.m.

Cuba-Rushford heads back home for a rapid turnaround tonight, as they host Bolivar-Richburg in a monumental Division I showdown that could determine the future of this year’s County title. Both the Rebels and Wolverines have split two games already this season, with Cuba-Rushford taking the first by a 10-9 decision in extras, and later, a 12-2 shortened non-League contest during Tournament action in Bolivar.

First pitch is slated for a 5 p.m. start in Cuba.

Cuba-Rushford 002 503 3 – 13 5 4

Fillmore 030 205 0 – 10 7 7

C-R – Trent Chamberlain (5K, 5BB), Austin Pinney (WP, 6) (3K), and Logan Lewis.

FIL – Zach Sisson (6K, 3BB), Aaron Buck (LP, 5) (3K, 3BB), and Brent Zubikowski.

SOFTBALL

Fillmore 7, Cuba-Rushford 6

CUBA — As the old saying goes: “It’s not how you start, but how you finish.” Although a fast start was built by Fillmore in the first two innings, the response by host Cuba-Rushford was even quicker, scoring all six of their runs in the bottom of the sixth to overtake the Lady Eagles in the driver’s seat, in the early-going of Wednesday’s clash.

With Fillmore quickly in the hole by four heading into the back half of the game, they went back to work and found a way to rally back, scoring two runs in the fourth inning to tie the game at six before using special teams to their advantage later on in the seventh to score their final, and game-winning run to pull ahead of the Lady Rebels, snapping their three-game win streak with a 7-6 edging over the road.

Fillmore (3-3) would go on to build a 4-0 lead on Cuba-Rushford right from the start in the first two innings of play to set the tone. But a short time later, the Lady Rebels would go on to set a tone of their own, scoring the next six unanswered runs in a row, four of them with one out on the board, to take away the quickly established lead the Lady Eagles built and transform it in to a 6-4 advantage after two innings.

After a scoreless third inning passed, Fillmore remained vigilant and poised to take the lead back once and for all, beginning with a 6-6 tie they forced in the top of the fourth and ending with one final run coming across in the top of the seventh to take the win for good.

Fillmore scored seven runs off five total hits, with Lizzy Nugent providing the big bat behind a 3-for-4 performance that included a triple, double and two runs scored. Harley Miller added a double, while Kirstin Frazier added a hit of her own. In the circle, Frazier came up with six strikeouts against the Lady Rebels in her twirled five-hit victory.

Cuba-Rushford (4-7) was led by Taylor Searle, who had two of the team’s five total hits. Elysa Tylor added a double, while Hunter Jahnke chipped in with a single. On the mound, Sydney Howard struck out six and walked six in her five-hit outing.

Both teams are right back on the field tonight with 5 p.m. first pitches, as the Lady Eagles head back home to open up a home-at-home series with the Lady Jaguars of Genesee Valley, while the Lady Rebels hit the road to take on red hot Bolivar-Richburg.

Fillmore 220 200 1 – 7 5 3

Cuba-Rushford 060 000 0 – 6 5 1

FIL – Kirstin Frazier (WP) (CG, 6K), and Kada Frazier.

C-R – Sydney Howard (LP) (CG, 6K, 6BB), and Riley Keller.

Lady Jays sweep home twinbill against Scio

WHITESVILLE — The brooms were brought out by the Lady Jays of Whitesville, as their momentum built from their walk-off win over Andover just 24 hours ago carried over into the next night, as they swept their Wednesday home twinbill against visiting Scio with 20-5 and 21-7 victories over the Lady Tigers to record three straight wins.

In game one, Whitesville accounted for at least a pair of runs across every inning in their five-inning battle to begin the day, with multiple Lady Jays getting involved on offense. Rachel Jackson was among them, leading the bats with a perfect 3-for-3 performance, driving in three runs and scoring five times. Gabbi Hall added a two-run single and scored three runs, while Olivia Waters had two hits of her own and scored twice.

Helping further the cause was Jessica Erdmann and Serina Button, who had a hit and two RBI each, while Graci Lewis-Ellison had three runs to score. In the circle, Erdmann tallied the win in two-hit style, fanning one and walking six. On the other side, Scio was led by Jenn Dickens, who had one of the team’s two hits. Kiara Grover fanned six and walked seven in her complete game in the circle for the Lady Tigers.

It was more of the same to close out the day in game two for the Lady Jays (3-6), as they collected 21 runs off 24 total hits, with Zoey Lee propelling the team in the four-run first inning with a home run. Hall provided a pair of triples and five runs scored, while Button added in four hits including a triple of her own, a double and four runs scored. Waters and Bella Pepiciello each had three hits, while Jackson and Kennedy Bledsoe both had two hits for the Lady Jays, who scored 10 runs in the top of the seventh.

In the circle, Waters would pick up the victory for the hosts behind a three-hit performance, handing out seven chairs and walking three to seal the deal on defense.

For Scio (0-5), Celina Warboys led the bats with two of their three hits in game two, including a double and two runs scored. In the circle, Grover fanned four and walked five. The Lady Tigers head back home to welcome in Cuba-Rushford for a 10 a.m. meeting bright and early Saturday morning.

Whitesville will jump back onto their home field tonight with a 5 p.m. first pitch slated against the Lady Bulldogs of Belfast.

Game 1

Scio 300 02 – 5 2

Whitesville 348 32 – 20 14


SCIO – Kiara Grover (LP) (CG, 6K, 7BB), and Celina Warboys.

WHI – Jessica Erdmann (WP) (CG, K, 6BB), and Gabbi Hall.

Game 2

Whitesville 431 030 (10) – 21 24

Scio 100 032 1 – 7 3

WHI – Olivia Waters (WP) (CG, 7K, 3BB), and Gabbi Hall.
SCIO – Kiara Grover (LP) (CG, 4K, 5BB), and Celina Warboys.

Chris Brooks
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