Photos by Cheryl Wertman – Medina pitcher Brody Fry celebrates after registering a game ending strikeout as the Mustangs downed Wellsville 8-3 in the Class B Far West Regional this morning at Grand Island High School.

A big late inning scoring burst earned Medina an 8-3 victory over Wellsville in the Class B Far West Regional this morning at Grand Island High School.

Breaking away from a 1-1 deadlock, Medina exploded for 7 runs in the bottom of the sixth inning to take control and earn a trip to the state semifinals this coming Friday in Binghamton.

A two-run single by Carter Woodworth capped off the decisive uprising for the Mustangs which also included an RBI single by Aidan Papaj, three runs on wild pitches and another on a balk. Singles by Woodworth and Brandon Christiaansen helped ignited the uprising.

“I just stayed with my approach and listened to my coaches,” said Woodworth who had a total of four hits on the day.

Papaj and Christiaansen also both banged out a pair of hits for the Mustangs.

Julian Woodworth moves in to make a catch in centerfield for the Mustangs.

Brody Fry went the distance on the mound for the Mustangs scattering 6 hits and striking out 9.

“I felt good and my defense played great behind me,” said Fry. “It’s pretty amazing.”

The Mustangs defense shined turning two key double plays in the first five innings. The first went from Papaj at shortstop to Preston Woodworth at second to Christiaansen at first. The second came in the fifth inning and went from Fry to Christiaansen.

Wellsville took a 1-0 lead in the top of the fourth inning on a one out RBI single by Cooper Brockway. However, Medina got out of further trouble in the frame as a flyout to Julian Woodworth in centerfield and a groundout to Papaj at short ended the threat as the Lions left runners stranded at second and third.

Medina, which had likewise left runners stranded at second and third in the third inning, quickly knotted the score with a run in the bottom of the fourth on an RBI double by Carter Woodworth. An error and a sacrifice bunt by Preston Woodworth set up the opportunity.

The Mustangs also left runners stranded at second and third in a scoreless fifth inning before finally taking control with the big 7 run sixth inning scoring explosion.

Wellsville did pick up a pair of runs in the top of the seventh but Fry quickly shutdown the uprising with a clutch game ending strikeout his third of the inning.

Medina will now take a 20-1 record into the state semifinals while Wellsville finishes the season at 21-2. The appearance will be the third for the Mustangs which previous were defeated in the 2003 and 2019 state semis.

The Mustangs advanced to the Far West Regional by defeating Fredonia 4-3 for the Section VI Class B title while The Lions nipped Notre Dame 1-0 for the Section V Class B title.

Carter Woodworth had a big 4 hit, 3 RBI day to lead Medina at the plate.

Medina had a large crowd of fans on hand for the Regional at Grand Island.

Improving to 3-0, the Orleans FC/Kendall Crossfires girls soccer team shutout Wayne 3-0 Thursday evening in a Rochester District Youth Soccer League U17 Division game.

Allyson Fisher, Haley Ball and Sophia Picardo took turns scoring the goals for Orleans FC which played the entire game without any subs.

Contributed Photo – Kendall’s quintet of cousins who all started for the Eagles this season includes, from left, Louie Conte, Jonny Conte, Vinnie D’Agostino, CJ D’Agostino and Sammy Conte.

“We are family” has long been a popular motto of many sports teams and it truly is an appropriate one for this year’s Kendall varsity baseball squad which had five starters who are cousins.

That Eagles quintet of cousins included Senior Louie Conte, his brother Sophomore Jonny Conte, his brother 8th grader Sammy Conte, along with cousins Sophomore Vinnie D’ Agostino and Freshman CJ D’Agostino.

“Baseball has been a family affair, with games a part of every family gathering,” said Bette Conte of her family’s avid interest and involvement in the diamond sport.

“Multiple generations have been part of Kendall school baseball/softball program,” she said. “The Conte boys mom, Amy D’Agostino Conte, Vinny’s dad, Phil D’Agostino and CJ’s dad, Charlie all were starting players while they attended Kendall High School in the 1990’s. Even PaPa D’Agostino played for Kendall in his day!”

“It is a love of baseball and pride in school and community that makes this such a special moment!” she added. “And just think, they’re are five more cousins (including one who is already an 8th grade star on the Varsity Softball team), ready to carry on the tradition of the Kendall Blue.”

Contributed Photos – Medina Unifed players and coaches celebrate capturing playoff championship today.

The Medina Unified basketball team captured a Section VI division playoff championship by defeating Hamburg 44-37 today at West Seneca.

Every player scored to help clinch the victory.

Xavier Moyer led the way with 14 points as Anthony Harrington added 10, Aiden Cherry 8, Matthew Kennedy 6, Lexi Lowery 4 and Russell Brunette 2.

Cherry also received the Character Award and Brunette the Sportsmanship Award.

Aiden Cherry brings the ball up court for Medina during today’s playoff championship win over Hamburg.

Photo by Cheryl Wertman – Medina’s Preston Woodworth and his Mustang teammates will face Wellsville in the Far West Regional on Saturday at Grand Island.

A berth in the state semifinals is on the line as Section VI champion Medina will take on Section V champion Wellsville in the Class B Far West Regional at 10 a.m. Saturday at Grand Island High School.

Medina, which brings a 19-1 record into the Regional, advanced by edging Fredonia 4-3 for the Section VI Class B title.

Wellsville, which is 21-1, nipped Notre Dame 1-0 to claim the Section V Class B title.

Both teams bring a deep pitching staff into the state playoffs.

Wellsville has seven pitchers who have earned wins this season led by senior Cooper Brockway and junior Gavin Haggerty who are both 5-0 and junior Ty Vogel who is 4-1.

Medina has five pitchers who have starts on the mound including senior Julian Woodworth (36 strikeouts), juniors Brody Fry (49Ks) and Lukas Grimes (15 Ks) along with freshmen Preston Woodworth (38 Ks) and Aidan Papaj (37 Ks).

Brockway also leads the Lions at the plate with a .438 batting average. Vogel, Karson Grover, Matt Ritter, Trent Green, Aiden Cowburn and Alex Green have all hit over .350.

Papaj, Brandon Christiaansen, Carter Woodworth and Julian Woodworth are all hitting over .300 for Medina while Fry, Ryleigh Culver and Richard Keppler are all hitting over .275. The Mustangs run production has also been very balanced as Papaj has 18 RBIs, Culver 16, Carter Woodworth and Fry 14, Keppler 13, Preston Woodworth 12 and Christiaansen 11.

The teams have met once before in postseason play many years ago when Medina was in Section V. Medina edged Wellsville 3-2 in the 1953 Section V Class A semifinals at Batavia.

Medina is making its third appearance in the Far West Regional in 5 seasons. The Mustangs downed LeRoy 10-2 in 2019 and lost to Palmyra-Macedon 11-1 in 2022.

The victor on Saturday advances to the state Class B semifinals in Binghamton on June 7.

The Medina High Unified basketball team won the first round of the playoffs today by downing visiting Williamsville 39-36.

Xavier Moyer scored 20 to lead Medina as Anthony Harrington and Matthew Kennedy both added 6, Aiden Cherry 5 and Russell Brunette 2.

The final game of the playoffs will be played tomorrow at West Seneca at 10:30 a.m.

Kendall improved to 2-0 in Rochester District Youth Soccer League girls U17 Division competition with a 6-3 win over Batavia Tuesday evening.

Sophia Picardo and Haley Ball each scored 2 goals as Stella Kwiatek and Allison Fisher both netted 1.

The Roy-Hart girls U19 Division team opened the Buffalo and WNY Youth Soccer League season with a 6-0 victory over the host Lockport Lightning Tuesday.

Kaylie Churchill scored 3 goals to lead the way as Grace Verhague, Maria Trombley and Ella Liss each scored 1.

The Lady Rams U16 team opened the season with a 3-3 tie last week as Trombley netted 2 goals and Churchill 1.

File Photo – Mark Greene delivers a pitch for Medina during the Mustangs first Section VI championship game win, a 7-3 victory over Grover Cleveland in 1989.

On the baseball diamond Medina has been compiling an impressive record of late having captured Section VI championships in 4 of the last 5 seasons upping the Mustangs total number of Section VI baseball title years to 6.

No. 4 in the current run came last Saturday as Medina edged Fredonia 4-3 for the Class B title earning the Mustangs a trip to the state tournament. Medina will now face Section V champion Wellsville in the Far West Regional at 10 a.m. Saturday at Grand Island High School.

However, it took the Mustangs quite a bit longer to claim their first Section VI diamond title.

Moving over from Section V, Medina played its first baseball season in Section VI in 1956 but it would be 33 years before the Mustangs finally captured that elusive first Section VI title in 1989 with a 7-3 win over Grover Cleveland in the Class B2 final.

Mason Moore drove in 3 runs with a home run and a single and Mark Greene hurled a 6 hitter with 7 strikeouts and also banged out a pair of doubles to lead the way for the Mustangs which then dropped a 13-8 decision to B1 champion Dunkirk in the state qualifier game.

Ironically, Medina edged Fredonia in the Class B2 semifinals by the same 4-3 margin that the Mustangs won this past Saturday’s title contest.

It would be 14 more years before Medina captured its second Section VI championship in 2003 with a wild 11-9 win in 10 innings over Allegany-Limestone in the Class B title game.

Jake Rosenbeck singled in what proved to be the game winning run in the top of the 10th inning and Tom Schoenle pitched 5 strong innings of relief including getting out of jams in the 8th, 9th and 10th innings.

That win vaulted Medina into the state playoffs for the first time and the Mustangs capitalized on the opportunity by blanking Sodus 4-0 in the Far West Regional at Batavia’s Dwyer Stadium.

Joe Rosenbeck hurled a sparkling 1 hitter with 9 strikeouts for the Mustangs which scored three times in the fourth inning on a pair of fielders choice plays and an RBI single by Matt Heiligenthaler.

Medina pitcher Joe Rosenbeck gets congratulations from his catcher Paul Osborne after hurling the Mustangs to their first Far West Regional victory, a 4-0 win over Sodus at Dwyer Stadium in 2003.

That win advanced Medina to the state Class B semifinals in Binghamton where the Mustangs dropped a 9-1 decision to Carle Place from Long Island.

Another 16 years would pass before the Mustangs would begin their current run of sectional championships in 2019.

That spring an underclassmen dominated Mustangs squad first captured the Section VI Class B1 title with a 10-6 win over rival Albion and then overall Section VI Class B title and a trip to the state playoffs with a 15-4 win over rival Roy-Hart.

Brian Fry provided the big bat in the win over Albion with a double and triple and a total of 6 RBI and Trevor Luthart turned in a sparkling 2 hit, 9 strikeout 5 inning relief pithing effort.

A huge 10 run first inning then sparked Medina past Roy-Hart as winning pitcher Chris Goyette had a three-run double and an RBI double and Matt Saj a two-run single.

Keeping the momentum, Medina downed LeRoy 10-2 in the Far West Regional played at Lockport to advance to the Final Four.

AJ Seefeldt had 3 hits and 4 RBI for the Mustangs as Fry, Goyette and Luthart each chipped in with a pair of hits. Goyette, Seefeldt and Zach Fike also teamed up to turn a key inning ending double play with the bases loaded.

However, Schuylerville ended Medina’s bid for top state honors by downing the Mustangs 6-3 in the state semifinals.

With virtually the entire team coming back in 2020 the Mustangs looked primed to make another strong run at top sectional and state honors only to have the Covid 19 Pandemic shut down schools and wipe out the season.

Limited competition resumed in 2021 and Medina Captured the Section VI Class B2 title with a 7-0 win over Roy-Hart but there were no state playoffs.

Fike pitched Medina out of a first inning bases loaded jam and the Mustangs took control with a big 5 run second inning highlighted by a three-run triple by Seefeldt.

The 2022 Section VI Class B2 title contest was a repeat of the 2021 matchup but this time the score was much closer as Medina nipped Roy-Hart 1-0 in a classic pitchers dual.

Fike pitched a 1 hitter with 5 strikeouts for Medina while Roy-Hart hurler Thomas Russo III scattered 4 hits and struck out 7. Medina scored the game’s lone run in the first inning as Xander Payne singled and came home on an error.

The Mustangs then captured the overall Section VI Class B title and a berth in the state playoffs by downing B1 champion Depew 4-1 as Aidan Paul pitched 6 innings of scoreless ball allowing 2 hits and striking out 6. At the plate, Julian Woodworth, Payne and Joe Cecchini all had extra base hits.

However, Medina’s bid to return to the Final Four was dashed as Section V champion Palmyra-Macedon downed the Mustangs 11-1 in the Far West Regional played at Monroe Community College.

The Mustangs will be looking to regain their winning touch in the Regional against Wellsville on Saturday.

Contributed Photo – Maddie Fry-Fachet

Roy-Hart graduate and Mercyhurst University graduate student Maddie Fry-Fachet has capped off her softball season by earning both league and regional honors.

A catcher/outfielder, Fry-Fachet has been named to the Pennsylvania Athletic Conference West Division All Conference first team.

She has also been named to the CCA All Region second team.

She led Mercyhurst this season with a .361 batting average, 57 hits including 6 doubles and a triple, and 33 runs scored. She hit .395 in league contests.

For her career she averaged .427 had 32 doubles, 56 RBI and 68 stolen bases.

She majored in Early Childhood and Special Education.