Albion and Medina to meet for B1 baseball title Thursday at Niagara Falls High School

Photo by Cheryl Wertman – Albion and Medina will meet in the baseball sectional finals for the first time on Thursday in the B1 title contest at Niagara Falls High School at 6 p.m. Here in an earlier season meeting, Medina’s Trevor Luthart gets set to take the throw as Albion’s Alex Gibson dives back to first base.

It will be a first in their long diamond rivalry as Albion and Medina meet for the Section VI Class B1 baseball championship on Thursday.

The Mustangs bring a 18-2 record and the Purple Eagles a 14-5 mark into the title contest which will be played at 6 p.m. at Niagara Falls High School (3890 Pine Ave.).

Medina bested Albion twice during the Niagara-Orleans season by scores of 10-5 and 3-1 in route to capturing the league title.

Medina, which is seeded No. 3, has advanced to the finals with three home field victories over lower seeded teams. The Mustangs shutout No. 14 CSAT 3-0 in the opening round, No. 11 Newfane 6-0 in the quarterfinals and then downed No. 7 Olean 12-1 in the semifinals.

Albion, which is seeded No. 9, has had a bit more of a challenging road to the finals having notched three road victories over higher seeds. The Purple Eagles downed No. 8 East Aurora 4-2 in the opening round, top seeded Springville 6-4 in the quarterfinals and No. 5 Depew 4-0 in the semifinals.

In marks the second year in a row that Medina has reached the finals. The Mustangs dropped a 4-2 decision to N-O rival Roy-Hart in last spring’s Class B2 title contest.

Albion’s last title round appearance was in 2014 when the Purple Eagles defeated Springville 8-3 for the Class A2 title. The Purple Eagles went on to nip Starpoint 2-1 for the overall Class A title and earn a berth in the state playoffs where they dropped a narrow 3-2 decision to Pittsford Sutherland in the Far West Regional.

In Thursday’s Class B2 final Roy-Hart will be looking to defend its title as the top seeded Rams will face No. 2 Gowanda at 4:30 p.m. at Depew High School.

The Rams advanced to the final by blanking N-O foe No. 5 Akron 7-0 in the semis while Gowanda downed No. 3 Allegany-Limestone 5-0.

Last year, after capturing the B2 title, Roy-Hart went on to defeat Olean 12-9 for the overall Section VI Class B title and a berth in the state playoffs. The Rams then downed Midlakes 10-1 in the Far West Regional before dropping a 7-1 decision to Seton Catholic from Binghamton in the state semifinals.