N-O tops G-R in Senior diamond contest

By Mike Wertman, Sports Writer Posted 2 June 2016 at 12:00 am

Photos by Cheryl Wertman – Jason Downs (Albion) tags out Damian Marchetti (Attica) at third base during the Niagara-Orleans League’s Senior Game win over the Genesee Region League this afternoon at Oakfield-Alabama.

Building up a 5-0 lead, the Niagara-Orleans went on to defeat the Genesee Region 7-4 this afternoon in the annual senior baseball game between the two leagues at Oakfield-Alabama.

After scoring a quick run in the first inning on a single by Justin Morgan (Medina), the N-O boosted its advantage to 4-0 by tallying three times in the third on a wild pitch, a single by Joe Nolan (Roy-Hart) and a double by Evan Pappalardo (Albion). Singles by Jared Zinkievich (Medina) and Holden Howland (Wilson) set up the opportunity.

Howland and Ben Maynard (Roy-Hart) both had two hits on the day.

A steal of home by Andy Xapsos (Roy-Hart) upped the lead to 5-0 in the fifth inning.

Colton Breslawski (Holley/Kendall) delivers a pitch for the G-R.

The G-R finally got on the scoreboard in the sixth inning with three tallies on a two-run double by Colton Breslawski (Holley/Kendall) and an RBI single by Nick Donnelly (Alexander).

The teams traded solo tallies in the eighth to keep the N-O up 6-4. The N-O scored on a single by Randy Eblacker (Albion) and the G-R on two walks and a wild pitch.

The N-O tacked on an insurance run in the top of the ninth on a triple by Brady Meakin (Albion).

Brady Meakin (Albion) pitched the final three innings for the N-O.

Meakin, who pitched the final three innings, then put the G-R down in order in the bottom of the ninth to close out the win, retiring the final two batters on strikeouts.

Brad Wilson (Barker), Pappalardo and Will Newton (Newfane) also shared in the pitching chores for the N-O.

Defensively, the N-O turned a key early 6-3-5 double play in the third inning from Xapsos to Howland to Jason Downs (Albion). The N-O also got key catches for outs by Maynard in centerfield and Kyle Jurek (Newfane) at catcher in the eighth inning and by Nick Pawlak (Wilson) in left for the first out in the ninth.