Buchholz outduels Dunbar, Gaines delivers massive 6th inning punch to propel Wolverines towards 10th win in last 11 games with 6-3 win over Wellsville

BOLIVAR — Mother Nature wreaked havoc again on Wednesday. The cold rain that caused the grueling and gloomy conditions has been constant for nearly a week’s time has forced the Spring season to slow up down the home stretch.

With the weather’s wrath forcing the majority of another night’s worth of action aside, only one battle remained on the slate: Wellsville and Bolivar-Richburg.

A mid-season dance in the rain.

In a battle where both Logan Dunbar and Trey Buchholz went back and forth across a bulk of the contest, the offensive opportunities for both squads were limited. But through it all, the window of opportunity would open for the County’s hottest team. With a 1-1 tie to break, the Wolverines opened it up and began to climb through.

Starting in the third inning, Bolivar-Richburg gassed up the fuel tank and veered away from Wellsville, scoring the next five unanswered runs to pull ahead into the lead while avoiding a late Lions threat during the last-ups of the game, as they secured their 10th win in the last 11 games — their eighth in a row, by a 6-3 count.

“We’ll take this. It was a big win. Wellsville has always had a solid program, and it was a well-played game by both teams in not-so-ideal conditions,” said Wolverines coach Dustin Allen. “Reiss (Gaines) had a solid hit to kind of push it out for good late, but Wellsville wasn’t going to give up. They fought back. We got down early in the first, and we didn’t hang our heads. From there, we chipped away inning by inning, and Trey (Buchholz) led the way with another excellent performance along with some more excellent plays in the field. We knew Logan (Dunbar) was going to bring it for them, and he did.”

Both teams would use some special teams with runners in scoring position to their advantage across the first inning of play, as they came to a 1-1 tie through their opening at-bats, with Wellsville climbing aboard first on a hit into the outfield before Bolivar-Richburg responded with a key fielder’s choice back the other way.

After an even scoreless exchange in the second inning, the Wolverines (10-3) began to build, scoring the next five runs in a row beginning with a pair of runs in the bottom of the third off RBIs from Reiss Gaines and Aydin Sisson. With another run coming across in the fourth, the big extension to their lead would come during their final at-bats of the night — a two-run triple down the right field line by Gaines, taking a five-run lead into the seventh inning.

Although the Lions (6-8) were able to cut away at their deficit with a pair of runs, Trey Buchholz was able to shut the door completely to seal up another fantastic performance on the mound, as he held Wellsville to five hits while handing out nine chairs and walking two to garner the win.

At the plate, the Wolverines totaled six hits, with Sisson and James Margeson each recording two hits to lead the way. Buchholz would add in a double and score four runs.

For the Lions, Dunbar shelled out just as fantastic of a performance on the hill as Buchholz, going four innings while totaling nine strikeouts and four walks. At the plate, he along with Cody Costello, Cooper Brockway, Trenton Green and Aidan Riley all recorded a hit. Wellsville is now off until another road trip arrives on Monday, when they head out for a 5 p.m. visit to Wayland-Cohocton.

If weather permits, Bolivar-Richburg will resume play on the road with a 5 p.m. first pitch at Friendship/Scio, in Friendship.

Wellsville 100 000 2 – 3 5 4

Bolivar-Richburg 102 102 X – 6 6 2

WLSV – Logan Dunbar (LP) (9K, 4BB), Karson Grover (5) (2K, BB) and Trenton Green.

B-R – Trey Buchholz (WP) (CG, 9K, 2BB) and Aydin Sisson.