Photos by Cheryl Wertman – Medina’s Aidan Papaj steals third base during the Mustangs semifinal sectional win over Southwestern at Vets Park this afternoon. Oscar Harris is the Trojans third baseman.

Making it three shutout playoff wins in a row, No. 2 seed defending champion Medina blanked No. 3 Southwestern 8-0 in the semifinals of the Section VI Class B baseball tournament this afternoon at Vets Park.

The victory propels Medina into the Class B championship game at 4 p.m. Saturday at Frontier High School against No. 1 JFK which downed No. 5 Roy-Hart 7-2 in the other semifinal.

Preston Woodworth hurled the shutout scattering 3 hits and striking out 13 as the Mustangs improve to 18-2.

Preston Woodworth hurled a 3 hit shutout for Medina with 13 strikeouts.

The Trojans did get a runner to second base in each of the first four innings but could not capitalize as each time Woodworth bore down to register a clutch inning ending strikeout.

The Mustangs scored the only run they needed as it turned out in the third inning on a groundout off the bat of Woodworth. A single by Aidan Papaj and a bunt single by Vinny Gray set up the opportunity.

Medina then opened up a little breathing room by scoring three times in the fourth inning.

Kolton Fletcher reached on an error, stole second and third and came home on a ground out off the bat of Carlos Doval to ignite that uprising. Ryan Pegelow then singled, stole second and came home on a single by Papaj who ended up scoring himself on a steal of home.

The Mustangs then put a lock on the win by erupting for 4 runs in the fifth inning highlighted by a two-run single by Doval as an error and a dropped third strike plated the other two runs.

JFK 7, Roy-Hart 2
Trailing 2-1, JFK erupted for 6 runs in the bottom of the sixth inning to down Roy-Hart at Depew.

A three-run double by Andrew Pajak, which was only the Bears second hit, keyed that uprising which was aided by a pair of errors.

Roy-Hart did grab the lead twice first at 1-0 in the top of the fourth on an RBI single by Hank Snyder and again at 2-1 in the top of the sixth on an RBI single by Isaac Smith.

Defensively, the Rams turned a double play in the third inning triggered by shortstop Sean Mettler.

Medina third baaseman Jimmy Dieter makes a throw to first. At right, Kolton Fletcher steals third ahead of the throw to Trojans third baseman Oscar Harris.

Medina’s Ryan Pegelow steals second base ahead of the throw to Trojans shortstop Wilson Genareo.

Defending champion Medina and Roy-Hart will both be competing in Section VI Class B baseball tournament semifinal games today.

Top seeded Medina will host No. 3 Southwestern at 5 p.m. at Vets Park.

No. 5 seed Roy-Hart will take on top seeded JFK at 5:30 p.m. at Depew High School. That is a change of time and site from what was originally announced.

The Class B championship game is scheduled for 4 p.m. Saturday at Frontier High School.

The Kendall baseball and Lyndonville softball teams will both be competing for Section V championships on Friday at Livonia.

Top seeded defending champion  Kendall will face No.2 Genesee Valley Belfast for the Class C2 baseball  championship at 5:30 p.m.

Top seeded Lyndonville will likewise take on No. 2 Avoca-Prattsburgh for the Class D2 softball title at 7:30 p.m.

Kendall, which is now 19-2, advanced by blanking No. 4 Perry 7-0 in the semifinals while Genesee Valley Belfast downed No. 3 Cal-Mum 14-4.

The victor will face the Class C1 champion (either No. 1 Gananda or No. 2 Notre Dame) early next week for the Section V Class C berth in the state tournament.

Lyndonville, which is now 18-1, reached the title contest by shutting out No. 4 Andover-Whitesville 12-0 in the semifinals while Avoca-Prattsburg downed No. 3 Elba 9-5.

The winner will then face the Class D1 champion (either No. 2 Oakfield-Alabama or No. 4 Fillmore) early next week for the Section V Class D berth in the state tournament.

Barker in title contest Friday

No. 2 seed Barker will face No. 5 Falconer at 5 p.m. Friday at Olean for the Section VI Class C softball championship and a berth in the state tournament.

Barker edged No. 6 Clymer-Sherman-Panama 3-1 in the semifinals while Falconer upended top seeded Wilson 4-3.

Kendall girls in title game Saturday
No. 3 seed Kendall will play in the Section V Class C2 softball championship game at 12:30 p.m. Saturday at Livonia against top seeded Cal-Mum.

Kendall advanced by downing No. 10 Perry 9-3 in the semifinals while Cal-Mum topped No. 5 Warsaw 5-4.

The victor will advance to the Section V Class C state qualifier early next week against the Class C1 champion.

Photos by Cheryl Wertman – Kendall third baseman Alea Barrett puts the tag on Perry’s Madelyn Monteleone during the host Lady Eagles semifinal sectional win this afternoon.

Scoring early and often, No. 3 seed Kendall downed No. 10 Perry 9-3 in the semifinal round of the Section V Class C2 softball tournament this afternoon at Kendall.

The victory propels Kendall into Saturday’s Class C2 championship game at 12:30 p.m. at Livonia against top seeded Cal-Mum which downed No. 5 Warsaw 5-4 in the other semifinal.

Perry did score a quick run in the top of the first inning on a double by Madelyn Monteleone but Kendall answered right back with 3 runs in the home half of the frame to take the lead for good.

A bases loaded walk, a bunt single by Sophia Picardo and a wild pitch plated those runs as two walks and a single by Teagan Shaw loaded the bases to set up the opportunity.

The Lady Eagles doubled their lead to 6-1 by scoring once in the second on an RBI single by Shaw and twice in the third on a two-run triple by Alayna Keirn.

Brooke Rodas followed up with a two-run home run to highlight a three run fourth inning boosting the advantage to 9-1.

Shaw and Picardo both finished with 3 hits as Keirn had 2.

Brooke Miller earned the win in the circle allowing 3 hits and striking out 2.

Kendall’sAlayna Kiern fist bumps Coach Jeff Parizek after banging out a two-run triple. At right, Teagan Shaw bangs out a single for one of her three hits.

Medina and Roy-Hart will both be competing in the semifinal round of the Section VI Class B baseball tournament on Thursday.

No. 2 seed Medina will host No. 3 Southwestern and No. 5 Roy-Hart will visit top seeded JFK, both at 5 p.m.

Medina and Southwestern have become virtually annual foes in the sectionals as this will be the fifth time in the last six years that the Mustangs and Trojans have met in the Class B competition.

Medina blanked Southwestern 4-0 in last year’s Class B final but the Trojans shutout the Mustangs 3-0 in the opening round of the 2023 tournament. Before that the Mustangs downed the Trojans 5-0 in the 2022 semifinals and 10-0 in the 2021 quarterfinals.

Medina advanced to Thursday’s semifinal by blanking No 10 Fredonia 8-0 while Southwestern downed No. 6 Springville 8-6.

The Mustangs bring a 17-2 record into Thursday’s contest while the Trojans are 15-3.

Roy-Hart, which is 14-2, shutout No. 13 Cleveland Hill 3-0 in the quarterfinals while JFK, which is 16-2, nipped No. 9 Akron 3-2 in 8 innings.

The Class B championship game is scheduled for 4 p.m. Saturday at Frontier High School.

Hampered by low numbers the past couple of years Medina will now be joining up with Roy-Hart for girls varsity and JV soccer beginning this fall.

The merged Roy-Hart/Medina team will compete in the Niagara-Orleans League and will be a Class A team for Section VI competition.

The merger plan, which is for three years, looks to bolster the rosters for both schools.

For Medina, which has not had a JV team for several years and finished the final few games of last fall’s varsity season undermanned with less than 11 healthy players, it will provide an opportunity for its players to play on full varsity and JV teams.

For Roy-Hart, which returns only 10 players with varsity experience having graduated 8, including 7 starters, it will give the team depth and allows for a full JV team.

“We want to rebuild, to regroup,” said Medina Athletic Director Eric Valley. “We had the option to either keep struggling to field a full varsity team or to join up with Roy-Hart so we can have our players playing at the level they should be.”

Valley notes that some 15 students in grades 9-11 have indicated their interest to play for the new merged team.

“It will be a positive for both schools,” said Roy-Hart Athletic Director John Grzymala. “It gives the Medina kids a chance to compete on a full team. It will also give us some good overall depth for our program. I totally agree with Eric that you don’t want to have to move players up to the varsity before they are ready. This will allow them to play at the right level. The big thing is we want the kids to have the opportunity to play varsity soccer,”

Both schools are also looking to develop modified level teams.

This will now give the N-O League two merged teams for girls soccer with the other being Barker/Lyndonville.

Photos by Cheryl Wertman – Aidan Papaj hurled Medina to a shutout sectional win this afternoon at Vets Park.

A big early inning scoring burst keyed No. 2 seed Medina to an 8-0 victory over No. 10 Fredonia in the quarterfinals of the Section VI Class B baseball tournament this afternoon at Vets Park.

The victory propels Medina into the Class B semifinals against No. 3 Southwestern at Vets Park on Thursday. Southwestern downed No. 6 Springville 8-6 this afternoon. The Section VI website has the semifinal game scheduled for 5 p.m.

Leading 1-0, Medina broke the game open by erupting for 6 runs in the third inning on a two-run single by Preston Woodworth, an RBI single by Hadrian Batista, a pair of bases loaded walks and a wild pitch. A walk and a single by Vinny Gray set up the threat.

Woodworth also had an RBI double in the sixth inning to drive in the Mustangs final run.

Batista and Woodworth both finished with a pair of hits.

Aidan Papaj hurled a 2 hitter with 13 strikeouts as the Mustangs improve to 17-2.

Preston Woodworth, left, and Hadrian Batista both had key RBI hits for the Mustangs.

Photos by Cheryl Wertman – Evan Poeller hurls Roy-Hart to a shutout sectional win.

No. 5 seed Roy-Hart bested visiting No. 13 Cleveland Hill 3-0 in the quarterfinals of the Section VI Class B baseball tournament this afternoon as Evan Poeller hurled the shutout.

Poeller allowed only 2 hits and struck out 6 as the Rams advance to Thursday’s semifinal at top seeded JFK which nipped No. 9 Akron 3-2 in 8 innings in another quarterfinal this afternoon.

Hank Snyder led the Rams offense with a pair of hits including a double.

Roy-Hart, after leaving the bases loaded in the third inning scored what proved to be the game winner in the fourth frame as Snyder singled and came home on a wild pitch.

The Rams added a big insurance run in the fifth as Poeller singled and came home on an error, and another in the sixth on an error after three walks had loaded the bases.

Roy-Hart improves to 14-3 with the win.

Roy-Hart third baseman RJ Townsend makes a throw to first base to get the out on Cleveland Hill’s Xavier Westbrooks.

Contributed Photo – Vinnie D’Agostino was perfect on the mound for Kendall today in the sectional win over visiting Perry.

Sparked by the sparkling perfect game pitching performance of Vinnie D’Agostino, top seeded Kendall blanked visiting No. 4 Perry 7-0 this afternoon in the semifinals of the Section V Class C2 baseball tournament.

He registered a total of 12 strikeouts while allowing no hits and no walks over the seven innings.

The victory propels 19-2 Kendall into Friday’s Class C2 championship game against No. 2 Genesee Valley-Belfast at a site to be announced. Genesee Valley-Belfast downed No. 6 Cal-Mum 14-4 in the other semifinal.

Jonny Conte, CJ D’Agostino, Andrew Cole and Mikey Colucci each banged out a pair of hits to lead the Eagles offense.

Kendall scored the only 2 runs it needed as it turned out in the first inning on an RBI sacrifice fly by Vinnie D’Agostino and an RBI single by Cole. Singles by Conte and CJ D’Agostino set up the opportunity.

The Eagles tacked on 2 runs in the third on an RBI double by Vinnie D’Agostino and an RBI single by Cole, one in the fourth on an error and 2 in the sixth on an RBI single by CJ D’Agostino and a balk.

A big late inning scoring burst earned No. 4 seed Lew-Port an 8-3 win over visiting No. 8 Albion in the semifinal round of the Section VI Class A2 baseball tournament.

Breaking away from a 3-3 deadlock, the Lancers put a lock on the win by erupting for 5 runs in the bottom of the sixth inning as winning pitcher Logan McNaney had a two-run triple, Brayden Anderson a two-run double and Jackson Rodriguez an RBI double.

Albion had jumped out to early leads of 2-0 on two-run homer by Nate Gibson in the first inning, and at 3-1 on an RBI single by Gavin Boyce in the second inning.