baseball

Blowouts are rare in title games, but that's what the Notre Dame Fighting Irish did on Tuesday in a game between two Class C champions to see who will represent Section V in the Far West Regional Championship.

The Irish, who won the Class C1 crown, beat the C2 champs 17-4.

The game was played in Canandaigua.

Notre Dame scored eight runs in the first inning.

Jaden Sherwood notched the win, allowing just three hits and four runs over five innings while fanning nine. Ryan Fitzpatrick came on in relief for the final two innings and recorded all six outs by Ks.

The offense banged out 13 hits, with Sherwood, Jordan Welker, Bryceton Berry, and Chase Antinore all getting multiple hits.  Sherwood went 3-5. Jay Antinore had three stolen bases.

Photos by Pete Welker.

 

Perhaps the most bizarre ending to a game in organized baseball history occurred on Saturday at Dwyer Stadium in Batavia, and the video made ESPN and has gone viral online.

In the bottom of the ninth inning, Hornell was up 5-4 and with Brady Prebalick at the plate and two runners on base, Hornell gets a called third strike, but the ball is in the dirt. The catcher appears to miss the tag attempt on the hitter as he starts to run to first but thinks he got the out. The umpire signals safe.  The catcher sticks the ball in his back pocket, and the Hornell team starts celebrating an apparent championship win. 

The Pal-Mac runners on first and second race around the bases. The only Hornell player, at first, who realizes the game isn't over is the second baseman, who rushes toward the plate, yelling and looking for the ball.  

Both runners score. Pal-Mac wins 6-5 to take the Class B1 crown.

Hornell's coach Joe Flint told the Wellsville Sun, "I blame myself a little; maybe I could have gone out and argued it was a dead ball and kept the runner on third and said, ‘Hey, it’s tied now, put the runner on third and make them beat us.’ But we can’t blame the umpires; everyone is running on the field, and I’m not sure they knew how to handle it either. I’m not sure what else happened because I haven’t watched the video. Maybe I should have called for a conference and protested. I blame myself on that piece of it, maybe I could have done a better job.”

UPDATE: H/T Steve Ognibene for finding this explainer video. 

Saturday was quite the sports day for Notre Dame High School with both the baseball and softball teams winning championships.

When the teams returned to Batavia, they were met in the Eastown parking lot by Batavia PD patrols and a City Fire truck and given a championship escort through Downtown.

Photos by Howard Owens.

See also:

• Berry tosses shutout for Notre Dame in Class C2 title game
• Notre Dame takes D1 softball championship with win over Lyndonville

Submitted game story:

Bryceton Berry threw a gem on Saturday for the Notre Dame allowing no runs helping the Fighting Irish  beat the Bolivar-Richburg Wolverines 3-0

Berry struck out 15, walked four, and scattered five hits over seven innings.  

The Notre Dame defense behind Berry did not commit a single error.

Landon Barkley took the loss for the Bolivar Richburg Wolverines. The hurler allowed five hits and three runs over three and a third innings, striking out three.  

In a scoreless game in the bottom of the third, Jimmy Fanara, the leadoff hitter for the inning, was hit by a pitch.  He advanced to second on a Jay Antinore single and then to third when Berry grounded into a fielder's choice. Ryan Fitzpatrick grounded out to third, scoring Fanara for the game's first run.  Jaden Sherwood would follow with an RBI double.  

The Irish scored again in the fourth.  Jordan Welker reached on a fielder's choice, and proceed to steal second and third.  On his steal of third, the catcher's throw went wide of the base allowing Welker to score the game's third and final run.  

Notre Dame Batavia will now face C1 champion Sodus on Tuesday, May 30, at Canandaigua Academy High School at 5 p.m. for the right to represent Section V in the far west regional against Gownada next Saturday.

Photos by Pete Welker.

The Fighting Irish will play for a Class C Section V championship after beating Campbell-Savonia at Dwyer Stadium on Wednesday, 6-3.

Notre Dame scored in the opening frame when Bryceton Berry singled on a 2-2 count, driving in a run.

Berry earned the win, going three 2/3 innings, surrendering only one hit, no runs and striking out nine.

Nolan Jamison took the loss for Campbell-Savona, allowing five runs on three hits and striking out two.

Jaden Sherwood was Notre Dame's starting pitcher, allowing three hits and three runs over 3 1/3, striking out nine.

Jay Antinore went 3-3.

Also, on Wednesday, 

• Elba lost to #1 seed Northstar Christian 5-2.
• Le Roy lost to Penn Yan 6-5.

Submitted info. Photos by Pete Welker.

Press Release:

The West Division Champion, Batavia Muckdogs, have announced 10 more members to their 2023 roster. These new Muckdogs include Rashad Robinson from Bishop State Community College, Kyle Hetherington from Lipscomb University, Galvin Sims Jr from Dyersburg State Community College, Thomas Blaydes from the University of Rochester, Victor Alongi from Genesee Community College, Zach Kasperowicz from Fairleigh Dickinson University, Preston Prince from Niagara University, Matt DeStefano from Stony Brook College, Steven Oates from Stillman College, and Jack Keeler from the University of Fort Lauderdale.

Standing at 6’0 and weighing 160 pounds, Rashad Robinson is a freshman second baseman/outfielder from Bishop State Community College. Robinson has been impressive at the plate with a .388 batting average and also possesses the ability to bring his teammates home with 31 RBIs to match.

Standing at 5’11 and weighing 195 pounds, Kyle Hetherington is an outfielder from Lipscomb University. In his first year of Division I baseball, Hetherington proved he belonged with a .500 average, including a 1.250 on-base slugging as well as 2 home runs in only 8 at-bats. 

Standing at 6’0 and weighing 205 pounds, Galvin Sims Jr. is an infielder from Dyersburg State Community College. This past year he was ranked in the top 500 of all JUCO players going into the Spring 2023 season. In his senior season of high school baseball, he had a .500 batting average, 1.434 on-base slugging, and 34 RBIs.

Standing at 5’10 and weighing 195 pounds, Thomas Blaydes is a pitcher from the University of Rochester. In his junior season, Blaydes had 8 appearances for the Yellow Jackets in which he had 3 strikeouts in two innings against St. Lawrence and impressively struck out the side against Cairn.

Standing at 5’9 and weighing 190 pounds, Victor Alongi is an infielder from Genesee Community College. This past season, Alongi had a .348 batting average, a 979 on-base slugging, and had an efficient 7 for 8 on stolen bases.

Standing at 5’10 and weighing 185 pounds, Zach Kasperowicz is a catcher from Fairleigh Dickinson University. Before arriving at the Division I level, Kasperowicz played at Bergen Community College, where he had a .353 batting average along with a .500 on-base percentage.

Standing at 6’4 and weighing 205 pounds, Preston Prince is a lefty pitcher from Niagara University via Hilton, New York. In his 10.2 innings pitched this past season for Niagara, Prince racked up 12 strikeouts.

Standing at 6’0 and weighing 190 pounds, Matt DeStefano is an outfielder from Stony Brook College. Being in the outfield is where DeStefano’s value on the baseball field shows, as this past season, he had a perfect fielding percentage. DeStefano also scored the game-winning run against the New Jersey Institute of Technology.

Standing at 6’2 and weighing 205 pounds, Steven Oates is a pitcher from Stillman College. This past season on the mound saw him strike out 30 batters in only 28 innings. Oates finished with a record of 2-2 in his 6 starts and only allowed 2 home runs. 

Standing at 6’3 and weighing 210 pounds, Jack Keeler is a pitcher from the University of Fort Lauderdale. Keeler, in his sophomore season, made some giant improvements lowering his ERA from a 4.63 to a 2.41. In this past season, Jack also recorded 27 strikeouts and allowed no home runs.

You can see all of these new players from this list in their home opener at Dwyer Stadium against the Elmira Pioneers on Saturday, June 3. Following the opener will be a fireworks display for all to enjoy. For both individual and season tickets, as well as keeping up with future games and promotional nights, please check out our website https://www.canusamuckdogs.com/ or call (585)-524-2260!

Oakfield-Alabama's season game to a bit of an unexpected end on Monday with a 4-2 loss to Geneseo.

The Hornets entered the quarterfinal game of the Class C Section V tournament as the #2 seed, and the Blue Devils are the #7 seed.

No stats are available.

Also on Monday:

• Notre Dame beat Byron-Bergen 12-8.
• Elba beat Hinsdale 14-1.
• Le Roy beat Wayland-Cohocton 6-4

Holley was no match for Oakfield-Alabama in the first round of Class C Section V baseball tournament on Friday, with Holley pitchers giving up 25 hits and 30 rounds to the #2 seed.

The Hornets hit two home runs, by Shaun Alexander and Bodie Hyde, and Hyde collected six RBIs and scored twice while going 2-2.  Alexander was 2-3 after taking over for Hyde in centerfield. 

Brenden Wescott was 4-5 with four RBIs. David Schnaufer was 3-5 with three runs scored. Cole Kornow scored four times and collected four RBIs while going 2-4.

Five O-A pitchers fanned 13 hitters over seven innings while giving up seven hits, and one earned run.

Also on Sunday in Class C, Pembroke lost to Bloomfield, 5-1.  In Class C, Byron-Bergen beat Cuba-Rushford, 8-5.

In today's games, 

• Class D: #5 seed Elba plays #4 Hinsdale at 5 p.m. Hinsdale.
• In Class C: #1 Notre Dame hosts #9 Byron-Bergen at Dwyer Stadium at 5 p.m
• In Class B: #5 Batavia plays at Hornell against #4 Hornell at 6 p.m.
• In Class B: #8 seed Le Roy takes on #1 Wayland-Cohocton at 5 p.m.

Photos by Max Waterson, age 7.

Press Release:

The West Division Champion Batavia Muckdogs are happy to welcome the newest members of the team for the upcoming 2023 season! Among the many newcomers joining the reigning champs are Outfielder Anthony Calabro, and First Baseman/Outfielder Henry Daniels, both coming from the University of West Georgia. 

Calabro, a 6’0 185 pound junior, comes from St. John’s, Florida. A Division II player of the year candidate, Calabro had an excellent season batting .418 and mashing 14 home runs on his way to a 1.225 OPS while also swiping 17 stolen bases along the way.

Daniels, a 6’5 220-pound junior, is from Norman Park, Georgia. Daniels, the first base/outfield hybrid, mashed 15 home runs with a .634 slugging percentage.

Along with these new assets, many familiar faces are returning for another year of Muckdogs’ baseball. Among these include Alex Hale, Trey Bacon, Julian Pichardo, Josh Leadem, Caleb Rodriguez, Brice Mortillaro, Ryan Kinney, and Tyler Henshaw.

Standing at 5’11 and weighing 180 pounds, Alex Hale is a junior pitcher from Niagara County Community College. Hale, who throws an 86-mile-per-hour fastball, has been limited this season, striking out three in three innings with no runs allowed.

Standing at 5’11 and weighing 160 pounds, Trey Bacon is a junior utility player and pitcher from Saint Pete College. Bacon recently averaged eight strikeouts per nine innings at Santa Fe Community College. Last summer for Batavia, Trey performed at a high level with a 1.59 ERA. 

Standing at 6’5 and weighing 225 pounds, Julian Pichardo is a senior pitcher from the University of Fort Lauderdale. Pichardo will be returning for his third stint with the Muckdogs. His first year with Batavia saw him clock in with a 2.45 ERA in 55 innings pitched, along with 42 strikeouts. Last year Pichardo pitched a 3.20 ERA while striking out 17 batters in 19 innings.
Julian also won a championship playoff game last year for the Muckdogs.

Standing at 6’2 and weighing 190 pounds, Josh Leadem is a senior outfielder from the University of Rochester. Leadem is making his return to the team after playing this year for the University of Rochester, where across three seasons there, he’s accumulated a career .334 average and 61 stolen bases. Leadem hit a walk-off grand slam in this year's liberty league tournament against RIT.

Standing at 5’10 and weighing 170 pounds, Caleb Rodriguez is a senior middle infielder from Kean University. Rodriguez will be making his return to Batavia after bumping up his batting average from .252 his sophomore season to .331 his junior season at Kean University. This year he also finished with a .434 on-base percentage and 23 RBIs.

Standing at 6’0 and weighing 187 pounds, Brice Mortillaro is a sophomore catcher from Georgia Southwestern University. After a year off from the Muckdogs, Mortillaro will be returning to the team. Brice, in his 2022 campaign at Georgia Southwestern University, posted a .432 on-base percentage and .745 OPS, and in his entire collegiate career, has never made an error.

Standing at 6’5 and weighing 190 pounds, Ryan Kinney is a senior pitcher from Xavier University of Louisiana. Kinney will make his way back to Batavia this year. This past season saw Ryan continue to perform well, pitching in 19 innings along with 24 strikeouts.

Standing at 5’9 and weighing 165, Tyler Henshaw is a sophomore pitcher from Potomac State. Henshaw has been dominant this season with Potomac State, averaging 10.15 strikeouts per game while holding opponents to only a .242 batting average while he’s on the bump.

The entire Batavia team will begin their quest to repeat as West Division champions with their home opener at Dwyer Stadium against the Elmira Pioneers on Saturday, June 3rd. Following the opener will be a fireworks display for all to enjoy. For both individual and season tickets, as well
as keeping up with future games and promotional nights, please check out our website https://www.canusamuckdogs.com/ or call 585-524-2260!

Submitted photos

Brayden Smith pitched a complete-game, five-inning shutout on Monday to help lead Oakfield -Alabama over Pembroke 10-0.

Pembroke managed only three hits.

Smith struck out 10 hitters and walked two.

Bodie Hyde was 2-2 with five RBIs.  Cole Kornow had two hits, scored twice, and drove in a pair of runs. Seth Gibson walked three times and scored three runs.

Photo by Kristin Smith.

The Hornets improved to 12-2 on the season with a 16-6 win over Alexander on Thursday.

Kyle Porter got the win, splitting the workload with Colton Yasses.  Porter went three innings and give up four runs on one hit and struck out eight. Yasses gave up two hits and two runs (one earned).

Brayden Smith went 3-4, driving in three runs and scoring twice. Aiden Warner, Brodie Hyde, and David Schnuafer also had two hits each. Warner also had three RBIs.

Mason Bump was 1-1 with a walk for Alexander, scoring twice and knocking in a run.

Photos by Kristin Smith.

It took eight innings for Oakfield-Alabama to pick up its 11 win of the season Wednesday, finally beating Attica, 7-4.

The Hornets jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the first, and scored its fourth run in the fifth, but Attica pulled even after scoring two in the first and two more in the fifth.  O-A (11-2) secured its win in the seventh with three runs.

Brodie Hyde had three hits, scored twice and an RBI. Brayden Smith was 2-3 with two RBIs. David Schaufer also drove in two runs.

Photos by Kristin Smith.

Oakfield-Alabama beat Holley in a five-inning baseball game on Monday, 25-0.

Colton Yasses, Aiden Warner, Brayden Smith, Kyle Porter, and Shaun Alexander all had multi-hit games.

Smith slammed a homer, and Yasses and Warner each had three RBIs.

David Schnaufer gave up only one hit over five innings and struck out 11 to pick up the win.

The Hornets are now 10-2 on the season. Their only two losses came against Notre Dame.

Photos by Kristin Smith.

Pitching dominated in Saturday's nightcap of the annual Batavia Rotary Club Baseball Tournament at Dwyer Stadium, with Notre Dame beating Batavia 3-2 to claim the championship.

Bryceton Berry, the tournament MVP, picked up the win, going seven innings, striking out nine Blue Devils, and surrendering eight hits and two runs.

Batavia's Shawn Kimball took the loss despite giving up only three runs and three hits over six innings.  He struck out six hitters.

Kimball was also the only hitter in the game to pick up two hits.

Earlier in the day, Notre Dame beat Oakfield-Alabama 5-2, and Batavia beat Attica 12-1.

Photos by Kristin Smith except where noted.

Tournament Director Tom Turnbull is sticking to "23rd Annual" for the 2023 Rotary Baseball Tournament, even though there have only been 18 champs actually crowned over the two-plus decades since the first game.

Rainouts and two seasons lost to COVID-19 have kept a few names off the championship trophy -- which is new this year (see photo above) after the former trophy filled up with the plaques of previous winners.

Notre Dame's coach, Rick Rapone, at Tuesday's Rotary Club meeting in Batavia, called it the premier tournament in the area that every local baseball player is excited to compete in.

The first pitch Saturday is at 11 a.m. with the battle of the Blue Devils, Batavia vs. Attica.  Game 2 is at 2 p.m. when two hot teams face each other for the second time this season -- Oakfield-Alabama vs. Notre Dame.  Notre Dame is a pitching powerhouse, and the Hornets pack a lot of offensive punch. The last time these two teams met, Notre Dame prevailed.

The championship game is tentatively scheduled for 7 p.m. on Saturday.  However, if Attica beats Batavia, the game will be played at 2 p.m. on Sunday because Attica has its senior prom on Saturday night.

Admission is $5 for an adult all-day pass and $3 for a student or senior all-day pass. All proceeds from the tournament will help benefit Batavia Rotary Club charities.

Press Release:

The 23rd Annual Batavia Rotary Club High School Tournament will take place Saturday, May 5th, at Dwyer Stadium.

Attica will play Batavia in the first game at 11 a.m., followed by Oakfield-Alabama vs. Notre Dame at 2 p.m. 

The winners of those two contests will play in the championship game under the lights starting at 7 p.m.

Admission is $5 for an adult all-day pass and $3 for a student or senior all-day pass. All proceeds from the tournament will help benefit Batavia Rotary Club charities.

Photo: File photo by Howard Owens

 

Colton Yasses threw five innings of one-hit ball as Oakfield-Alabama beat Elba on Saturday 13-0.

Brayden Smith went 3-3 with four RBIs, scoring three runs. Aiden Warner was 2-3 with two runs scored. David Schnaufer was 1-2 with a walk and five RBIs. Austin Pangrazio was 2-3 with a run scored.

The Hornets are 8-1.

Photos by Kristin Smith. For more, click here.

There's one team left in Section V that is undefeated in the 2023 baseball season.  That team is Notre Dame, at 9-0.

While the Irish offensive has piled up runs, the pitching has been phenomenal, with no earned runs allowed all season. Overall, only five opposing runners have scored against Notre Dame over 54 innings of play. The pitchers have fanned 111 batters.

On Saturday, Bryceton Berry threw a perfect game to pick up his fourth win of the season. 

In the past three games, the Irish pitchers have tossed a no-hitter and a one-hitter.

Saturday's win came over Alexander, 8-0. 

The Fighting Irish picked up wins on Friday and Saturday.

On Friday, the team beat Geneseo 11-1.

Jaden Sherwood tossed a complete-game one-hitter, notching 12 Ks and allowing one walk.

Offensively on Frixay:

• Ryan Fitzpatrick, 2-3, two RBIs, two runs scored
• Bryceton Berry, 2-3, two RBIs two runs scored
• Jaden Sherwood, 2-,4 two RBIs one run scored

Submitted photos and information.