Sports

One Genesee Region USBC bowler notched his first certified 300 game while two others came within a strike of perfection in league play this week.

Michael Godfrey Sr. of Albion registered 12 consecutive strikes in the Thursday Triples League at Oak Orchard Bowl in Albion for a perfect game, his first. The left-hander finished with a 621 series.

Competing in the County Line Stone Friday Trios League at Mancuso Bowling Center in Batavia, right-hander Scott Shields strung 11 strikes before leaving a 4-pin in the second game for 299. He finished with a 747 series, edging out Ed Doody, who had 278--731 and Gregg Wolff, who posted 288 and 277 after a slow start for 723.

In the Tuesday StrikeForce Doubles League at StrikeForce Lanes in Oakfield, left-hander Aaron Chamberlain rolled 11 strikes in a row before leaving the 3-5-6-9 (bucket) for 296. The Oakfield resident finished with a 653 series.

In other action:

-- Lefty Nick Johnson of Bergen stayed hot with games of 268-256-247 for 771 in the Brighton Securities Tuesday Triples League at Mancuso's.

-- Southpaw Tim Talbot of Barker led the way in the Sunday Rolloffs League at Medina Lanes with a 269 game and 766 series.

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

The Batavia Ski Team competed in a double race (two runs of giant slalom and one run of slalom) on Saturday on Wheels Run at Swain.

It was a bitterly cold day with sweeping winds and snow later in the afternoon. Recent snowmaking on the headwall left the top of the course with 'golf ball'-like snowballs in parts of the race hill. This can make the terrain choppy.

The morning giant slalom landed Lily Wagner in 14th place and Abby Bestine in 20th. Freshman Nolan Radley was the top boys finisher at 20th, Ethan Bradley at 25th, and Gunnar Pietrzykowski at 35th. Ben Stone crashed in his first run but had a second run good enough for 16th.

The afternoon Slalom netted senior Ben Stone a monster 7th-place run. Ethan Bradley was 21st, Nolan Radley was 29th, and Gunnar Pietrzykowski was 35th. For the girls, Lily Wagner was 15th, and Abby Bestine was 18th.

The ski team will next be in action on Wednesday, Jan. 24 at Swain.

Information provided by Coach Matthew Holman, Batavia Ski Team

To view the race results, click here.

Byron-Bergen's Braedyn Chambry has been tough to stop all season, but Wheatland-Chili found a way to hold him to only eight points on Friday as the Wildcats cruised to a 61-45 win.

The loss was only the second one on the year for the Bees, now 11-2.

Colin Martin scored 13 points for Byron-Bergen, and Brody Baubie scored eight.

Also in Boys Basketball, Cheektowaga beat Pembroke, 72-63. Tyson Totten scored 29 points and Avery Ferreira, 14.

Photos by Jennifer DiQuattro.

Elba improved to 11-2 in Girls Basketball on Friday with a 59-36 win over Attica.

Sydney Reilly scored 16 points. Lydia Ross scored 15, and Brea Smith scored nine.

Photos by Debra Reilly.

The past few seasons, it's been a struggle for Batavia-Notre Dame United against Victor, pernnially one of the toughest teams to beat in New York.

"They're one of the best-coached teams that we played against all season," said United's head coach, Marc Staley. "So it's a very emotional game, always with them. And I think for our kids, especially tonight, we probably were more emotional than we should have been. Just because it is Victor. It's sort of a mental block, you know, that we had to get over that hump. They've beaten us now five times in a row, combined score of 25 to four. So, for us to be able to turn it around tonight with a 4-2 win, it's sort of like exorcising the demon a little bit."

The Victor Blue Devils opened the scoring at the David M. McCarthy Memorial Arena with a goal in the first period, but United -- starting with a Sam Pies to Jameson Motyka to Brady Johnson goal a minute later -- went on an unanswered three-goal run to put them up 3-1 entering the final period.

"We went down by one, so we had to get one back," Johnson said. "We had to get pucks on the net. We knew that shots win games. So, every shot is a goal-scoring opportunity. So that's just what we're looking to do."

In the second period, the game got intense with shots on goal from both sides. United overcame back-to-back penalties but then went on the powerplay with two minutes left. Brady Johnson scored his second goal of the game in the high slot from a pass by Joe DiRisio to take a 2-1 lead after two periods of play.

In the third period, United was deep in Victor’s zone, taking a faceoff.  Sam Pies took a quick wrist shot off the faceoff draw and got shot past goalie Nate McBride.

Victor pulled back within a point in the third on a power play that Staley characterized as an undisciplined penalty, an example of letting emotions ride a little high.

"We know there is a very fine line between being a state top-ranked team and being just a good team," Staley said. "You have to stay out of the box. You have to be disciplined. You have to control your emotions. And you have to play through, weather the storm. You got to play through those tough moments, and we didn't do that as well tonight. I think we let them hang around. It ended up being a lot closer than I think it should have."

United added a bit of padding to their near the end of the game to seal the victory with a goal by Jameson Motyka.

"I think we felt like we were in control of the game," Staley said. "Most of the game, we outshot them. I thought we had time of possession on them. I think they're one of the best teams that we've played so far this year."

Pies said he thought United's defensive play was key.

"We needed to be on the defensive side of the puck at all times and couldn't take no chances with the defense," Pies said. "Pinching had to be 100 percent. They couldn't have any odd-man rushes. We had to get pucks out when we needed to, and good thing we did that, and we got the win."

Steve Ognibene contributed to the reporting of this story. To view or purchase photos, click here. 

Janessa Amesbury's 25 points lifted Byron-Bergen over Wheatland-Chili in Girls Basketball on Thursday, 34-30.

In boys basketball on Thursday, 

Batavia beat Honeoye Falls-Lima 55-50.  Carter Mullen scored 24 points and Justin Smith scored 14.

Le Roy beat York 78-73. Merritt Holly, for the fourth time this season, topped 40 points in a game, scoring 41. He had 14 rebounds. Jean Agosto scored 15 points and had 10 rebounds. Jake Higgins scored nine points and had nine rebounds. The game went into two overtimes.  The Knights are 11-2 and on a seven-game win streak.

Photos by Jennifer DiQuattro

Sydney Reilly's double-double helped propel Elba over Holley 58-31 in Girls Basketball on Tuesday.

Reilly scored 29 points and grabbed 16 rebounds.

Lydia Ross scored 14 points. Mariah Ognibene scored five points and five rebounds.

Photos by Debra Reilly.

Oakfield was held scoreless in the fourth quarter on Tuesday night, but was so dominant earlier in the game, including scoring 18 points in the third quarter, that they were able to hold onto a big lead and beat Alexander 39-29 in Girls Basketball.

Caitlin Ryan scored 13 points for the Hornets and Alea Geoff scored eight. 

Hayden Bezon scored eight for the Trojans.

Also in Girls Basketball on Tuesday:

• Elba beat Holley 58-31
• Batavia 54, Franklin 21. Anna Varland scored 16 points. Julia Clark scored eight, and Addy O'Donnell scored eight. Isabella Walsh scored five points and had seven rebounds, six steals, and four blocked shots.
• Notre Dame beat Attica, 56-27. Leading the Lady Irish was Sofia Falleti with 17 points, 3 steals and 6 blocks. Emma Sisson recorded a double-double with 15 points, 11 rebounds, and 3 steals. Gianna Falleti contributed 8 points, 3 steals and 5 rebounds. 
• Pembroke beat Lyndonville 55-46.  Reagan Schneider had 18 points and 13 rebounds. Peyton Liss, 13 points. Jayden Hootman, 11 points and seven steals. Morgan Coniber, 10 points and 10 rebounds. Onolee Easterbrook, eight steals.

In Boys Basketball, Le Roy beat Batavia 65-51. Merritt Holly scored 21 points. Jake Higgins, 13 points. Jean Agosto, nine points and 13 rebounds.  No stats were provided for Batavia.

To view or purchase prints, click here.

Byron-Bergen's Braedyn Chambry was dominant again, scoring 34 points, to lead the Bees to an 80-60 win over Albion on Saturday afternoon.

Brenden Pimm and Colin Martin each scored 12 points. Brody Baubie scored nine points.

The Bees are now 9-1 on the season.

Photos by Jennifer DiQuattro

Batavian Jim Prucha enjoyed a "career night" earlier this week as he rolled a pair of 279 games in a 764 series in the Mancuso Real Estate Monday Doubles League at Mancuso Bowling Center.

The 60-year-old right-hander started with 279 and finished with 279 (posting 11 strikes in a row after an open) to record his highest three-game series ever. He went into the night with a 188 average.

Prolific left-hander Brian Cline of Middleport continued his assault on the pins with games of 236, 266 and 288 for a 790 series, raising his average to 236.

In other Genesee Region USBC league action:

--James Townsend of Batavia registered a 278 game in a 753 series in the Toyota of Batavia 4-Man League at Mancuso's.

-- Bill Neubert of Batavia finished with a 297 game -- leaving the 3-6-10 on the 12th ball -- for a 755 series in the Thursday Owls League at Rose Garden Bowl in Bergen.

-- At Oak Orchard Bowl in Albion, Reid Cole of Albion fired 279-279-247--805 in the Every-Other-Saturday League, and John Beadle of Brockport tallied 244-279-278--801 in the Thursday Men's Triples League.

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

Eastridge proved a tough opponent for the Batavia Blue Devils on Saturday afternoon, taking the game 64-40.

Jamin Macdonald scored 12 points, Isabella Walsh, 10, and Karizwa Wescott, nine.

Liv Green scored 19 for Eastridge.

To view or purchase photos, click here.

Elba beat Pembroke 54-46 on Friday in Girls Basketball.

Sydney Reilly scored 16 points for the Lancers. She also has seven assists. Lydia Ross scored 14 points, and Mariah Ognibene scored 12 points. Ognibene also had 11 rebounds for a double-double.

Jayden Hootman scored 12 points for the Dragons.  Elle Peterson scored eight.

Also, in Girls basketball on Friday, Notre Dame, for the second consecutive game, won in OT, beating Kendall 32-28. Sofia Falleti scored 13 points with nine rebounds. Emma Sisson scored seven and had six rebounds. Nina Barts scored six points and nabbed nine rebounds.

In Boys Basketball, Le Roy beat Warsaw, 76-48. Merritt Holly had another big game, getting a double-double with 26 points and 11 rebounds. Jean Agosto scored 20 points and had seven rebounds. Le Roy is now 9-2 and riding a five-game win streak.

Photos by Debra Reilly.

Pembroke's Tyson Totten scored 24 points to help lead the Dragons to a 63-38 win over Elba on Thursday in Boys Basketball.

Totten also had eight rebounds.

Avery Ferreira scored 17 points, hitting three threes.  Sam Pfeiffer, 11 points, with three threes, and Sean Pustulka had eight assists.

For the Lancers, Nicholas Scott scored 16 points.

"We had three good defensive quarters to close out the game," said Dragon's coach Matthew Shay. "I thought we did a nice job managing the game, which is a credit to Sean."

Pembroke is now 6-2. Elba is 2-7.

Photos by Debra Reilly.

Story by Coach Matt Holman:

It was windy and snowy for the first race of the 2024 ski season on Wheels Run. 

The warm daytime temperatures left the race course softer than ideal conditions would provide. After the modified field had completed its first run, the course had been worn with ruts and large snow piles for the racers to navigate.

The Batavia Alpine Ski team fared well, with a third-place finish for the boy's team and a 4th place finish for the girl's team.

Leading the way for the team was a ninth-place finish for senior Ben Stone. Ethan Bradley (12th grade) was 15th, Gunnar Pietrzykowski (9th Grade) was 18th. Freshman Nolan Radly had a first run time good enough for 16th place but was unable to finish his second run.

Lily Wagner (12th grade) finished 11th for the girls. Quinn Woeller (12th grade) and Abby Bestine (11th grade) had good first runs (15th and 17th, respectively) but were unable to finish their 2nd.

"This first race sets the stage for a good season," Holman said. "The young skiers have learned some things tonight that you can't outside of an actual ski race, and I believe these teams will only get better as the season goes on."

For the second straight game, Merritt Holly scored more than 40 points, leading Le Roy to a 70-53 win over Geneseo in Boys Basketball.

With 44 points, it's the third time this season that Holly scored more than 40 points in a game.

Holly also had 14 rebounds and was 21-28 from the field.

Jean Agosto also notched a double-double with 10 points and 10 rebounds, adding four assists and two steals.

Adam Woodworth, six points and eight assists, Matthew Hockey, six points.

Jackson Willis scored 32 points for Geneseo, hitting four three-pointers.

Elba walked away with the win against Kendall in Girls Basketball on Wednesday.

The final: 56-11.

Sydney Reilly scored 14 points, grabbed nine rebounds, six assists and four steals. Brea Smith had 13 rebounds to go with five points.  Ava Buczek and Maddie had nine points each. 

Photos by Debra Reilly.