Sports

Brynn Walczak scored 19 points over Romulus in the Section V Class D2 semifinal playoff game to lead the Elba Lady Lancers to a 46-30 win.

"Well, it definitely was a slower-paced game with not a lot of shots of taken on both ends," said Coach Tom Redband. "It seemed like one of those games where every possession kind of mattered. It wasn't a real high-flying game. It didn't feel that way and statistics said that as well, too."

Leah Bezon scored 10 points for Elba as did Taylor Augello.

Bezon also had four steals.

The #1 ranked Lancers now advance to a Section V championship game at 6 p.m. at Letchworth against #3 ranked Whitesville.

"It's going to be a tough game," Redband said. "We played them last year and we could see that defensively they're a good team. Their shots weren't falling when they played us last year.

"The score was a little lopsided first in the first quarter and then in the second half, we saw what they are capable of. So hopefully we come out and a few more shots fall and we continue the defensive game plan and put ourselves in a position to win."

Tonight in girls basketball, Pembroke plays Marion at 7:45 at Canandaigua in a Class C2 semifinal, and Oakfield-Alabama plays Keshequa at 6 o'clock at HFL in a Class C3 semifinal.

Emma Krolczyk goes up for a layup.

Jenae Colkey (34) and Mackenzie Reigle attempt to stop Pal-Mac's Sophie Lyko.

Ryann Stefaniak looks to drive to the hoop.

A steal by Reigle leads to a Batavia basket.

Bryn Wormley controls the loose ball.

Part of the large contingent of Batavia fans react to the victory.

Finding themselves up by only two points with about five minutes to play, the top-seeded Batavia High Lady Blue Devils were in need of a spark, something to put some distance between them and the No. 4 Palmyra-Macedon Lady Red Raiders in their Section 5 Class B1 semifinal girls’ basketball game tonight at Caledonia-Mumford High.

Pal-Mac, a decided underdog, had jumped out to a seven-point quarter lead and hung in there through three quarters as Batavia was unable to get its offense in gear.

But just when it looked as though Pal-Mac was about to tie the game, key plays by a trio of Lady Devils in a minute’s time resulted in a 7-0 spurt and propelled Batavia to a 44-32 victory.

The win puts Coach Marty Hein’s team in the championship game at 8 p.m. Friday at Cal-Mum against Midlakes, a 58-32 winner over Greece Odyssey in the first game of the doubleheader.

On a night when top scorer Ryann Stefaniak struggled from the field (4-for-11 including 0-for-5 from three-point territory), Emma Krolczyk and Mackenzie Reigle came through with 14 and 13 points, respectively, and Jenae Colkey led a stifling defense that allowed only 15 points over the final three quarters.

Colkey, a senior guard/forward who has to play inside on defense, came up with a remarkable defensive stop when she got in position in the lane to prevent a fast-break layup that would have tied the game. The missed shot eventually made its way to Krolczyk who drove to the hoop to make it 31-27 – a four-point swing.

Krolczyk then rebounded a Pal-Mac missed and kicked the ball out to Reigle, who sank Batavia’s first three-pointer of the game to make it 34-27 at the 3:52 mark. Following a Pal-Mac timeout, Reigle stole the ball and flew in for a layup to give the Lady Devils a 36-27 edge.

Another three-pointer, this one by Bryn Wormley, and pair of baskets by Stefaniak in the closing 1:30 sealed the win.

The decisive seven-point run came just after Stefaniak had been called for her fourth foul, sending her to the bench. The fact that her teammates picked her up should give Batavia a lot of confidence heading into Friday’s match against No. 2 Midlakes, 19-3.

Hein credited the defense for saving the day while lamenting the team’s offensive execution.

“In all the interviews that I have been giving, I have said I’m not worried about the offense, but I almost shot myself in the foot (with this game),” Hein said. “We were helter-skelter and impatient and didn’t move the ball very well. Hopefully, we will put the pieces together on Friday.”

He called Reigle (she also had five steals and three rebounds) a “huge sparkplug” and praised Colkey, one of three seniors on the team, for “taking on the leadership role tonight and settling the team down.”

Colkey had three assists, six rebounds and two steals to go with her two points, while Stefaniak, who was coming off a 35-point outburst in the quarterfinals, finished with 10 points – nine less than her average -- along with four rebounds and four steals.

Overall, Batavia was 18-for-50 from the field (36 percent) and just 2-for-10 on threes.

For Pal-Mac, senior forward Gretchen Earl was the top scorer with 12 points while junior guard Katie Smith sank a pair of three-pointers in the first quarter and finished with seven points.

Photos by Steve Ognibene. To view or purchase photos, click here.

Press release:

TicketReturn announced today that it will become the exclusive ticketing provider for the Batavia Muckdogs professional baseball team.

The club’s box office will be able to take advantage of TicketReturn’s strategic partnerships and dedicated client support representatives to best serve fans across Genessee County.

TicketReturn, a leading provider of box office, online and mobile ticketing services, offers nearly two decades of technology management experience to help clients across the country exceed their goals.

The Charlotte, N.C.-based company offers a full suite of ticketing innovations, including event marketing, access control, attendance reporting, accounting and fundraising features for sports and entertainment venues.

The Muckdogs will benefit from TicketReturn’s strategic partnership with Groupmatics, which offers a streamlined process for the sale and distribution of group tickets. The club will also be able to add its own color palettes and logos on TicketReturn’s enhanced mobile design for customer transactions.

Batavia can now offer non-ticket inventory items during the online transaction. TicketReturn has shown a proven ability to deliver incremental revenue for its ticketing partners.

The Muckdogs will be able to offer fans a variety of ticket packages, including season tickets and mini-plans.

“We’re looking forward to working closely with Batavia’s box office team as they prepare for the season.” said Christie Hussey, TicketReturn’s vice president of Sales and Marketing.

“We pride ourselves on offering client support representatives that are available to provide support and fast onboarding as the Muckdogs prepare for the new season.”

The Batavia Muckdogs competes in the New York-Penn League as the Short-Season Class-A affiliate of the Miami Marlins.

This partnership furthers TicketReturn’s commitment to provide ticketing solutions and services to professional sports teams, colleges and universities throughout the country.

About TicketReturn  

TicketReturn is a leading provider of box office and online ticketing services serving more than 250 client venues and issuing more than 38 million tickets annually. As the leading provider of ticketing services for Minor League Baseball (MiLB) in the United States and Canada, TicketReturn also serves minor league hockey teams, soccer, basketball and lacrosse. TicketReturn’s diverse client venues range from theater and casino showrooms, motorsports, horse racing, university arenas and sports stadiums reflecting the ease of use and scalability of the platform.

For more information about TicketReturn, visit us at www.ticketreturn.com

All Section 5 Girls Basketball Tournament semifinal games scheduled for tonight have been postponed until Tuesday night at the same locations.

Those games include:

Class B1 -- Batavia versus Palmyra-Macedon at Caledonia-Mumford High School at 7:45;

Class B2 -- Attica versus Wellsville at Honeoye Falls-Lima High School at 6:00;

Class D2 -- Elba versus Romulus at Dansville High School at 7:45.

Section 5 Boys Basketball Tournament games now scheduled for Tuesday are as follows:

Class C2 -- Perry vs. Lyons, Alexander vs. Red Jacket at Pittsford-Sutherland High School, 6:30 and 8:15 p.m., respectively.

Class C3 -- Caledonia-Mumford vs. Naples at Letchworth High School, 6 p.m.

Class C3 -- Lyndonville vs. York at Batavia High School, 5:30 p.m.

Class D2 -- Elba vs. Belfast at Mount Morris High School, 5:30 p.m.

For complete information about Section 5 girls basketball, go to www.sectionvgirlsbasketball.net.

To reach the Section 5 boys basketball website, go to www.sectionvsoccer.net.

A bus driver for the Le Roy Central School District by day, an avid league bowler by night.

That is what retired Genesee County sheriff's deputy Roger Stone is up to now and, on the lanes, he's been doing very well lately.

The 64-year-old Batavia right-hander nearly had a couple of perfect games this week -- posting 298 in a 747 on Wednesday night in the County Line Stone League at Scopano's Lanes in Oakfield, and 287 in a 730 series in the Sunday Rolloffs League at Medina Lanes.

In the G&W Vending League at Rose Garden Bowl in Bergen, Ryan Flaherty of Rochester fired a 300 game en route to a 760 series.

Several other league bowlers hit the 700 mark last week, and you can see the list of high rollers by clicking on the Pin Points tab at the top of this page.

On his own Friday night, Colton Dillon outscored the entire Bradford team in a second-round, Class D1 Section V playoff game in Elba.

Dillon scored 31 points and the Lancers beat Bradford 70-30.

Jon Boyce was the only other Lancer player to notch double digits with 13 points.

Jordan Suteyk scored eight points for Bradford. Steven Spina scored six points.

Next up for #2 ranked Elba (16-6) is #3 ranked Belfast (14-6).

Also in boys basketball yesterday:

• Alexander beat Geneseo 62-55. Alexander (16-5) is ranked #2 in Class C2 and will play #3 ranked Red Jacket (16-5) in the semifinal.
• York beat Pavilion 68-52 to advance to the Class C3 semifinal.
• Oakfield-Alabama lost to Naples 55-42 in a Class C3 quarterfinal. Joey Burdick scored 16 points. Nick Wissinger scored 12.

At 2 p.m. today, #2 ranked Batavia (11-10) plays #2 ranked Newark (16-3) at Newark.

Tonight #2 ranked Le Roy (12-8) plays #7 ranked Mynderse Acadamy at 7 p.m. at Le Roy in a Class B2 quarterfinal.

In girls basketball, Batavia (18-1), ranked #1 in Class B1, beat #8 ranked Livonia 73-48 (game story).

In Class C2 today, #9 ranked Alexander (7-14) plays #1 ranked Marion (16-4) at 2 p.m. at Marion in a quarterfinal and #10 ranked Byron-Bergen (6-14) plays #2 ranked Red Jacket at 2 p.m. and Red Jacket. And #4 ranked Pembroke (14-7) plays #5 ranked Lyons (14-7) at Pembroke at 2 p.m.

In Class C3 #8 ranked Pavilion (9-12) plays #1 ranked South Seneca (19-1) at South Seneca at 2 p.m. Oakfield-Alabama, ranked #2 (16-4) plays #5 ranked York (11-9) at O-A at 2 p.m.

In Class D1, #1 ranked Elba (18-1) plays #9 ranked Northstar Christian (4-15) at 2 p.m. at Elba.

Senior point guard Ryann Stefaniak, playing in the final home game of her stellar career at Batavia High School, came out shooting tonight and she didn’t stop until she scored 35 points – including eight three-point baskets – in her Lady Devils’ 78-43 victory over Livonia in a Section 5 Class B1 girls’ basketball second-round contest.

“I knew it was my last home game and I came out with so much energy,” Stefaniak said. “I worked with my shooting coach, Billy Truitt, before the game and I felt like I was going to be on.”

She certainly was “on” – scoring nine points in the first quarter with a pair of three-pointers and exploding for 14 points in the second quarter as top-seeded Batavia turned an 18-12 advantage into a 44-22 halftime lead.

Stefaniak had four three-point baskets in the closing three minutes of the half to help Batavia, now 18-2, blow the game open. She added two more three-pointers in the third quarter as the Lady Devils maintained their 22-point cushion.

Sophomore point guard Mackenzie Reigle put forth another fine all-around effort, scoring 13 points on a variety of drives and spin moves while coming up with six steals. Sophomore guard Bryn Wormley sank a trio of three-point shots and finished with 10 points.

Junior forward Emma Krolczyk added seven points and senior guard Jenae Colkey had four. Senior center Meghan Houseknecht and sophomore guard Tess Barone scored two apiece.

For eighth-seeded Livonia, 13-8, junior forward Sydney Lockwood tallied 21 points – eight in the final quarter as the teams traded baskets. Junior forward Vanessa Galbraith had nine and junior guard Sara Shellenbarger added seven.

Batavia Coach Marty Hein stated that he was impressed with his team’s offensive prowess, but said his defense need to tighten things up.

“The defense wasn’t as sound as I wanted it to be,” he said. “We allowed too many open shots and drives, especially against number 12 (Lockwood). And we had three girls in foul trouble (Krolczyk, Reigle and Stefaniak).”

Still, top-seeded Batavia moves on to the next round where it will face No. 4 Palmyra-Macedon in the second game of a doubleheader Monday night at Caledonia-Mumford.

Pal-Mac, 15-5, defeated visiting Notre Dame of Batavia, 50-43, tonight.

The first game of Monday’s twin bill has No. 2 Midlakes facing No. 3 Greece Odyssey, with a 6 p.m. starting time.

The BHS vs. Pal-Mac game is expected to tip off around 7:45.

The Blue Devils squad was on a mission in the first half to control the game over visiting Palmyra-Macedon of the first round of class B1 sectionals last evening at Batavia High School.

Opening minutes were led 10-5 by senior Mason McFollins and junior Jake Humes. Tanner Thompson for Pal-Mac scored five. Blue Devils led 23-10 after the first quarter.

Second half Pal-Mac could not stop the Devils' rush as Camden White added six points. Blue Devils' Joseph Martinucci, Andrew Francis, McFollins and Luke Grammatico also contributed points to dominate the half 44-18.

Batavia then opened the floodgates rolling through the next eight minutes as Cayden White and McFollins added another 16 points combined along with points from Francis and Tyler Hale.

In the final minutes of the third quarter, both teams pulled their starters, Batavia led 69-27.

Senior Tyivon Ayala scored nine points in the fourth to close out the quarter as Batavia wins the game 87-41 and will travel to play this Saturday at #2 Newark Reds, 2 p.m. tip off.

Top photo is Batavia's Zach Gilebarto defending Pal-Mac's Paul Goodness.

To view or purchase photos click here.

Notre Dame dominated Hammondsport in their first-round Class D1 Section V playoff game at Notre Dame on Wednesday night, winning 85-40.

Gabe Macdonald scored 27 points, Colin McCulley scored 17, and Keith Szczepanski added 14 to pace the Fighting Irish.

Spencer Misit scored eight and Andrew Moore scored six. In all, nine Irish put points on the board.

"I think this was a team effort and I thought everybody contributed," Coach Mike Rapone said. "We played really well on both ends of the floor and rebounded well, passed the ball well. Keith was dominant inside and we got him the ball in areas where he could be effective."

Rapone thinks the road to the Class D1 finals runs through Mount Morris, which is where the Irish, now 12-9 on the season, head to next at 7 p.m., Saturday. Mount Morris is ranked second and is 17-3.

"Mount Morris is a very good team," Rapone said. "They got a few guys who have been starting for three years. This is the year they've been pointing to. They think they got a chance to win it all which they do. So this is a big test for us."

Also on Wednesday night, Batavia beat PalMac 87-41. Coverage is coming.

Tomorrow:

• Elba vs. Bradford, 7 p.m. at Elba
• Alexander vs. Geneseo, 7 p.m., at Alexander

Number 8 seed Pavilion knocked off #9 seed Dundee on Wednesday night at home in a Class 3 Section V playoff game, 36-31, in girls basketball.

For the Golden Gophers, Lindsay Lowe scored nine points, Aprile Beehler and Bri Hirsman each scored eight points, Lauren Kingsley scored seven, and Karlee Zinkievich scored four.

For Dundee, Mckenzie Strait scored 11 points and Megan Sutherland scored 10.

Pavilion is now 10-11 on the season and plays #1 seed South Seneca (18-1) on Saturday at South Seneca at 2 p.m.

In other girls basketball action Wednesday:

• Pembroke 68, Bloomfield 56
• Alexander 72, Rochester Academy 49

Tomorrow's games:

• Batavia vs. Livonia, 7 p.m. at Batavia HS
• Notre Dame vs. PalMac, 7 p.m., at PalMac

Top photo: Karlee Zinkievich.

Photos by Ryan Paddock.

 Lauren Kingsley

Aprile Beehler

Jordan Barrett

Colby Tillotson scored 17 points to help lead Pavilion over Keshequa 59-46  in a first-round  Section V playoff game in Pavilion on Tuesday night.

The #6 seed in Class C3, the Golden Gophers have been without Zach Wiedrich, a top scorer on the team, since the 10th game but Tillotson, Ryley Elliott, Cameron Milligan and Luke Milligan have all stepped up to help fill the gap, said Coach Rob Milligan.

Weidrich, a junior, was diagnosed with a heart condition and may not be able to play competitive basketball again.

As an example of Weidrich scoring prowess, Milligan said he got hot one game last season and scored 36 points.

Tuesday, Elliott scored nine points, as did Cody Penders. Nate Swede scored six points. Tillotson hit three three-point shots.

For Keshequa, Cameron Chestnut scored 17 points. He also hit three three-point shots.

One of the five bowlers in the Toyota of Batavia Thursday Night League at Mancuso Bowling Center in Batavia who had a shot at perfection this week made it to the promised land and, not surprisingly, that one was Batavia left-hander Rich Wagner.

Wagner continued his spectacular season with 269-300-235--804, raising his average to 248.7 with six weeks left. The current Genesee Region USBC record for a season is 242, shared by Scott Culp of Honeoye Falls and Curtis Foss of Medina.

The other four who came close -- Vin Pontillo, 278--733; Jim Pursel, 279--725; Geoff Harloff, 277--724, and Alex Morris, 278--700. Jason Gallo, Wagner's teammate, posted a 217 triplicate.

At Oak Orchard Bowl in Albion, Foss nearly had a monster triplicate, firing 279-279-276--834 in the Friday Night Mixers League.

And at Medina Lanes, Mike "Pook" Bielak notched his first 800 series -- 290-289-243--822 -- in the Thursday Firefighters League while Foss had another 300 game, his fifth of the season.

For a list of high scores, click on the Pin Points tab at the top of this page. Mike Pettinella's next Pin Points column is scheduled for this Thursday.

Girls indoor track teams from Le Roy and Batavia, and the boys team from Batavia came away with sectional titles after competing at meets at RIT on Friday and Saturday.

Le Roy garnered 78 points, far outpacing second-place Warsaw at 38 points in Class D.

In Class C, the Batavia girls team also finished well head of the next closest team with 132 points to 47.5 points for Palmyra-Macedon.

For the boys, they notched first with a dominating 152 points to 56 points for Wayne Central.

First-place showings for Le Roy:

• McKenna Cone in the 55 Meter Hurdles with a time of 9.03.
• McKenna Cone in the Long Jump with a distance of 6-07.25

The Le Roy Boys Track Team finished second to East Rochester with 43 points to 53 points.

First-place finishes for Batavia girls:

• Arianna Brown in the High Jump with a height of 4-08.00
• Emily Caccamise in the 1500 Meter Race Walk with a time of 9:04.69

First-place finishes for Batavia boys:

• Zakariah Jantzi in the 1000 Meter Run with a time of 2:40.24
• Garrick Havens in the 1600 Meter Run with a time of 4:46.34
• Garrick Havens in the 3200 Meter Run with a time of 10:25.96
• Batavia won the 400 Meter Relay with a time of 9:03.44
• Daemon Konieczny in the High Jump with a height of 6-01.00
• Alex Rood in the Shot Put with a distance of 53-10.00
• Matt Grover in the Weight Throw with a distance of 51-02.25

Batavia Coach Nick Burk also sent along this meet report:

The Batavia Indoor track and field team competed in Sectionals last night at RIT and came away with the double championship (boys and girls) for the third year in a row. The boys team won their eighth overall Sectional Championship and seventh title since 2008. The girls' team won their 15th Sectional Championship in 17 years with this being their sixth consecutive title. Both teams came into the meet very confident and excited to continue the high level of excellence that our program has developed.

For the boys' meet, our dominance in the throws continued with Alex Rood winning the Shot Put (53-10), while Jaheim Smith (48-7.25) and Evan Bartz (44-4.5) took second and fourth, respectively. Not to be outdone, our boys' Weight Throwers were even more impressive taking the top four places with Matt Grove (51-2.25) winning the event, followed by Evan Bartz (50-0.75), Alex Rood (49-11.25), and Cody Eisenberger (48-6.75).

Batavia's distance crew certainly shined in this meet, particularly Garrick Havens who won the 3200m (10:25.96), the 1600m (4:46.34), and was part of the winning 4x800 Relay (9:03.44) with Zak Jantzi, John Bruggman, and Mario Rosales. Zak Jantzi also won the 1000m (2:40.24) and Mario Rosales took second in the 1000m (2:43.32) and fourth in the 1600m (4:57.67). John Bruggman finished in fourth in the 600m (1:28.77).

Daemon Konieczny had a phenomenal meet as well winning the High Jump (6-1), placing third in the Pole Vault (12-0), and fourth in 55 Hurdles (8.52). Also in the Pole Vault, Andrew Lin placed fifth (11-0) and Matt Adams placed sixth (11-0).

Senior Taiyo Iburi-Bethel had a very impressive meet with a fourth-place finish in the 55m (6.76) and second-place finish in Long Jump (20-11). Other scorers for Batavia were Joey Gefell finishing fifth for Triple Jump (38-9), Terrez Smith finished fifth in the 55m (6.78), Troy Helsdon finished fifth in the 3200m (11:12.23), Brock Every finished sixth in the 600m (1:31.89) and the 4x400 Relay with Joey Gefell, Colton Martin, Leo Liang, and Zack Anderson finishing fifth (3:49.80).

Batavia's boys finished first out of 17 scoring teams with 152 points, followed by UPrep with 71 points and Wayne with 56 points.

The Batavia girls' indoor track team had a truly gritty performance last night led by a group of seniors that have been a part of our success for a long time. Liz Cohen had an incredible meet placing second in the 55 Hurdles (9.20), second in the Pole Vault (9-0) and third in Triple Jump (33-3.5). Emily Caccamise earned a repeat championship in the 1500m Racewalk (9:04.69), Jalesa Smith placed second in the High Jump (4-6), second in Long Jump (16-4), and fourth in the Weight Throw (32-8.75), and Caitlin Kingston placed fourth in the 600m (1:45.96) These four athletes finish their indoor track careers having never lost a Sectional meet and contributing 56 points toward last night's team championship.

Arianna Brown earned a Sectional Championsip in the High Jump (4-8) while also running on the 4x200 Relay with Sarah Adams, Jadin Vasciannie, and Caitlin Kingston, which placed third (1:56.04). Sarah Adams also place second in the Triple Jump (34-0.5). The girls' 4x400 Relay of Caitlin Kingston, Noelia Ventura, Aurelia Colby, and Piper Harloff finished third (4:30.43), and the 4x800 Relay of Sadie Loria, Maddie Taggart, Sam Davis, and Makayla Andolora finished sixth (11:14.87).

The girls' Throwers also had a tremendous meet! Along with Jalesa Smith's fourth-place finish in Weight Throw, Maggie Andersen finished in second (41-7.5) and Rebekah Daniszewski finished sixth (32-2.25). Rebekah also earned a second-place finish in the Shot Put (32-2).

Other scorers for the Blue Devils last night were: Melanie Quinones-Santiago, who finished fifth in the 3000m (12:05.91) and fourth in the 1500m (5:40.03); Sydney Konieczny, who finished fourth in the 1000m (3:20.56); Elizabeth Kingston, who finished fourth in the 1500m Racewalk (9:22.23); Gavin Konieczny, who finished third in Pole Vault (8-6); and Camryn Buck, who finished third in High Jump (4-6).

Batavia's girls finished first out of 19 scoring teams with 132 points followed by Wayne with 72 points and Pal-Mac with 47.5 points.

This performance really demonstrates the tremendous effort by our Blue Devil athletes and also the guidance from our incredible coaching staff. Dan Geiger (Throws), Rich Boyce (High Jump/Distance), William Buckenmeyer (Hurdles/Distance), Eric Allen (Jumps), Alex Veltz (Sprints), Wayne Wadams (Pole Vault), and Brandon Stevenson (Sprints) provide our athletes with the essential skills and motivation necessary to continue our very successful tradition of track and field at Batavia High School.

Between indoor and outdoor track, we've been blessed with so many great athletes and great individual performances, which have directly led to 33 Sectional Championships (Indoors and Outdoors) for our program since 2003. Batavia's Indoor Track Team rose to the occasion once again to represent our community and our school as a tough and dedicated team! Go Blue Devils!

Submitted photos.

Batavia High: Front from left, Bella Houseknecht; Tess Barone, Jenae Colkey, Haylee Thornley; back, Mackenzie Reigle, Emma Krolczyk, Meghan Houseknecht, Kennedy Kolb, Coach Marty Hein. Ryann Stefaniak and Bryn Wormley also are on the team.

Elba: Front from left, Maddie Howard, Leah Bezon, Brynn Walczak, Taylor Augello; back, Coach Tom Redband, Lauryn Engle, Dakota Brinkman, Adrianna Long, Kelly Mickey and Maddie Muehlig. Isabella Riner also is on the team.

The Batavia High and Elba Central varsity girls' basketball teams were recognized as No. 1 seeds in their respective classifications today at the Section 5 seeding luncheon at RIT Inn & Conference Center in Henrietta.

Batavia, 17-2, is the top seed in Class B1 and will open sectional competition at home at 7 p.m. Feb. 22.

Elba, 18-1, is the top seed in Class D2 and will begin its quest for a sectional crown at home at 7 p.m. Feb. 23.

Bowling fans can now keep up on the latest developments on the lanes in the Genesee Region by listening to the "Genesee MVP" sports show on WBTA radio -- 1490 AM and 100.1 FM on your dial.

The show's hosts, Mike Rose and Pete Zehler, have added a Pin Points segment with commentator Mike Pettinella to the weekly program.

The program, featuring Batavia and Notre Dame high schools' and Genesee Community College athletics, airs from 6:05 to 6:30 p.m. every Friday.

It also can be heard on the WBTA website by clicking on Programs and then Genesee MVP.

With a 55-49 loss to Eastridge on Thursday night, the Batavia Blue Devils finished out their season with a 10-10 record and ranked #7 in Section V Class B1 basketball.

Mason McFollins scored 28 points, hitting five three-point jumpers. Camden White scored nine points and Andrew Francis scored six.

The Blue Devils jumped out to an early lead and edged Eastridge 12 to 9 at the end of the first quarter continued to lead at the half 21-18. 

Batavia's undoing, perhaps, was starting the second half without scoring for seven minutes. The team's only points came on a McFollins' three-pointer in the final minute of the third quarter.

Eastridge scored 22 points in the third. 

For Eastridge, Jahmel Demery scored 14 points, Jordan Capers, 12, and Jalen Rose Hannah scored 10.

Photos by Steve Ognibene.

To view or purchase photos, click here.

Press release:

The Batavia Muckdogs and Miami Marlins have announced that Jorge Hernandez has been named Manager of the Muckdogs for the 2019 season. The move comes after the promotion of Mike Jacobs to the Marlins Low-A affiliate in Clinton, Iowa after two seasons in Batavia.

Hernandez is entering his 13th year with the Marlins organization after spending the past five as Infield Coordinator. 2019 marks his fifth season managing within the Marlins system after spending four seasons as manager of the Gulf Coast Marlins and one as manager of the Single-A Greensboro Grasshoppers. Hernandez spent the 2008 season as the hitting coach in Greensboro and 2007 season as hitting coach for the Gulf Coast League Marlins. He began coaching professionally in 2004 as hitting coach with the Pensacola Pelicans.

Hernandez began coaching in 1993 as the hitting coach for the University of Mobile. From there he spent two seasons at Texas A&M University – Corpus Christi. In 2003, he was the hitting coach at the University of West Florida. Hernandez is a former ninth-round pick of the Houston Astros in 1986, but did not sign. He earned All-Conference honors at Troy State University and was a member of the Trojans team that won the 1987 Division II World Series. In addition, he was a member of the 1984 American Legion World Series championship squad.

Hernandez and his wife, Hilma, reside in Frisco, Texas. The couple has a daughter, Haley, and a son, Eric.

Hernandez is joined by three new additions to the Muckdogs coaching staff for the 2019 season. 

Mike Jacobs, the Muckdogs' manager the past two seasons, has been promoted and will manage the Class A Clinton LumberKings in 2019.

The Batavia High Lady Blue Devils locked up the No. 1 seed for the Section 5 Girls Basketball Tournament in fine fashion Wednesday night, riding the 1-2 scoring punch of senior shooting guard Ryann Stefaniak and sophomore point guard Mackenzie Reigle to a 69-34 victory over visiting Pittsford Sutherland in Monroe County Division 4 action.

The win caps an exceptional regular season for Batavia, which takes a 17-2 record – 8-0 in league play – into the Class B1 sectionals.

Coach Marty Hein’s team will receive a first-round bye due to its lofty standing, and will open with a home game, likely against Livonia or Greece Olympia, on Feb. 22.

Playing in front of an enthusiastic “Senior Night” crowd (which saw the Batavia High varsity boys defeat Greece Olympia in the first game of a double-header), Batavia jumped out to a 22-8 first-quarter lead behind Reigle’s 13 points.

Batavia went cold in the second quarter, scoring just two points in the first 4 ½ minutes, and saw its lead cut to 24-17 before a pair of free throws and a layup by senior center Meghan Houseknecht (on a nifty assist from Reigle) made it 28-17.

Reigle then scored two baskets in the final minute to give the Lady Devils a 32-18 halftime edge.

Stefaniak got the hot hand in the third quarter, scoring nine of her game-high 23 points, while sophomore guard Bryn Wormley chipped in with five points, including a corner three-pointer, to expand the lead to 52-30 after three periods. Wormley finished with eight points.

The Lady Devils shut out the Lady Knights from the field in the fourth quarter, limiting the visitors to just four free throws, to win going away.

Senior guard Jenae Colkey made her only field goal attempt of the game in the final quarter (she added three steals and three rebounds) while the 6-foot center Houseknecht completed the scoring with a three-pointer from the top of the key.

Stefaniak and Reigle were outstanding on both ends of the floor, with Stefaniak shooting 10-for-16 from the field with six steals and four rebounds, and Reigle making eight of her 15 shots with three steals and three assists.

Batavia, unofficially, was 28-for-54 from the field and 10-for-18 from the foul line.

Senior forward Aneliese Brandt led Pittsford with 15 points and sophomore guard Maley Garcia added eight. Pittsford, in dropping its ninth straight, enters the Class A sectional tournament with a 6-14 record.

While acknowledging an outstanding regular season, Hein said he is perplexed by the team’s lack of intensity at times.

“There are still too many highs and lows,” he said. “We’re playing good basketball, but there are parts of games when we take time off.”

He said the team can’t afford to let up in the sectionals.

“The girls have to understand that they need to play with a sense of urgency,” he said, noting that the squad will scrimmage against other schools a couple times before the 22^nd.