Monday Roundup: Eagles baseball outlasts Rebels at Houghton College, C-R softball scores 13 unanswered to strafe towards 23-11 win over Lady Eagles; Hornell golf works past Wellsville on the road

HOUGHTON/FILLMORE — The final week of the regular season has officially taken off, and although much of the night's action has been held off due to the all-day rain the area has come under, the Eagles of Fillmore and the Rebels of Cuba-Rushford would continue to do battle at Houghton College on Monday.

What a battle it was.

In the first three innings of play, multiple lead changes between the two clubs were dealt, along with some impressive stands of defense to go with it. With the game tied at four coming down the homestretch, the chance to do some big damage would come about.

That would come from a pitcher who took control of the mound since the beginning – Zach Sisson.

While the Fillmore sophomore was dealing left and right, he would wind up jumpstarting the Eagles fifth inning of offense, reaching base on a single before making his way around the bases and into home on special teams, providing the go-ahead run that the team needed to win the early duel with Cuba-Rushford by a 5-4 count on Senior Night.

The Eagles (13-2) started fast in their first tenure at the plate, vaulting out the gate with a 2-0 lead on the Rebels behind a big bat handled by Brent Zubikowski, who crushed a two-run double to the outfield to break the ice.

In turn, the Rebels (7-10) would take their first lead of the game almost immediately afterwards in the visiting half of the second, with Sam Grover driving in a pair of runs on a single before scoring himself on a passed ball to the backstop behind home.

But the lead would not last long, as Fillmore came right back in the home half with a big tenure themselves, one that was provided by Graham Cahill who had the team's biggest hit of the game – a two-run blast two deep right center field that put the Eagles back ahead.

Cahill would finish as the team's leading hitter, garnering three of them of the team's eight, including a triple.

“It was an interesting game to say the least. The rain didn't stop us one bit, and the game moved pretty quick and it moved smoothly,” said Eagles coach Bill Nolan. “Zach (Sisson) took a little bit to warm up, but once he found his rhythm, he ended up throwing pretty well for us today. The field has some long alleys in the outfield, but Graham was able to get us going with that big home run. That gave us a boost.”

The back-and-forth early battle would wind down in the top of the third when Cuba-Rushford found a way to tie the game back up again, scoring one run to reach a 4-4 deadlock with the Eagles that would continue to be intertwined until the homestretch arrived.

Through the scoreless stands of defense, the Eagles were able to come away with the go-ahead run they needed to take back control of the game for good, as Sisson scored on error after reaching base off a hit that saw him wind up 90 feet away from the plate later on, taking the lead back for good to seal the deal.

Sisson would receive credit for the team's victory on the mound, as he provided a superb showing behind nine strikeouts and one walk before Luke Colombo added two more fans in relief.

As for the Rebels, Jon White struck out one and walked one in his four innings pitched. On offense, the team came away with just four hits, with Grover, Austin Pinney, Noah Siegel and Hunter Rix all collecting a hit. Cuba-Rushford will continue their road swing on Wednesday with a 6 p.m. visit to Andover, taking on host Andover/Whitesville.

The Eagles will wrap up their regular season right back at Houghton College on Thursday, as they host the Red Jacket Indians in a 6:30 p.m. first pitch.

Down the road and behind the school, a completely different story as both softball squads waged war from start to finish. When it was all said and done, 34 total runs would have come across the plate behind a combined 24 hits at the plate.

An offensive affair to say the least which was powered by Cuba-Rushford's epic finish in the last two innings of play, overtaking what was an 11-10 lead held by the host Lady Eagles by scoring the game's final 13 runs to pull away and towards a 23-11 triumph under the lights to spoil Fillmore's Senior Night.

“It was Senior Night and we recognized all eight of our girls. They all started and saw action. It was a marathon game with 34 runs scored. Cuba-Rushford was just more effective in each aspect of the game. Their one error compared to our six, doubled us in hits and had less walks, it was all too much to overcome,” said Lady Eagles coach Jon Beardsley. “There were signs from both teams that says that they can play some ball. We just needed to be cleaner and should expect to win when scoring 11 runs. Cuba-Rushford never let up offensively and we didn't help ourselves. We will get ready for Sectionals on Saturday, and if we come to play, we can make some noise.”

In the first three innings alone, it would create a 6-6 tie between both teams right away, with Cuba-Rushford (5-10) quickly finding the edge through the first two innings of play. Baserunning would prove to be a crucial standpoint in the game, especially early on, when Fillmore responded with all five of their runs in the bottom of the third scored off a mixture of walks and sacrifices into the field.

The back-and-forth pendulum continued to sway between each team, with the Lady Rebels regaining the lead right back in the fourth with a four-run frame, led by a pair of RBI off Riley Keller's single into center coming before a Laney Murphy RBI double back in the same direction to help them eclipse the double-digit plateau.

Keller would have the biggest bat of the bunch for the Lady Rebels, going 4-for-6 with a pair of doubles, and six total RBI.

Fillmore (9-7) would cut that deficit down to a pair in the home half of the inning with Saige Friedl driving in both her RBI on a single into left field. The momentum would help the hosts in white and green take the lead back in the fifth after dealing a scoreless fifth to Cuba-Rushford on defense.

Three more runs scratched across, two off of Torann Wolfer's single into right before scoring herself an at-bat later on a passed ball to the backstop, giving the Lady Eagles their final lead of the game by an 11-10 count after the Lady Rebels found their way off the field with the next two outs.

Cuba-Rushford would then assume total control in the final two innings of the night, as they scored the last 13 runs in a row, eight of them coming in an epic seventh-inning finish that allowed them to branch their lead out permanently to secure the victory.

The win on defense was awarded to Jordyn Radomski in relief for the visitors in gray and blue, as she collected a pair of strikeouts in her two innings pitched, coming in for Sydney Howard who went the first five frames with six strikeouts and six walks.

Helping Keller and her six RBI day at the plate was Lillian Forward and her perfect 4-for-4 outing at the plate, collecting a double and two RBI along the way, while Elysa Tylor had three hits and four more RBI to chip in.

On the other side of the field, Friedl went the complete seven innings for Fillmore with four strikeouts and eight walks. She would also have one of the team's leading bats on the attack, going 2-for-3 with a double and her two-run single. Lizzy Nugent added in two hits of her own including a triple.

The end of the regular season has been reached for the Lady Eagles, as they await their place in the Class D Tournament behind a record of 9-7. As for Cuba-Rushford, they will put a bow on their regular season back home tonight, hosting Friendship/Scio in a 5 p.m. first pitch.

Baseball

Cuba-Rushford 031 000 0 – 4 4 2

Fillmore 220 010 X – 5 8 2

C-R – Jon White (K, BB), Benson McCumiskey (LP, 5) (K, BB), and Logan Lewis.

FIL – Zach Sisson (WP) (9K, BB), Luke Colombo (6) (2K), and Alex Ellsworth.

Softball

Cuba-Rushford 330 405 8 – 23 16 1

Fillmore 105 230 0 – 11 8 6

C-R – Sydney Howard (6K, 6BB), Jordyn Radomski (WP, 6) (2K), and Riley Keller.

FIL – Saige Friedl (LP) (CG, 4K, 8BB), and Lizzy Nugent.

GOLF

Hornell 189, Wellsville 212

WELLSVILLE — Although the cold, rainy and windy conditions put a damper on Wellsville's season finale at the Wellsville Country Club, it did not stop them from wrapping up the slate with a balanced scorecard up and down the lineup.

But in the end, some brilliant golfing from three different Red Raiders at the top of the scorecard, including the match's medalist Dylan Harwood, played a key role for Hornell in their road victory over the Lions on Monday, taking the 189-212 win.

Harwood navigated his way to the top of the scorecard for Hornell by earning top honors, as he fired the match-low round of 44. Christian Babcock and Ian Ashworth were both not far behind their fellow golfer, as they chipped in rounds of 47 and 48 each. Alex Norton turned in a 50. Colin McCumiskey rounded off with a 58.

Leading Wellsville (7-5) was Jack Jordan, who carded a team-low round of 50. Serena Boussa shot her best round of the season to help the cause for the hosts, pitching in with a career-low of 53. Briar Dye and Mason Parks each had a round of 55 to add, while Dylon Day finished off the Lions scorecard with a 56.

The regular season for Wellsville is now in the books, as they conclude with a record of 7-5 overall.