Sports

Two Batavians -- one a Genesee Region USBC Hall of Famer and the other a potential one if he keeps bowling like he has in recent weeks -- lit up Mancuso Bowling Center earlier this week in league competition.

On Tuesday, veteran right-hander Paul Spiotta connected for 32 out of a possible 36 strikes, including the final seven, to post an 822 series on lanes 3-4 in the Turnbull Heating Triples League.

Spiotta rolled 10 strikes in a 276 opener, 11 in a 279 middle game (he had the front seven strikes) and 11 more in a 267 third game. In the finale, he rebounded from an open in the fifth frame to record the last seven strikes for his fifth United States Bowling Congress-certified 800 series.

On Thursday, Nate Cordes continued his hot streak, starting with a 290 game en route to an 803 on lanes 19-20 in the Toyota of Batavia 5-Man League.

After the 11-strike 290, the high-revving righty fired 257 and 256 -- posting the final five strikes to hit the 800 mark for the first time.

For a list of high scores for the week, click on the Pin Points tab at the top of this page.

• Oakfield-Alabama/Elba beat Geneseo/Mount Morris 42-18. Ty Mott rushed for 243 yards on 25 carries and scored five times. Bodie Hyde was 4-5 passing for 111 yards and one TD. Zach Howard had 50 yards receiving and scored a touchdown. Peyton Yasses had seven tackles and one sack. Mott, seven tackles and one sack; C.J. Gottler, six tackles, two sacks; Dontrell Jenkins, five tackles, one fumble recovery; Howard, six tackles.
• Batavia beat Wayne Central 48-30. Terrez Smith gained 155 yards on 18 carries and scored three touchdowns. He also had a 75-yard punt return for a TD. Jesse Reinhardt, 8-12 passing for 200 yards and three TDs. Alex Hale caught two TD passes and had a total of 57 reception yards. Tyler Budziniack caught two passes for 111 yards and a touchdown. 
• Pembroke beat South Seneca 36-6.
• Le Roy beat Attica 20-0. Alex Penepento was 8-14 passing for 74 yards and a TD. He also ran for 62 yards on 12 attempts and scored at TD. Jack Tonzi gained 10 yards on three carries and scored a TD. Nate Andrews caught a TD pass as one of his two receptions for 24 yards. Adam Riesewick had three receptions for 27 yards. Zach Vanderhoof had nine tackles and three sacks.
• Notre Dame lost to Cal-Mum/Byron-Bergen 16-8. Collin McCulley was 9-20 passing for 63 yards. He also ran three times for 32 yards and a TD. Dylan Warner rushed 11 times for 46 yards. Mark Sanders had five receptions for 59 yards. On defense, Vin DiRisio, Cody Henry and Warner each made 10 tackles while McCulley had nine.
• Alexander lost to Avon 21-0. For coverage, click here.

Photos by Kristin Smith. For more, click here and here.

Avon's defensive line proved to be just a bit larger than Alexander's offense could overcome in Saturday's game at Van Detta Stadium, so the Trojans were never able to sustain a drive and ended up losing 21-0.

QB Nick Kramer rushed for 92 yards on 17 carries. Six other Trojan backs combined for 78 yards. 

Devin Dean led the defense with 11 tackles. Jake Laney had five tackles.

The Trojans did manage to get the ball on four turnovers. Mav Bump and Jay Morrison each had an interception. Kramer forced two fumbles. One was recovered by Morrison and one was recovered by Connor Hollands.

Press release:

We would like to take the time to congratulate Montana Dieter on signing a celebratory letter of intent to compete at Genesee Community College this fall.

Montana plans on joining the Lady Cougars Soccer team at GCC under the guidance of Coach Jeff Reyngoudt. During Montana’s time here at Pembroke Central School she has been a standout in both Soccer and Cheerleading.  

As a member of the Lady Dragons Soccer Team, Montana has been a four-year starter at forward since her freshmen year. During her tenure with the Lady Dragons, she has put together an impressive resume, which includes 26 goals and 18 assists. Montana plans to use her immense speed and shiftiness to continue her success at the next level.

While attending GCC, Montana plans on studying to become a Registered Nurse. Montana is extremely excited and honored to continue her career at the next level, competing for the Cougars. 

Coach April Meier said, “I would like to congratulate Montana for her success and accomplishments while on the Pembroke Varsity soccer team. I know she will go on to do great things with this opportunity to play soccer at GCC next fall. Montana is a highly talented athlete her combined qualities of speed athleticism, quick decision making and mind for game strategy make her a formidable and skilled offensive player. It gives me great pride and pleasure to see the athletes from our program pursuing the sports they love in college. Best of luck to Montana and the GCC Cougars in their upcoming fall 2021 season!”

Le Roy won its home opener in volleyball last night over Dansville in four sets, 25-19, 21-25, 25-20 & 25-10.

Allie Ingles had 12 kills. Abbie Woodworth had 23 assists and Hailey Johnson had 15. Riley Wood led with 12 digs.

The Knights are now 3-0 on the season.

Photos and info courtesy Tim McArdle.

Press release:

The Batavia Muckdogs are excited to announce the addition of Batavia native and Class of 2019 graduate Griffin Della Penna as their play-by-play broadcaster for the upcoming 2021 season.

Della Penna is no stranger to baseball in this community, from his early days playing at nearby MacArthur Park with the Little League Red Sox to being a batboy for the Muckdogs in 2017. He then went on to be a three-year starter, captain, and Honorable Mention AGR selection with the Batavia Blue Devils baseball team, helping lead them to their first Section V Championship in 21 years.

He currently studies at Canisius College, where he is a double major in Journalism with a concentration in Sports Broadcasting and Strategic Communication with a 3.84 GPA. Throughout his two years in Buffalo, Della Penna writes for “The Griffin” school newspaper, covering Men’s and Women’s Basketball and Soccer, along with being a contributing writer for Pickin’ Splinters, an independent high school sports blog. He also operates the camera for Canisius ESPN-3 broadcasts with plans to work his way up to the broadcast booth soon.

After contemplating a walk-on spot with the Division 1 Golden Griffin baseball team, Griffin made a career-oriented decision instead to accept a position as the director of Scouting & Analytics with the team using his baseball knowledge in hopes to win a MAAC Championship.

By joining the Muckdogs organization, Della Penna’s goal is to provide fans with a personable and interactive experience during the broadcasts in addition to adding content that will give fans an in-depth look to get to know the players and coaching staff in weekly shows like “Meet the Muckdogs.”

“As a 19-year-old college sophomore, not many aspiring broadcasters are given such an amazing opportunity like this," Della Penna said. "I am honored to be chosen and appreciate the flexibility to gain valuable hands-on experience in the field while producing a broadcast that fans will enjoy."

Della Penna will be the first voice of the Muckdogs as they transition to the Perfect Game Collegiate Baseball League (PGCBL). The Batavia Muckdogs are comprised of collegiate athletes with NCAA eligibility from around the country. The club will join the Auburn Doubledays, Niagara Power, and Jamestown Tarp Skunks as the newest additions to the PGCBL, joining 16 other organizations all across New York since the league’s inception in 2010.

"We are excited to add someone like Griffin to our team with great experience and passion for the game of baseball. Since taking over the team we have met many local community leaders, businesses, and fans and know how amazing this community is at supporting locally. With Griffin growing up in the area and his love for baseball we knew this was a perfect fit. Griffin is excited to get to work and we are excited to start playing baseball at Dwyer stadium this summer. Congratulations Griffin and Go Muckdogs!" - Owners Robbie & Nellie Nichols.

Submitted video.

Press release from Genesee Region USBC:

Numerous high scores, including a 300 game and 800 series, highlighted the opening weekend of the 14^th annual Genesee Region USBC Association Tournament.

The Team event is taking place at Rose Garden Bowl in Bergen and Doubles & Singles are being held at Legion Lanes in Le Roy.

Veteran Batavia bowler Mike Pettinella started things with a bang on Friday night when he rolled 300 in the third game to help the Trigger Tribute foursome post a 2,876 score with handicap (2,777 scratch) in the Open Team event.

Pettinella, using a MOTIV Venom Shock ball, finished with a 729 series – one of 11 series of 700 or better in the Team event over the weekend. Teammates Kevin Gray Jr. and Kevin Gray Sr. led the way with 765 and 748, respectively. Al Vlietstra rounded out the scoring with 535.

These four bowlers, along with the late Joe Trigilio, comprised the 2010 New York State tournament championship team. Pettinella said he is dedicating the perfect game in memory of “Trigger,” who passed away on Sept. 1, 2019.

While the squad’s scratch score is the best thus far, on Sunday (today) two teams went past the team's handicap total in the standings.

Led by Robbie Hanks, who posted a 791 series, the Oak Orchard Bowl of Albion team moved into first place with a lofty 3,020 score (2,734 scratch). Hanks’ games were 265-247-279. His teammates bowled well above their averages with Ben Lennox posting 697, Matt Baker 664 and Richard Heise 582.

On Sunday’s second squad, Batavian Ron Lawrence recorded an 810 series on games of 279-278-253 to lead the Lawrence Four squad to a 2,880 total (2,673 scratch), which is good for second place. Bill Neubert added 648, Marshall Merle 631 and Steve Krna 584.

Also, in the Team event, Warsaw’s Jason Hurlburt registered 255-279-259—793 for the Hurlburt’s team, which is in sixth place at 2,799.

In Women’s Team, Perry All-Stars II is in first place with 2,333. Members are Frances Matthews, Margaret Shepard, Caroline Appleby and Dawn Bertrand.

In Doubles & Singles, Matt Balduf of South Byron rolled a 741 in Open Singles (736 scratch) and is in first place – six pins better than Bill VanAlst of Le Roy, who posted 735 (619 scratch).

Batavians Ballard Maye and Derek Leach lead in Open Doubles with 1,332 with handicap – 11 pins higher than Rich Mortellaro of Corfu and Scott Shields of Batavia.

Gray Jr. is first in Open All-Events at 2,057 (all scratch), followed by Gray Sr. at 1,993 (1,858 scratch).

The tournament concludes next weekend.

Currently, openings exist as follows:

Team event
Friday at 7 p.m., one opening;
Saturday at noon, six openings;
Saturday at 3 p.m., two openings;
Sunday at 11 a.m., eight openings;
Sunday at 2 p.m., four openings.

Doubles & Singles events
Friday at 7 p.m., three openings;
Saturday at 1 p.m., two openings;
Sunday at 2 p.m., three openings.

To reserve a spot, contact Mike Pettinella, GRUSBC association manager, at (585) 861-0404 or at mikep@bowlgr.com.

For the current standings, go to www.bowlgr.com.

The Blue Devils got their pandemic-shuffled season off to a hot start on a cold spring night at Van Detta Stadium on Saturday beating Bishop Kearney/Rochester Prep/Rochester Academy 36-12.

Batavia didn't let a slow start -- negative three yards on their first set of downs -- slow them down.

Jesse Reinhart was 10-16 passing for 157 yards and two TDs.

Terrez Smith rushed for 125 yards on 25 attempts and scored two TDs.

Jayden Osborne also had a TD on 59 yards over nine carries.

In receiving, Aidan Anderson had two catches for 57 yards and a TD, Tyler Budziniack had two receptions, 39 yards and a TD, while Alex Hale caught three passes for 39 yards to go along with a couple of interceptions on defense.

Photos by Jim Burns.

Notre Dame was dominant Saturday against a disorganized and discombobulated Lyons at Van Detta, beating the visiting team 46-0.

Collin McCulley was 12-20 passing for 119 yards and a TD. Anthony Zambito caught seven passes for 38 yards. He also had 165 yards in kickoff returns and six tackles on defense.

Alonso Storey had the seven-yard TD reception.

Dylan Warner rushed for 105 yards on 10 carries and scored TDs on runs of 23 yards and six yards. On defense, he had four tackles and a sack.

Connor McWilliams had four tackles, five sacks, and a blocked punt that was returned for a TD.

Donato Fiorentino had seven tackles and two sacks.

Notre Dame had 312 yards total offense to 52 for Lyons.

Photos by Jim Burns.

Reid Cole of Albion took top honors this week in the Sneezy's Monday Night League at his hometown Oak Orchard Bowl, firing a 289 game en route to a 766 series.

Cole had one of three 700 series on the night -- with Robbie Hanks' 267--735 and Bill Logan's 278--718 also breaking the 700 mark.

In other league action across the Genesee Region USBC:

• Leon Hurd of Batavia finished with a 268 game for a 758 series in the Toyota of Batavia Thursday 5-Man at Mancuso Bowling Center.

• Batavians Chris Bailey and Mike Pettinella rolled 748 and 741, respectively, in the Turnbull Heating Triples League at Mancuso's. Bailey started with 277 and 278 for his first 700 of the season. Pettinella's big set raised his season's average to 233.

• Warsaw's Jason Hurlburt finished with 289 for a 738 series in the Monday Night 5 at Perry Bowling Center.

• Jerry Kingsley of Pavilion led the way in the American Legion Thursday Night Men's with a 279 game and 733 series.

For a list of high scores, click on the Pin Points tab at the top of this page.

STARKEN, CULP WIN KING & QUEEN

Kim Starken of Kent and Scott Culp of Honeoye Falls teamed up to win the annual King & Queen mixed doubles tournament at Mancuso Bowling Center.

The duo topped Darleen and Matt Balduf in the title match to claim the $500 first prize. The Baldufs took home $300.

Semifinalists, winning $200 each, were Jennifer Merle and Chase Cone, and Carley King and Tom Baker.

Local bowlers placing fifth through eighth, earning $100, weere Caycee Landers and Chris Bardol; Karissa Schuster and Brian Weber; and Amie Bell and Gary Kuchler.

BUFFALO BOWLER FIRST IN ELIMINATOR 

Pat Brick of Buffalo defeated Rich Wagner of Batavia and Andrew Herbert of Buffalo in the finals to win the T.F. Brown's Scratch Eliminator at Mancuso's. The victory was worth $750 for Brick, while Wagner and Herbert won $500 and $400, respectively,

Local cashers were Scott Shields of Batavia, Josh Elliott of Attica and Matt Balduf of South Byron, who each earned $130.

The tournament, sponsored by Lambert Design Jewelers and Casella, drew 56 entries.

Back to 11-man football, Elba/Oakfield-Alabama is picking up right where it left off in eight-man football in 2019: A high-powered offense and a stingy defense, judging by its 59-6 victory over Cuba-Rushford at Van Detta Stadium on Saturday.

Ty Mott rushed for 213 yards on 19 carries, scoring five touchdowns. Jayden Hughes rushed eight times for 93 yards and two TDs. Gaige Armbrewster had five carries, 69 yards, and a TD.

Peyton Yasses had a team-leading seven tackles.

"With such little time together with our full team thus far, I felt that our guys were able to come out early and execute at a high level," said Head Coach Tyler Winter. "The offense played with a nice flow. Defensively, our guys played physical and stayed disciplined for the four quarters. I am happy for our team and proud of the commitment they are showing for one another."

Photos by Kristin Smith. For more photos click here and here.

Spring is in the air and so are footballs with several of them tossed last night at Cal-Mum by Alex Penepento to lead the Le Roy Oatkan Knights to a 19-0 win over Dansville to open the pandemic-shifted 2021 season.

Penepento was 11-17 passing for 151 yards and two touchdowns. He also rushed for 63 yards on 14 carries.

Nate Andres carried the ball 11 times for 26 yards and a TD. Andrews also caught four passes for 65 yards.  

Cody Lytle caught three passes for 46 yards and two TDs.

Cole Rauscher led the defense with six tackles.

The Knights gained 228 offensive yards to 103 for Dansville. The Knights also led in first downs 15 to 6.

Press release:

The Pembroke Central School District added a team to its athletic lineup this school year in Unified Bowling. Special Olympics Unified Sports joins people with and without disabilities to play and compete on the same team to bolster friendship, understanding, inclusion, and tolerance in schools.

Through Unified Sports, regardless of any disability, all athletes matter and are provided opportunities to proudly wear their school uniform while having a chance to shine athletically.   

Pembroke was ready to field its first-ever Unified Basketball team last spring, but the pandemic and subsequent nationwide quarantine waylaid those plans. The school community was elated to learn that it could participate in Unified Bowling this season, even though everyone must wear masks and socially distance.

Section VI has graciously accepted Pembroke’s Unified team into its league, giving Pembroke athletes the chance to compete with schools that are geographically closer than some of its Section V counterparts.

This bodes well for some of Pembroke’s athletes who face unique transportation needs. When pandemic restrictions are finally lifted, the team will travel to its away matches at locations in Section VI. Until then, meets will continue to be held virtually.

The Mancuso Bowling Center in Batavia has been a wonderful host for Pembroke Unified Bowling meets and has been very accommodating. Under normal circumstances, competitors travel to various bowling lanes in WNY to compete in person against other schools, but this season, all meets are completed virtually with each school bowling at their respective lanes and scores being reported online.

Unified Sports truly brings out the best in everyone, and Pembroke is honored to continue developing a school community rooted in inclusion, tolerance, and acceptance.

According to Principal Nathan Work, Ed.D., “Even though we all have masks on, you can still see the smiles shining through. There is not a day that goes by that one of these athletes or partners doesn’t inspire me and warm my heart; this is truly humanity at its finest.” 

There are 17 students on the team and they are coached by Alex Kaminski, Matthew Lingle, and Work. Pembroke’s next Unified Bowling meet is scheduled for Friday, March 19th at 3:30 p.m. 

The season runs from Feb. 23rd to March 25th and athletes will participate in a total of seven meets. School officials plan to add additional sports to Pembroke’s Unified Sports program as pandemic restrictions and resources allow. 

Without a doubt, Batavian Nathan Cordes is on a roll.

For the third straight week, Cordes led the way in the 12-team Toyota of Batavia Thursday 5-Man League at Mancuso Bowling Center.

This time, the 31-year-old right-hander fired 247-235-279 for a 761 series, a bit better than his teammate, Rich Wagner, who posted a 748 series.

Last week, Cordes rolled a 300 game in a 754 series and the week before that, he had a 280 game in a 772 series. The recent outburst has raised his average to 220.

In other action in the Genesee Region USBC, Hall of Famer Fred Gravanda of Batavia popped a 275 game en route to a 748 series in the Turnbull Heating Triples League at Mancuso's.

For a list of high scores, click on the Pin Points tab at the top of this page.

GRUSBC Association Tournament Starts Friday

The 14th annual Genesee Region USBC Association Tournament gets underway at 7 p.m. Friday.

Rose Garden Bowl in Bergen is hosting the Team (four-person) event while Legion Lanes in Le Roy is hosting the Doubles & Singles events over the next two weekends.

Team squads are 7 p.m. on Fridays; noon and 3 p.m. on Saturdays; noon and 3 p.m. on Sunday, March 20, and 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. on Sunday, March 28. The Team event is limited to 80 teams.

Doubles & Singles squads are 7 p.m. on Fridays; 1 p.m. on Saturdays; 11:30 a.m. and 3:30 p.m. on Sunday, March 21, and 2 p.m. on Sunday, March 28. The D & S event is limited to 68 doubles teams.

Bowlers are urged to contact Mike Pettinella, Genesee Region USBC association manager, at mikep@bowlgr.com or at (585) 861-0404 as soon as possible to reserve their spots.

Already, the noon squad on Sunday, March 21 for the Team event is full.

The per person cost per event is $30. The All-Events (total of Team, Doubles and Singles) fee is $10.

Press release:

The operation of youth sports in the LeRoy community will never be more important than in the coming months. Today LeRoy Youth Softball's Board of Directors announce that it is getting a grant for $3,700 from the Victor L. Blood and Maudaline L. Blood Charitable Foundation to support youth athletics in the community of LeRoy.

Youth softball in Le Roy has been steadfast for decades, in the local community.

Officially incorporating in 2020 as a 501(c)(3), it has seen a resurgence benefitting from the outpouring of community support including: sponsors, parents, board members and coaches. The Blood Foundation recognizing the significance of youth sports in Le Roy, can be added to list of vital contributors. 

The Blood Foundation, as it is commonly known, was created on April 14, 1989 through the generosity of Vic Blood, a prominent businessman from LeRoy. He envisioned a nonprofit charitable organization dedicated to enhancing the quality of life for the residents of the Town and Village of LeRoy. Vic Blood passed on in 1996, but his legacy lives on through the work of the Blood Foundation. 

Last summer, LeRoy Youth Softball was able to safely conduct several months of skills, drills and inter-squad scrimmaging. This winter the program has been holding safe indoor clinics for girls who meet the 8U up to 16U criteria. The 2021 season is quickly approaching, LeRoy Youth Softball will have five teams safely competing in the GLOW Academy League this summer. 

The future of youth softball in Le Roy is bright. The contributions from the Blood Foundation will assist with the building of club storage shed to house the equipment needed to support the 70 some girls who will play this summer.

The LeRoy Youth Softball players, coaches and Board of Directors would like to say THANK YOU to the Blood Foundation for its generous contribution.

Two Le Roy wrestlers came away from the Section V tournament on Saturday with championship titles.

Brock Flint won at 160 pounds and Joey Brennan won at 162 pounds.

Coming in second at 138 pounds, Cole Rauscher, and at 152 pounds, Nate Andrews.

Photos by Tim McArdle.

Brock Flint

Joey Brennan

Number 3 seed, at 10-2, Oakfield-Alabama knocked off #1 seed Cal-Mum, at 13-0, by a score of 55-50 to win Saturday's Class C2 Section V trophy at Cal-Mum.

Travis Wiedrich scored 20 points and Kaden Cusmano sunk a trio of three-pointers on his way to a 19-point game.

Photos by Kristin Smith. For more, click here, here, and here.

Notre Dame traveled to South Seneca today as the #2 seed in the Class D1 tournament, with two losses on its record, and proceeded to upset the unbeaten #1 seed 55-48 to win a Section V title.

The Lady Irish were once again lead by sophomore Amelia McCulley who scored 30 points.  Lindsey Weidman scored 14 points. Emma Sisson had 12 rebounds, Maylee Green, 11, Weidman, nine, and McCulley, eight.

Submitted photo.

Five straight section titles are nice, Elba's players will tell you, but they also know there is a "what could have been" question that will forever remain unanswered.

If not for a coronavirus pandemic that wiped out the 2020 postseason and shortened 2021, ending the title push with a sectional championship, could the Lady Lancers have won one, maybe two state titles?

We will never know. But we do know Elba knocked off the #2 seed, Prattsburgh/Avoca,  in a pretty convincing fashion -- a team that regularly won by scoring 60 points or more per game while going 9-1 on the season. The game was never really close. The Lancers won 66-27.

It's the fifth straight Section title for Elba under Head Coach Tom Redband. 

On Saturday, Byrnn Walczak scored 22 points, Taylor Augello, 13, Maddie Muehlig, 12, and Leah Bezon, 9. Muehlig also had eight assists. Dakota Brinkman, who scored five points, had nine rebounds, Walczak, eight, and Augello, seven.

Walczak, Muehlig and Bezon have been part of all five title teams and Augello has been there for the last four. All four graduate this year.

Notre Dame won its Class D1 championship game, so with Elba winning class D2, in any other year, the two archrivals would faceoff in a division consolidation game to determine which team would represent Section V in a Far West Regional championship game. Not this year.

Photos by Debra Reilly.