Local Sports

Medina Unified caps 7-0 season with win

By Mike Wertman, Sports Writer Posted 28 May 2025 at 8:10 pm

The Medina Unified basketball team completed a 7-0 season by downing Grand Island 72-48 today.

Adam Weese scored 18, Jacen Kaiser 16, Matthew Kennedy 14 and Kamron Say 10 to lead the Medina offense as Xavier Moyer added 6 and Carolynne Schlegel and Lexi Lowery both chipped in with 4.

Mustangs will face familiar foe in B semifinal

By Mike Wertman, Sports Writer Posted 28 May 2025 at 3:13 pm

Photo by Cheryl Wertman – Medina’s Kolton Fletcher, shown here sliding into third base, and his Mustang teammates will host Fredonia in the Class B semifinals at 7 p.m. Thursday at Vets Park.

Defending champion Medina will face a familiar foe in Thursday evening’s Section VI Class B baseball semifinal as the top seeded Mustangs will host No. 4 Fredonia at 7 p.m. at Vets Park.

It marks the second year in a row that Medina and Fredonia have met in the later rounds of the Section VI playoffs.

Last spring Medina nipped Fredonia 4-3 in the Class B championship game at Grand Island, a memorable contest that was interrupted in the seventh inning by a three hour rain delay.

Trailing 4-2, Medina regained the lead for good in the sea-saw contest by scoring twice in the bottom of the sixth inning as a single by Carter Woodworth drove in the tying run and Richard Keppler followed with a double to plate what proved to be the game winner.

Lighting and monsoon rains then halted play with one out in the top of the seventh. When play resumed three hours later Mustangs relief hurler Preston Woodworth quickly got the deciding last two outs registering a strikeout for the final out.

Medina brings a 19-1 record into Thursday’s semifinal while Fredonia is 12-8.

The Mustangs nipped Niagara-Orleans League rival Roy-Hart 3-2 in the quarterfinals on Tuesday.

The Hillbillies have advanced with a pair of shutout victories 11-0 over Newfane in the first round and 10-0 over Salamanca in the quarterfinals.

The victor will advance to Saturday’s Class B championship game which is scheduled for 4 p.m. at Frontier High School.

Lady Tigers will host Class D semi Thursday

By Mike Wertman, Sports Writer Posted 28 May 2025 at 3:00 pm

Photo by Cheryl Wertman – Lyndonville’s Alexa Robinson, shown here sliding into home, and her Lady Tiger teammates will host Fillmore on Thursday in the semifinals of the Section V Class D softball playoffs.

Having successfully cleared the first two postseason hurdles, top seeded Lyndonville will next host No. 4 Fillmore in the semifinals of the Section V Class D softball tournament at 5 p.m. Thursday.

The victor will advance to Saturday’s Class D championship game against the winner of the other semifinal between No. 3 Keshequa and No. 2 Avoca-Prattsburgh. The title contest is scheduled for 11 a.m. at Honeoye Falls-Lima.

Lyndonville brings a 19-2 record into the semifinals while Fillmore is 15-4.

Both teams have advanced with a pair of lopsided playoff wins.

Lyndonville defeated Hinsdale 16-0 in the opening round and Notre Dame 10-1 in the quarterfinals.

Fillmore bested Lima Christian 13-1 in the first round and Andover-Whitesville 15-0 in the quarterfinals.

Mustangs rally in 7th to nip Rams in Class B sectional quarterfinal contest

By Mike Wertman, Sports Writer Posted 27 May 2025 at 10:16 pm

Photos by Cheryl Wertman – Medina’s Tyler Kroening is safe at second as the ball eludes Roy-Hart’s Jared Hy during the Mustangs narrow sectional win over the Rams at Vets Park this evening.

In a down to the wire thriller, top seeded Medina opened defense of its Section VI Class B baseball title by pushing across a run in the bottom of the seventh inning to nip Niagara-Orleans League rival Roy-Hart 3-2 in the quarterfinals this evening at Vets Park.

The Mustangs loaded the bases in the bottom of the seventh on a walk and two intentional walks as the game winning run then crossed the plate on a dropped third strike (wild pitch).

Roy-Hart had jumped out to an early 2-0 lead by scoring twice in the second inning on a single by Lincoln Morly and an error.

Medina, which had left the bases loaded in the first inning, got on the scoreboard with a run in the third on two walks and a passed ball.

The Mustangs then tied the contest at 2-2 in the fifth frame as Aidan Papaj walked, stole second and third and came home on a single by Preston Woodworth.

Roy-Hart pitcher Gavin Heideman then registered a key strikeout to end the inning. Heideman, who scattered 4 hits and fanned 11 in six and one-third innings of work on the mound, also notched a key strikeout to end the sixth inning as the Mustangs left a runner stranded at third.

Brody Fry went the distance on the mound for Medina giving up only 2 hits and striking out 8. He had a clutch strikeout to end the top of the seventh as the Rams left a runner stranded at third.

Improving to 19-1, Medina will next host Fredonia in a Class B semifinal on Thursday.

Southwestern ousts Akron
In another Class B quarterfinal, No. 6 seed Southwestern erased a 5-2 deficit by scoring 4 runs in the top of the seventh inning to nip No. 3 Akron 6-5 at Akron.

Akron left the bases loaded in the bottom of the seventh.

Medina’s Aidan Papaj slides under the tag attempt by Roy-Hart’s RJ Townsend.

Roy-Hart’s Evan Poeller hauls in a fly ball in centerfield.

Barker wins Class C semifinal thriller

By Mike Wertman, Sports Writer Posted 27 May 2025 at 9:53 pm

Photos’s by Cheryl Wertman – Barker’s Kaylee Stoll bangs out the game winning RBI single in the bottom of the seventh inning at today’s sectional semifinal at Barker.

Showing plenty of flare for the dramatic, top seeded Barker pushed across a run in the bottom of the seventh inning to nip visiting No. 5 Falconer 1-0 in the semifinal round of the Section VI Class C softball tournament this afternoon.

Kaylee Stoll banged out a bases loaded RBI single to give Barker the walk-off victory and a spot in Friday’s Class C championship game. Two walks and a bunt single by Aine Davis loaded the bases to set up the opportunity.

Stoll and winning pitcher Madyson Flint both had a pair of hits on the day.

In the circle, Flint scattered 6 hits and struck out 7.

Falconer’s best scoring threat came in the first inning as two singles and a walk loaded the bases with two out. However, Flint got out the jam by registering a clutch inning ending strikeout.

Improving to 17-4, Barker will now face No. 2 seed Chautauqua Lake in the Class C title game at 5 p.m. Friday at the Olean Middle School.

Chautauqua Lake downed No. 6 Randolph 13-1 in the other semifinal.

Kendall bows in C2 quarterfinal
No. 5 seed Kendall dropped a 7-0 decision to No. 4 Bolivar-Richburg in the quarterfinals of the Section V Class c2 tournament this afternoon.

Bolivar-Richburg pitcher Kylee Whiting hurled a 1 hitter with 15 strikeouts.

Madyson Flint hurled a shutout in the circle for Barker.

Barker outfielders, from left, Aine DAvis, Alina Riches and Fallyn Mescall all took turns making key outs,

Mustangs and Rams set to meet again in sectional playoffs; Eagles to host Hornets

By Mike Wertman, Sports Writer Posted 26 May 2025 at 10:36 am

Photos by Cheryl Wertman – Set for sectional playoff action this coming week are, from left, Kendall’s Jonas Rhodes, Medina’s Ryleigh Culver and Roy-Hart’s Gavin Heideman.

A meeting in the sectional playoffs has just about become an annual event for the Medina and Roy-Hart baseball teams and this season is no exception.

The top seeded defending champion Mustangs will host the No. 9 seeded Rams in the quarterfinal round of the Section VI Class B tournament at 7 p.m. Tuesday at Vets Park.

The game time is changed from its original 5 p.m. starting time.

This marks the fourth time in five years the Medina and Roy-Hart have met in the playoffs. Last year Medina trimmed Roy-Hart 3-1 in the Class B semifinals. Prior to that in both 2022 and 2021 the Mustangs topped the Rams in the Class B2 finals.

This spring the Mustangs scored a pair of early Niagara-Orleans League season wins over the Rams. However, the Rams rebounded from an 0-3 start to the league by going 7-2 to close the N-O season.

The victor of Tuesday’s contest will face the winner of the No. 5 Salamanca vs. No. 4 Fredonia quarterfinal in the semifinals on Thursday.

The Rams advanced to Tuesday’s quarterfinal by outlasting No. 8 East Aurora 12-10 in the opening round at East Aurora.

Medina is 18-1 on the season and Roy-Hart 10-6.

The N-O League is also represented in the other half of the Class B bracket as No. 3 Akron will host No. 6 Southwestern at 5 p.m. Tuesday. The victor will then take on the winner of the No. 7 Alden vs. No. 2 JFK quarterfinal in the semifinals on Thursday.

Kendall in Class C2 semifinals
Top seeded Kendall, which has a 20-1 record, will host Genesee Region League for No. 5 Oakfield-Alabama in the semifinals of the Section V Class C2 tournament at 5 p.m. Wednesday.

The Eagles downed the Hornets 11-1 during the G-R season.

The victory will face the winner of the No. 3 Gananda vs. No. 2 Genesee Valley/Belfast semi in the championship game.

Kendall blanked No. 8 Perry 11-0 in the opening round while Oakfield-Alabama topped No. 4 Honeoye 11-4 in 8 innings.

Sectional softball semis next for Barker and Lyndonville; Kendall in quarterfinals

By Mike Wertman, Sports Writer Posted 26 May 2025 at 10:22 am

Photos by Cheryl Wertman – Getting set for this coming week’s sectional softball contests are, from left, Kendall’s Brooke Rodas, Barker’s Naomi Bish and Lyndonville’s Isabella Groves.

Top seeded Barker will host No. 5 Falconer in the semifinals of the Section VI Class C softball tournament at 5 p.m. Tuesday.

The victor will face the winner of the No. 6 Randolph vs. No. 2 Chautauqua Lake semi in the championship game on Friday at Olean.

Also on Tuesday, No. 5 Kendall will face No. 4 Bolivar-Richburg in the quarterfinals of the Section V Class C2 tournament at 5 p.m. at Fillmore.

On Thursday, top seeded Lyndonville will face No. 4 Fillmore at 5 p.m. in the semifinals of the Section V Class D tournament. That game is expected to be played at Lyndonville.

The championship game is scheduled for Saturday at Honeoye Falls-Lima.

Akron wins, Barker bows in Class B sectionals

By Mike Wertman, Sports Writer Posted 25 May 2025 at 5:12 pm

No. 3 seed Akron nipped Niagara-Orleans League foe No. 14 Wilson 2-1 in the pre-quarterfinal round of the Section VI Class B baseball tournament this afternoon at Barker.

Akron will now host No. 6 Southwestern in the quarterfinals at 5 p.m. Tuesday.

A sacrifice fly by Vince Consiglio in the bottom of the fifth inning, which snapped a 1-1 tie, provided the margin of victory for Akron which then needed to get out of a bases loaded jam in the seventh inning to lock up the win.

In a Class C pre-quarterfinal, No. 7 Chautauqua Lake downed visiting No. 10 Barker 7-3.

Chautauqua Lake, which got out of a no out bases loaded jam without allowing a run in the first inning, erupted for five runs in the second to key the win.

Kendall will face Oakfield-Alabama
In a Section V Class C2 quarterfinal, No. 5 Oakfield-Alabama erupted for 8 runs in the top of the eighth inning to down No. 4 Bolivar-Richburg 11-4 and earn a trip to No. 1 Kendall Wednesday in the semifinals.

Sandstone nips Carlton in Midget contest

By Mike Wertman, Sports Writer Posted 25 May 2025 at 5:04 pm

Sandstone edged past Carlton 7-6 in an Albion Midget League 12U Division baseball game this past week.

Trailing 6-4, Sandstone rallied for the win by scoring three times in the bottom of the sixth on two walks and a fielders choice play off the bat of Blake Brown.

Sandstone also scored four times in the second inning highlighted by a three-run double by Bryce Saxton.

Carlton took what proved to be a brief 6-4 lead by scoring three times in the top of the sixth highlighted by an RBI hit by Wyatt Ernst.

Nikko Russo had 3 hits and Saxton 2 for Sandstone.

Alex Piccirilli had 2 hits for Carlton.

Holley and Kendall have G-R track winners

By Mike Wertman, Sports Writer Posted 25 May 2025 at 10:20 am

Holley had two individual event winners and Kendall one at the Genesee Region League track championship meet held at Holley on Saturday.

Holley’s Alivia Wolf won the Pentathlon (2103 points) and Vinny Golisano the Triple Jump (40-2 3/4) while Kendall’s Leann Clay won the High Jump (4-6).

Kendall also had Brandon Barrett and Addison Kludt both place second in the Long Jump as did Holley’s Allison Merle in the 100 Hurdles.