The Medina youth gridders compiled a 3-1 record today in Niagara Orleasn Football Association (NOFA) competition.

The Medina Colts defeated host Pembroke 20-7 in the Mini Division games on touchdown runs by Kendrick Russaw, Trey Rhim and Tavarias Griffin along with a pair of extra point runs by Rhim .

The Medina Broncos downed Pembroke 28-7 as MacKoy Hall had three touchdown passes on the day, two to Jerrell Nealy and one to Trey Shine for 65 yards. A 65 yard TD run from Christian Moss capped off the scoring.

In the Beginners Division contest, the Medina Ponys dropped a narrow 18-13 decision to Pembroke. The Ponys got two touchdown runs from Marcel Lamar and an extra point run from Liam Skowneski but a second half touchdown by the Dragons proved to be the difference.

The Varsity Division game saw the Medina Stallions best Roy-Hart 43-7. The Stallions offense was clicking on all cylinders starting with a touchdown run from Kaedon Cleveland followed by a two point conversion pass from Cleveland to Julian Woodworth.

Cleveland scored again on the ground, then Cole Callard hit Jacob Rissew for a TD pass and Amari Soule hit Julian Woodworth on the half back option pass for the fourth score before half time.  Soule then scored one of his own on the ground and Brody Fry finished off the scoring with a short touchdown run. Cole Callard went 5 for 5 on extra point kicks to round out the scoring.

Photos by Cheryl Wertman – Albion’s Abby Scanlan brings the ball up field as Sarah Harrington (5) and Rylee Secor (14) defend for Holley during the Purple Eagles tournament title win over the host Lady Hawks this evening.

All of the scoring came in the second half as Albion trimmed host Holley 3-2 this evening in the championship game of the Lady Hawks annual soccer tournament.

Albion got off to a fast start in the second half quickly building up a 2-0 lead in the first 10 minutes.

Albion’s Olivia Bieber drives the ball up field against Holley defender Skyla Milazzo.

Abby Sanlan broke the scoreless deadlock as she tallied just 1:26 into the half on a breakaway off an assist from Mariah Plain.

The Purple Eagles doubled their advantage at the 30:04 mark  when Brittney Spies-Hunt scored off assists from Olivia Bieber and Scanlan

However, Holley came battling back to knot the score.

Moving up from a defensive to a front line position, Olivia Radford got Holley on the scoreboard with a goal at 23:36 off an assist from Sierra Apicella.

That same combination clicked again with just 8:41 remaining as Radford scored on a shot rebound off an assist from Apicella to pulll the Lady Hawks even.

The last goal and the victory though belonged to Albion as Scanlan scored the game winner with just only 3:57 to go off an assist from Claire Squicciarini.

Now at 2-0, Albion next will compete in the Kendall Tournament as the Purple Eagles will face the host Lady Eagles in the opening round at 7 p.m. Thursday.

Holley, which is now 1-1, will next visit Byron-Bergen at 6:30 p.m. Thursday in the Genesee Region League opener.

Holley’s Olivia Radford works toward the goal as Alexis Creasey and Paige Derisley move in to defend for Albion.

Scoring twice in each half, Roy-Hart posted a 4-0 victory over visiting Oakfield-Alabama/Elba this afternoon in a non league girls soccer game.

Kara Choate had 3 goals and an assist, Mallory Steiner a goal and Grace Parker an assist for the Lady Rams.

Roy-Hart is now 1-1 after dropping a narrow 2-1 decision to visiting Niagara Falls on Friday. CiCi Santos netted the Lady Rams lone goal.

Roy-Hart opens the Niagara-Orleans League season at Wilson on Friday.

Photos by Cheryl Wertman – Albion’s Angel Rosario keeps possession against Akron’s Caleb Suckow during the host Purple Eagles win over the Tigers this afternoon.

A quick two goal scoring burst late in the first half keyed Albion to a 3-0 victory over visiting Akron this afternoon in the Niagara-Orleans League boys soccer season opener.

It was a very successful debut for new Coach Casey Flynn as Juan Santiago scored what proved to be the game winner for Albion off an assist from Angel Rosario with 6:15 to go in the first half to snap a scoreless deadlock.

Alex Gibson then quickly made it 2-0 when he scored with 1:40 remaining in the half.

The Purple Eagles then put a lock on the win when Rosario scored seven minutes onto the second half.

Omar Peterson and Kolin VanGorder shared in earning the shutout in goal.

Albion will next participate in the Byron-Bergen Tournament next Friday and Saturday.

To see Coach Flynn address the team at halftime, click here.

Albion’s Conner Hollenbeck works to get around Akron defender Clint Syroczynski.

Photo by Mike Wertman – Leading Albion into the upcoming volleyball season will be this quintet of veterans including Bri Johnson, Logan Conlon, Rylee Pearles, Ashlyn LeBaron and Shakyeliz Luna.

Looking to improve upon last year’s 2-8 Niagara-Orleans League record, the Albion volleyball squad is led this season by a group of five veterans.

That quintet includes seniors Bri Johnson and Ashlyn LeBaron along with juniors Logan Conlon, Shakyeliz Luna and Rylee Pearles.

The Purple Eagles are also looking to juniors Eowyn Pate, Arianna McGurn and Alexis Grandy and freshman Maya Knaak.

“We lost two key seniors but we have a strong returning group and we look to keep improving,” said Coach Melody Beecher.

The Purple Eagles will open the N-O season at Roy-Hart on Wednesday.

Schedule
(Matches at 6 p.m. unless noted)
September: 4 – at Roy-Hart, 5 – Byron-Bergen, 6:30 p.m., 7 – Albion Tournament, 8 a.m., 10 – Akron, 12 – at Newfane, 16 – at Wilson, 18 – Medina, 20 – at Lyndonville, 6:30 p.m., 23 – Batavia, 26 – Roy-Hart, 30 – Notre Dame, 6:30 p.m.
October: 2 – at Akron, 3 – Newfane, 9 – Wilson, 10 – Attica, 6:30 p.m., 15 – at Medina, 18 – at Kendall, 6:30 p.m.; 19 – at North Tonawanda Tournament, TBA.

MORGANTOWN, W. Va. – Nic Ready has been called the best Major League Baseball prospect on the Batavia Muckdogs roster this season. He has been called a five-tool player.

Friday night, he was called Mr. Clutch.

In the eighth inning, the Muckdogs were tied, 1-1 with West Virginia and Ready was up with two strikes and two outs and the bases loaded. He delivered a bases-clearing double down the left field line for the 4-1 lead which would hold up for the win.

Batavia (40-33) is ahead of West Virginia (38-34) by 1.5 games as Batavia has three games left with Auburn and West Virginia has four with Mahoning Valley.

West Virginia plays a doubleheader today. If they lose both and Batavia wins at home (first pitch 7:05 p.m. at Dwyer) on Fan Appreciation Night, the Muckdogs make the New York-Penn League Playoffs as Pinckney Division champions.

Ready, a 23rd round draft pick of the Miami Marlins out of the Air Force Academy, is still active in the armed forces and very active with the Muckdogs, as he went 3-for-4 to increase his average to .267 and the three RBI’s. The double was his 29th of the season and belted his second triple of the year. Ready has nine home runs including an inside-the-park HR.

Batavia catcher Michael Hernandez blasted his third home run of the year for the only other Batavia hit. J.D. Orr, Troy Johnston and Andrew Turner scored on Ready’s double. Sean Reynolds stole his fourth base of the season.

Pitching was the story of the game for both teams.

Andrew Miller threw a no-hitter for four innings. The lefty was a 40th round draft pick out of Kentucky by the Marlins and struck out three with no runs.

Eli Villalobos went 2.1 innings of one-hit ball with two strikeouts then Brock Love picked up his first win to improve to 1-0 as he there 2.2 innings of perfect baseball, striking out three. Love, a 2019 34th round draft pick out of Alabama now has a 2.45 ERA and earned his first save of the season this past week.

Photo by Mike Wertman – Veteran members of the Medina volleyball squad include Ayzha Pitts, Jordan Lugo, Devin Griffin and Elle Gross.

A combination of graduation and transfer losses has the Medina volleyball team in a bit of a rebuilding mode heading into the upcoming Niagara-Orleans League season.

Senior Elle Gross, who earned second team N-O All-League honors last year, heads Medina’s small returning group which also includes seniors Jordan Lugo and Ayzha Pitts and junior Devin Griffin.

The Mustangs lineup also includes newcomers Anya Bloom, Evie Schultz, Ianah Drisdom, Sydney Watts and Emma Carson, all juniors.

“It’s a good group. We’ll get better as the season goes long,” said Coach Tim Lincoln.

Medina’s graduation losses included first team N-O All-League honoree Maddie Williams, Honorable Mention selection Brandi Guild, Kharise Johnson and BreAnna Islam. The Mustangs are also without senior Camri King, a second team All-League selection, who has transferred to Lockport. It marks the second straight year that the Mustangs have lost a returning All-League player via transfer as last year senior Je’ne Brown moved to Arizona.

The Mustang will open the N-O season at Wilson on September 4.

Schedule
(Matches at 6 p.m. unless noted)
September: 4 – at Wilson, 7 – at Albion Tournament, 8 a.m., 10 – Newfane, 12 – Roy-Hart, 14 – at Starpoint Tournament, 8 a.m., 16 – at Akron, 18 – at Albion, 19 – Buffalo Science, 24 – Tapestry, 26 – Wilson.
October: 2 – at Newfane, 4 – at Roy-Hart, 11 – Akron, 12 – Lyndonville, 15 – Albion, 16 – Kendall

MORGANTOWN, West Va. – The Batavia Muckdogs were involved in a  second straight exciting extra innings game in just a 13-hour span, but came out on the losing end of a 5-4 contest to West Virginia Thursday.

Batavia (39-33) has a half-game lead over West Virginia (38-33) after the loss to the Black Bears.

Batavia’s Albert Guaimaro continued his four-game tear, as he went 2-for-4 with a home run and two runs scored. Guaimaro is 9-for-15 in the last four games with three home runs, a triple, 6 RBI’s and eight runs.

Catcher Dustin Skelton went 3-for-4 with a two-RBI double for Batavia.

In his last 10 games, Skelton is hitting .360. He is an 18th round Miami Marlins draft pick out of Mississippi State.

Andrew Turner had two hits as Jack Strunc and Troy Johnston (RBI) also had hits.

Lefty Easton Lucas had another strong start and has given up one hit his last two starts. He went three innings, struck out six and walked two without giving up a run. Jonakier Villalobos went two scoreless innings with three strikeouts.

Batavia returns home for a game Saturday at 7:05 p.m. and home Sunday at 5:05 p.m. before ending the season at Auburn on Monday. West Virginia has five games with Mahoning Valley.

Saturday is Fan Appreciation Night and fireworks.

Photo by Mike Wertman – Helping to anchor the Roy-Hart lineup this fall is this group of senior veterans. In front are Jacob Palmer, Ed Hahn and Nico Cacique. In back are Nikki Arendt, Mike Huntington and Noah Draper.

Looking to rebound from last fall’s 0-8 campaign, the Roy-Hart varsity football squad is prepping for the September 6 home opener against Wilson.

The Rams offensive line is anchored by the senior trio of Jacob Palmer, Ed Hahn and Nico Cacique.

Senior Mike Huntington takes over the key quarterback position from graduated Charlie Brigham after playing wide receiver last year.

Also looking to help key the Rams fortunes are seniors Nikki Arendt (RB/LB), Noah Draper (FB/DE/LB), Andrew Corser (WR/LB), Elijah Ostrander (WR/DB), Canyon Woods (WR/LB) and sophomore Zach Duewiger (RB/MLB).

“It’s a good group of guys,” said Coach Marcus Wyche. “The team chemistry they have shown is tremendous and that’s what drives us. They really challenge each other. Offensively the key will be to see how the line handles the new blocking schemes and defensively our focus is on improved tackling.”

Schedule
September: 6 – Wilson, 7 p.m.; 13 – Cleve Hill, 7 p.m.; 20 – at Alden, 7 p.m.; 27 – East Aurora, 7:30 p.m.
October: 4 – at Silver Creek, 7 p.m.; 12 – at JFK, 1:30 p.m.; 18 – Akron, 7 p.m.