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Sandstone, Barre score Midget League wins
Sandstone downed Elba 15-0 and Barre edged Carlton 8-6 in Albion Midget League action last week.
Barre also played to an 11-11 tie with Elba in a contest which was halted by darkness.
Brayden LaMartina and Jonah Elsenheimer both had 3 hits, including a pair of doubles, for Sandstone which also got two doubles from pitcher Omer Fugate who allowed no hits and struck out 11.
Gavin Boyce had a two-run homer and Jack Conn a two-run triple for Carlton.
Carlton next visits Sandstone at 6 p.m. Tuesday.
Mustangs down Wildcats to claim Section VI Class B crown and a state tourney berth
Photos by Cheryl Wertman – Medina second baseman Tyler Kroening makes a throw to compete a double play. Sliding in to second is Depew’s Nicholas Kornyski. The play came during the Mustangs sectional title win over the Wildcats at Niagara University this afternoon.
A pair of two run scoring innings combined with a strong pitching performance sparked Medina to a 4-1 victory over Depew at Niagara University this afternoon earning the Mustangs the Section VI Class B championship and a berth in the upcoming state tournament.
Aidan Paul picked up the win on the mound for the Mustangs pitching six scoreless innings allowing just 2 hits and striking out 6. One of those strikeouts was clutch to end the fourth inning as the Wildcats left a runner stranded at third base in what was then a tight 2-0 contest.
“Aidan had an allergy attack before the game but we got that settled down and he went out and worked hard out there,” said Medina Coach Jon Sherman.
Aidan Paul delivers a pitch for the Mustangs.
“I was grinding out there. It was hot,” said Paul who allowed only four base runners over the first six innings. “I couldn’t have done it with out my defense and the offense. Everyone contributed.”
The Mustangs got the only two runs they needed as it turned out in the second inning.
Julian Woodworth tripled with one out and came home on a sacrifice fly by Brody Fry. Two walks and a single by Tyler Kroening then loaded the bases and Xander Payne was hit by a pitch forcing in the second run.
The runs also gave Paul a big boost on the mound. “They were big,” he said. “You get ahead like that then you can settle down and relax a bit.”
Medina did leave the bases loaded in the second and left a pair of runners stranded in both the fourth and fifth frames before picking up a pair of big insurance runs in the sixth.
Payne doubled in the first run and then, after a double by Joe Cecchini, Zack Fike singled in the final run.
Paul also had a big day at the plate banging out 3 hits as Woodworth had 2.
Defensively, the Mustangs turned a double play in the fifth inning from Fry at third to Kroening at second to Fike at first.
“It wasn’t our best game,” said Sherman “but we had some kids come through.”
The Mustangs advanced to the state qualifier by nipping Niagara-Orleans League rival Roy-Hart 1-0 on Saturday for a third straight Class B2 title. The Wildcats trimmed Lew-Port 1-0 in the Class B1 final.
Improving to 21-3, Medina will now face the as yet to be determined Section V champion in the Far West Regional next Saturday afternoon at Monroe Community College.
It will be Medina’s second straight trip to the state playoffs. The Mustangs advanced to the state semis in 2019. There were no state playoffs in 2020 or 2021 because of Covid 19 restrictions.
Big plays of defense helped lock up the Mustangs win. Here Joe Cecchini, left, makes a throw from his shortstop position and Zack Fike fields a grounder at first base.
Julian Woodworth banged out two hits including a key triple to spark Medina’s early two run second inning which put the Mustangs on top to stay.
Medina next faces Depew Monday for the Section VI Class B state tournament berth
Photo by Cheryl Wertman – Medina players and coaches hold the Section VI Class B2 championship banner and plaque after Saturday’s narrow 1-0 title win over rival Roy-Hart. The Mustangs next face B1 champion Depew for the Section VI Class B berth in the state tournament at noon Monday at Niagara University.
Taking aim at earning a berth in the state tournament, Medina will face Depew in the Section VI Class B state qualifier game at 12 p.m. Monday at Niagara University.
Medina advanced by nipping Niagara-Orleans League rival Roy-Hart 1-0 for the Class B2 championship on Saturday. The B-2 title is the third straight for the Mustangs.
Depew downed Lew-Port interestingly by that same narrow 1-0 margin for the Class B1 title Saturday. The sectional title was Depew’s first in over 50 years since the Wildcats captured three championships in a span of four years in 1971, 1969 and 1968 which ironically was over Medina by a score of 8-1.
Monday’s contest will be a rematch of a late season non league game which saw Medina nip host Depew 2-0 in eight innings as Aidan Paul and Xander Payne each pitched four innings to combine for a no hitter with 20 strikeouts.
The Mustangs bring a 20-3 record into the state qualifier while the Wildcats are 16-7.
Lady Tigers nipped in Class C3 title contest
Photos by Cheryl Wertman – Bolivar-Richburg’s McKinlee Harris leaps over Lyndonville third baseman Ella Lewis to try to avoid the tag during this afternoon’s Section V Class C3 title game at Honeoye Falls-Lima.
Unable to build on a first inning lead, top seeded Lyndonville dropped a narrow 4-3 decision to No. 3 Bolivar-Richburg in the Section V Class C3 softball championship game this afternoon at Honeoye Falls-Lima High School.
Lyndonville jumped out to a quick 3-0 lead in the first inning on an RBI double by Ella Lewis, an RBI single by Haley Shaffer and and error. A single by Gracie Johnson ignited that uprising.
However, the Lady Tigers could not cross home plate again and managed just three more scattered hits the rest of the way on singles by Johnson, Shaffer and Addy Dillenbeck.
Bolivar-Richburg, which also bested Lyndonville in last year’s final 9-7, got back into the game on RBI singles by winning pitcher Jessica Majot in the fifth inning and Haley Mascho in the sixth inning which cut the deficit to 3-2.
The Wolverines then completed their comeback by scoring twice in the top of the seventh inning on a sacrifice fly by Malayna Ayers, a single by Braedin Bentley and an error. Another error and a single to open the inning set up the threat.
The Lady Tigers defense turned two double plays on the day. The first went from Lewis at third base to Johnson at first in the second inning and the second from Shaffer at pitcher to Lewis to Johnson and back to Lewis in the fifth frame.
Lyndonville finishes the season at 20-1 and Bolivar-Richburg advances to next week’s Section V Class C state qualifier also with a 20-1 record.
Lyndonville’s Brooke Robinson gets back to first base before Bolivar-Richburg’s Braelin Bentley can put on the tag.
Mustangs nip Rams in a 1-0 thriller to repeat as Section VI Class B2 diamond champions
Photos by Cheryl Wertman – Medina seniors Joe Cecchini, Zach Fike, Xander Payne and Hayden Woodroe hold the championship plaque after the Mustangs nipped rival Roy-Hart for the Class B2 title this afternoon at Grand Island High School.
Making a lone first inning run stand up Medina nipped rival Roy-Hart 1-0 at Grand Island High School this afternoon to repeat as Section VI Class B2 baseball champions.
The Mustangs scored that lone run right at the outset as Xander Payne led off the game with a single and came around to score two outs later on an error.
Medina pitcher Zach Fike, who hurled a sparkling one hitter with 5 strikeouts, and his Mustangs defensive mates did the rest.
Roy-Hart’s best scoring opportunity came in the bottom of the first as the Rams got the bases loaded with one out on a walk, a single by Brayden Hy and an intentional walk. However, Fike bore down to quickly get out of the jam on flyouts to Julian Woodworth in leftfield and Hayden Woodroe in right.
“I started out a little shaky but then I settled in and I got some great support from my defense,” said Fike, “I couldn’t have done it without my defense.”
Zach Fike hurled a one hit shutout for the Mustangs.
Settling in Fike allowed only one baserunner the rest of the way on a one out walk in the second inning as he retired 18 of the last 19 batters he faced.
“Gutsy”, said Medina Coach Jon Sherman of Fike’s performance on the mound. “Zach was steady and our defense was solid. We knew what was coming in Roy-Hart and our kids were ready.”
The Mustangs infield of Payne at catcher, Aidan Paul at first, Tyler Kroening at second, Joe Cecchini at shortstop and Brody Fry at third all took turns making key plays for outs.
At the plate, Payne and Paul each had a pair of hits.
Roy-Hart likewise got a strong pitching performance from Thomas Russo who scattered 4 hits and struck out 7.
Medina got runners in scoring position in four straight innings from the third through the sixth but couldn’t cross home plate again,
The Mustangs got a runner to third in the third inning as Payne doubled and advanced on a sacrifice fly by Cecchini but Russo ended the threat with an inning ending strikeout.
Then in the fourth inning, Paul led off with a single and advanced to second on a sacrifice bunt by Woodworh but again Russo bore down to end the threat with back-to-back inning ending strikeouts.
The Mustangs got two runners aboard on walks in the fifth but another strikeout by Russo ended the inning.
Paul then led off the sixth with a double and moved to third with two out on a sacrifice bunt by Fry but Russo ended the inning on a groundout back to the mound.
Medina now advances to Monday’s Section VI Class B state qualifier game at noon at Niagara University. The Mustangs will face the B1 champion (either Depew or Lew-Port).
The Mustangs improve to 20-3 while the Rams finish the season at 19-5.
Roy-Hart’s Ethan Kuzma slides to try and reach first base as Aidan Paul takes the throw for Medina.
Albion competes in Class B track meet
Newfane takes girls team title at competition in Falconer
Photos by Tom Rivers: Jahmeek Riley (left) carries the baton on the second leg of Albion’s winning 4 by 100 meter relay team. Albion was first in 45.46 seconds, followed by Falconer/Cassadaga Valley in 45.57. Kwame Riley competes in the triple jump for Albion. The freshman was 13th at 35 feet, 2 inches, the second best jump for a ninth-grader. He is Jahmeek’s younger brother.
Leah Siegmann of Newfane pushes on the last stretch of the girls 3,000 meter race. A major downpour was unleashed on about the final lap of the event. The rain and then two different lightning strikes delayed the last few events.
Albion had a trio of individual event top three place finishers at the Section VI Class B track championships held Friday at Falconer.
The Purple Eagles had Jahmeek Riley place second in the High Jump, Brendan LeBaron second in the Shotput and Cincere Lowe third in the Long Jump.
Albion also won the 400 Relay.
Newfane’s Max Czekaj won the 110 Hurdles and Simon Lingle placed second in the Discus as did Akrn’s Will Chubb in the 3200.
Albion was fourth in the boys team standings with 51.75 points. That was behind Falconer/Cassadaga Valley with 134.75 points, Alden with 94 points and Lake Shore with 65.75. Fredonia was fifth with 48.
The Newfane girls scored wins in four individual events as Kylie Bowman took the 3000, Leah Siegmann the Steeplechase, Melanie Meyers the Triple Jump and Shelby Nerber the Pole Vault.
Newfane won the girls competition with 151 points, followed by Springville with 98, Akron with 81, City Honors with 58 and Falconer/Cassadaga Valley and Lakeshore, both with 38.
Lauren Wagner of Akron walks in driving rain after finishing the 3,000 meter race. She came in second, behind Kylie Bowman of Newfane.
Roy-Hart had two winners at Class C meet
Roy-Hart’s Nadia White won the Triple Jump (33-3 3/4) and Brandin Allen the 400 Hurdles (1:00.78) at the Section VI Class C track championships held at Wilson this afternoon.
White also placed third in both the Long Jump and 800. She also teamed up with Elliana Brown, Amelia Konstanty and Alexis Cacciatore to help Roy-Hart place second in the 1600 Relay.
Allen also placed third in the 100 Hurdles an Cacciatore third in the 400.
Roy-Hart also had Sophia Santella place second in the Pole Vault, Julia Miles second in the High Jump, Jay Heideman place third in the 1600 and Ronan Klug third in the 800.
Heideman and Klug also teamed up with Andrew Ossont and Lawson Wallworth to earn the Rams a second place finish in the 3200 Relay.
For Medina, Madelynn Rutledge place second in the Long Jump and High Jump, Ellisa Roath second in the 100 Hurdles, Kaedan Cleveland second in the 100 Hurdles, Bryson Costich third in the Triple Jump and David Vanderwalker third in the Steeplechase.
Host Wilson had a trio of winners as Madelaine Schultz took the 100 Hurdles (:16.75), Paul Smith the Long Jump (19-6) and Triple Jump (40-7 3/4) and Marissa Schultz the Pole Vault (7-6). Madelaine Schultz also placed second in the 400 Hurdles.
The Lakemen also had Evan Mahar place second in the Long Jump, Logan Wolfe third in the High Jump and Jack Mahar third in the Pole Vault.
Lady Tigers will face familiar foe in C3 final
Cheryl Wertman – Ella Lewis and her Lyndonville teammates will be playing for the Section V Class C3 title on Saturday.
The opponents and the seedings are the same only the location has changed.
Looking to avenge a loss in last year’s title contest, top seeded Lyndonville will face No. 3 Bolivar-Richburg for the Section V Class C3 softball championship at 5 p.m. Saturday at Honeoye Falls-Lima Middle School.
Last year No.3 seed Bolivar-Richburg defeated the top seeded Lady Tigers 9-7 in the C2 title contest at Lyndonville.
This marks the 8th time in the last 9 seasons that Lyndonville has advanced to the sectional finals. The Lady Tigers captured the championship in both 2013 and 2019.
Lyndonville, which brings a perfect 20-0 into the finals, advanced by defeating Notre Dame 7-2 in the quarterfinals and Dundee/Bradford 10-1 in the semifinals.
Bolivar-Richburg, which has a near perfect 19-1 record, defeated HAC 7-0 in the quarterfinals and. 2 Keshequa 5-1 in the semis.
The Lady Tigers underclassmen dominated lineup includes seniors Ella Lewis (shortstop/third base), Gracie Johnson (first base), Brynn Howell (outfield), Morgan Austin (utility) and Shaeleigh Miller (utility); juniors Lorelei Dillenbeck (shortstop/pitcher), Haley Shaffer (pitcher/catcher), Bri Krisher (third base) and Kylie Reisman (utility); freshman Addy Dillenbeck (centerfield) and eighth graders Brooke Robinson (second base) and Bella Groves (utility).
Mustangs and Rams set to renew their sectional title rivalry in the B2 final Saturday
Photo by Cheryl Wertman – Roy-Hart’s Thomas Russo takes the throw as Medina’s Xander Payne dives back to second base during a regular season meeting between the Rams and Mustangs which will meet for the Section VI Class B2 title Saturday.
For Medina and Roy-Hart meeting in a Section VI baseball playoff title game is becoming part of the annual schedule.
In fact, the teams will be meeting in a postseason title contest for the fourth straight time when the Mustangs and Rams meet in the Section VI Class B2 championship game at 12 p.m. Saturday at Grand Island.
Saturday’s meeting will be an instant replay of last spring’s B2 championship game which saw Medina blank Roy-Hart 7-0 at Vets Park. Due to Covid 19 restrictions that was as far as the postseason playoffs went. Covid restrictions also wiped out the entire 2020 spring season.
The Mustangs also bested the Rams in the 2019 Section VI Class B state qualifier game 15-4. The Mustangs won the Class B1 title that season and the Rams captured the Class B2 crown. Medina went on to reach the state semifinals.
Roy-Hart edged Medina 4-2 in the Class B2 title contest in 2018 and the Rams went on to reach the state semifinals. The Rams also captured their third straight N-O championship that season.
This season Medina and Roy-Hart split a pair of league meetings to finish as Niagara-Orleans League co-champions at 10-2. The Mustangs had edged out the Rams for the N-O title in both 2021 and 2019.
The teams bring nearly identical overall season records into the final as Medina is 19-3 and Roy-Hart 19-4.
Saturday’s victor will advance to Monday’s Section VI Class B state qualifier game against the Class B1 winner either Depew or Lew-Port.
Lady Tigers roll in Class C3 semifinal
Scoring in five different innings, top seeded Lyndonville posted a 10-1 victory over No. 5 Dundee/Bradford in the semifinals of the Section V Class C3 softball playoffs this afternoon at Caledonia-Mumford.
Addy Dillenbeck had 4 hits, Ella Lewis 3 and Morgan Austin 2 and Lorelei Dillenbeck 2 each to lead Lyndonville’s 14 hit attack.
Haley Shaffer earned the win in the circle scattering 6 hits and striking out 6.
Lyndonville picked up solo runs in each of the first two innings on RBI singles first by Lewis and then by Austin.
The Lady Tigers added a pair of runs in the third inning on a single by Lorelei Dillenbeck and a wild pitch and then broke the contest open with 4 runs in the fifth highlighted by an RBI triple by Shaffer and a two-run error. Singles by Addy Dillenbeck and Lorelei Dillenbeck set up the threat.
Lewis capped off the Lady Tigers scoring with a two-run single in the sixth inning. Singles by Austin, Gracie Johnson and Addy Dillenbeck loaded the bases to set up the opportunity.
Improving to 20-0 on the season, Lyndonville will next face No. 3 Bolivar-Richburg in the Class C3 title game at 5 p.m. Saturday at Honeoye Falls-Lima Middle School. Bolivar-Richburg defeated No. 2 Keshequa 5-1 in the other semifinal.
In a Class C2 semifinal No. 2 Pembroke downed Genesee Region League foe No. 3 Kendall 6-2.
