Contributed Photo – Roy-Hart players and coaches celebrate capturing a section straight Class B2 championship with a 5-1 win over Gowanda at Depew this afternoon.

Making a successful title defense, top seeded Roy-Hart downed No. 2 Gowanda 5-1 in the Section VI Class B2 championship game this afternoon at Depew.

Roy-Hart jumped out to an early 2-0 lead by scoring twice in the second inning on a single by Gavyn Boyle and a triple by Walker Samanka.

The Rams later tacked on two runs in the fourth on a sacrifice bunt by Hunter Babel and a fielders choice play off the bat of Karl Darling and one in the fifth on a wild pitch.

Charlie Bruning pitched the first four innings  for the Rams allowing 3 hits and striking out 4. Samanka came on to hurl the final three fames giving up 2 hits and striking out 4.

Roy-Hart, which edged past Medina 4-2 to win the Class B2 title last year, will now face the B1 champion Mustangs for the overall Section VI Class B title and a berth in the state playoffs at 3 p.m. Saturday at Canisius College. Medina downed rival Albion 10-6 to win the B1 title.

Photos by Cheryl Wertman – Medina players and coaches celebrate capturing the Section VI Class B1 championship this evening with a 10-6 win over rival Albion at Niagara Falls High School.

Ending a 16 year drought, Medina bested rival Albion 10-6 in the Section VI Class B1 baseball championship game this evening at Niagara Falls High School.

Brian Fry provided the power at the plate with a double and triple driving in a total of six runs and Trevor Luthart turned in a sparkling five inning two hit, nine strikeout relief pitching effort to spark the Mustangs to their first sectional championship since 2003.

“We’ve set this as a goal for a couple of years and the kids have worked very hard, both in season and in the off season, to achieve it,” said Medina Coach Jon Sherman.

Trevor Luthart picked up the win in relief for Medina allowing only one run over the final five innings.

However, it was Albion which grabbed the early advantage as Thomas Furmanski blasted a grand slam home run over the left field fence in the second inning to give the Purple Eagles a 5-1 lead. An error, a double by Vincent Zona and an intentional walk loaded the bases to set up the threat.

Medina answered with a run in the home half of the frame on a bases loaded walk before taking the lead for good at 6-5 with a four run scoring burst in the third inning. Three walks loaded the bases to set up the threat.

A big three-run triple by Fry, which tied the game at 5-5, keyed the uprising as Nate Sherman followed up with a clutch RBI double for the go ahead tally.

“Good teams have got to battle through adversity and we were able to battle back after a kind of a sloppy start,” said Sherman.

It remained a tight 6-5 game heading into the bottom of the sixth inning as Luthart set Albion down in order in the third, fourth, fifth and sixth innings. He struck out the side in both the third and sixth frames, notched two strikeouts in the fourth and got two outs himself in the fifth on grounders back to the mound.

“He’s a little sore but he really battled. It was a gutsy performance,” said Sherman of Luthart’s strong effort on the mound.

The Mustangs finally broke the contest open with four runs in the bottom of the sixth on an RBI sacrifice fly by Matt Saj and a big three-run double by Fry.  Three walks loaded the bases to set up the threat.

Albion finally ended its scoring drought with a run in the top of the seventh as Liam Ward lead off with a double and came home on a single by Furmanski.  However, Luthart quickly locked up the Mustangs win by retiring the next three batters in a row on a fly out, a strikeout and an infield out.

Improving to 19-2, Medina will next face B2 champion Roy-Hart for the overall section VI Class B title and a berth in the state playoffs at 3 p.m. Saturday at Canisius College. Roy-Hart downed Gowanda 5-1 at Depew for the B2 title.

Medina’s Nate Sherman rounds third base heading for home in the sixth inning. The Albion third baseman is Tyler Gibson.

Albion’s Thomas Furmanski (5) gets congratulations from his teammates after hitting a second inning grand slam home run.

Photo by Cheryl Wertman – Rolland Balcerzak hurled Lyndonville to a semifinal win over Cal-Mum this afternoon.

Erupting for six quick runs in the first inning, top seeded Lyndonville went on to defeat visiting No. 12 Caledonia-Mumford 9-4 this afternoon in the semifinals of the Section V Class C2 baseball semifinals.

Devin Rounds had a run producing double and winning pitcher Rolland Balcerzak and Matt Hess both banged out RBI singles to highlight the decisive opening frame for the Tigers. A fielders choice play off the bat of Noah Heinsler and an error plated the other runs.

The Tigers later added two runs in the fifth on RBI singles by Casey Winiecki and Nathan Dillenbeck, which followed a walk and a single by Hess, and one in the sixth on an RBI single by Balcerzak which followed hits by Zach Johnson and Oskar Heinsler.

On the mound, Balcerzak scattered 4  hits and struck out 4.

Cal-Mum’s runs all came in the sixth inning.

Now at 17-1, the Tigers will next compete in the Class C2 championship game on Saturday.

Softball
The top seeded Lyndonville softball team will face Keshequa for the Section V Class C3 championship at 5 p.m. Friday at Batavia High School.

Photo by Cheryl Wertman – Stacy Buckland hurled Lyndonville to a semifinal win over Bolivar-Richburg this afternoon at Cal-Mum.

One good late inning scoring burst rallied top seeded Lyndonville to a narrow 3-2 win over No. 4 Bolivar-Richburg this afternoon in the semifinal round of the Section V Class C3 softball playoffs at Caledonia-Mumford.

Bolivar-Richburg scored twice in the top of the fifth but Lyndonville answered right back with the decisive three runs in the home half of the frame.

The three runs all came with two outs on an RBI single by Lorelei Dillenbeck followed by a two-run double by Gracie Johnson. An error and a double by Cassie Boyce gave the Lady Tigers runners at second and third setting up the threat. Johnson had 2 hits on the afternoon.

Bolivar-Richburg did get two runners aboard in the sixth but Lyndonville pitcher Stacy Buckland quickly ended the threat by getting the next two batters out. She then retired the side in order in the seventh to close out the win.

On the day, Buckland allowed 5 hits and struck out 6.

Improving to 17-1, Lyndonville next faces No. 3 Keshequa for the C3 title on Friday at a site to be determined.

Keshequa defeated No. 2 South Seneca 11-7 in the other semifinal.

Photos by Cheryl Wertman – Lyndonville’s Zach Johnson delivers strike three for the final out of his no hitter this afternoon as the Tigers blanked visiting Keshequa in a sectional quarterfinal.

Riding the sparkling no hit pitching performance of senior Zach Johnson, top seeded Lyndonville blanked visiting No. 8 Keshequa 6-0 this afternoon in the quarterfinal round of the Section V Class C2 baseball playoffs.

Johnson registered 16 strikeouts and walked only two on the afternoon. He fanned three batters in the first, second and seventh innings and two each in third, fourth and sixth frames. The two walks came with two out in the first inning but Johnson quickly got out of trouble with a clutch inning ending strikeout.

Lyndonville’s Noah Heinsler delivers what proved to be the game winning RBI single for the Tigers in the first inning.

“He was dominant,” said Tigers Coach Shane Price. “He’s been searching for this all season. He’s had five one hitters  and now he’s got one of his goals. I’m really happy for him. It’s nice to see a kid who has put so much into this program reach of one his goals.”

At the plate, the Tigers scored the only run they needed as it turned out in the home half of the first inning on an RBI single by Noah Heinsler.

It stayed a tight 1-0 contest until the fifth inning when the Tigers scored twice on an RBI double by Johnson and a wild pitch.

Lyndonville then put a lock on the victory by tallying three times in the sixth on RBI singles by Kane Flynn and Johnson and a wild pitch. A single by Matt Hess and an error set up the opportunity.

Improving to 16-2, Lyndonville next hosts No. 12 Caledonia-Mumford in the C2 semifinals at 4:30 p.m. Thursday.

Class D1

Arkport-Canaseraga 12, Kendall 0

No. 3 seed Arkport-Canaseraga scored three quick runs in the first inning and then four more in both the second and third frames to key a 12-0 win over No. 6 Kendall in the Class D1 quarterfinals at Houghton.

Kendall was limited to only 4 hits by a trio of Arkport-Canaseraga pitchers.

Lyndonville’s Matt Hess dives into first base as Keshequa’s Nate Bean awaits the throw.

Photo by Cheryl Wertman – Albion and Medina will meet in the baseball sectional finals for the first time on Thursday in the B1 title contest at Niagara Falls High School at 6 p.m. Here in an earlier season meeting, Medina’s Trevor Luthart gets set to take the throw as Albion’s Alex Gibson dives back to first base.

It will be a first in their long diamond rivalry as Albion and Medina meet for the Section VI Class B1 baseball championship on Thursday.

The Mustangs bring a 18-2 record and the Purple Eagles a 14-5 mark into the title contest which will be played at 6 p.m. at Niagara Falls High School (3890 Pine Ave.).

Medina bested Albion twice during the Niagara-Orleans season by scores of 10-5 and 3-1 in route to capturing the league title.

Medina, which is seeded No. 3, has advanced to the finals with three home field victories over lower seeded teams. The Mustangs shutout No. 14 CSAT 3-0 in the opening round, No. 11 Newfane 6-0 in the quarterfinals and then downed No. 7 Olean 12-1 in the semifinals.

Albion, which is seeded No. 9, has had a bit more of a challenging road to the finals having notched three road victories over higher seeds. The Purple Eagles downed No. 8 East Aurora 4-2 in the opening round, top seeded Springville 6-4 in the quarterfinals and No. 5 Depew 4-0 in the semifinals.

In marks the second year in a row that Medina has reached the finals. The Mustangs dropped a 4-2 decision to N-O rival Roy-Hart in last spring’s Class B2 title contest.

Albion’s last title round appearance was in 2014 when the Purple Eagles defeated Springville 8-3 for the Class A2 title. The Purple Eagles went on to nip Starpoint 2-1 for the overall Class A title and earn a berth in the state playoffs where they dropped a narrow 3-2 decision to Pittsford Sutherland in the Far West Regional.

In Thursday’s Class B2 final Roy-Hart will be looking to defend its title as the top seeded Rams will face No. 2 Gowanda at 4:30 p.m. at Depew High School.

The Rams advanced to the final by blanking N-O foe No. 5 Akron 7-0 in the semis while Gowanda downed No. 3 Allegany-Limestone 5-0.

Last year, after capturing the B2 title, Roy-Hart went on to defeat Olean 12-9 for the overall Section VI Class B title and a berth in the state playoffs. The Rams then downed Midlakes 10-1 in the Far West Regional before dropping a 7-1 decision to Seton Catholic from Binghamton in the state semifinals.