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Dave Wellenzohn looking for another job in baseball

By Howard B. Owens

Bob DiCesare's column today for the Buffalo News is about Dave Wellenzohn, the job he did for the Batavia Muckdogs and his quest for another position with a minor league baseball team.

“The minute Rochester came in they pretty much stripped me of all authority, which was fine,” he said. “It made financial sense to run it out of Rochester. But I was still the GM. I handled all the baseball ops and I was pretty much the face of the team. I had my radio show and all that so that was good for me because I knew I was pretty much putting together my resume for the next job.”

Wellenzohn promised himself that he wouldn’t let his state of limbo undermine his passion for the sport. He got on the field before Batavia home games, microphone in hand, and worked to stir up the crowd. He drove seven hours to Lowell, Mass. for the Muckdogs semifinal playoff opener, then turned around after the three-hour game and drove straight back to Batavia. No wonder the team’s booster club stepped outside the box and named him its Fan of the Year. It was just another strange occurrence in the most unorthodox of seasons with the grand ending still waiting to be written.

Thomas beats Batavia for title

By Brian Hillabush

Webster Thomas wrapped up a third-consecutive Monroe County League Division III title with a 4-3 win over Batavia in girls tennis.

Erika Hoppner beat Annie Schmidt 4-6, 6-2, 6-0 at second singles in the deciding match.

Byron-Bergen smokes Attica

By Brian Hillabush

 Curtis Fannon and Justin Barrett had a goal and an assist each in leading Byron-Bergen to an 8-1 win over Attica.

Casey Longhini and Bryan White each scored twice for the Bees (5-5-2).

Batavia soccer can't penetrate Brighton D

By Brian Hillabush

 Brighton's defenders made things difficult for the Batavia boys soccer team Thursday.

The Blue Devils had a few chances to score, but fell behind early and wound up getting shutout 2-0 in the Monroe County League game.

The Barons attacked early and had a shot to score 13 minutes in when a shot hit the crossbar atop the net. They took the 1-0 advantage just moments later when Sean Rose got one past Batavia keeper Jordan Brown.

Brighton kept the pressure high early in the first half, with Batavia's defense making some key stops, including a penalty kick attempted just after the goal was scored.

The Blue Devils had their best chance to score in the final six minutes of the opening half.

With about 5 1/2 minutes remaining, Batavia had a corner kick.

Brighton goalie Jake Bonar stopped two difficult shot attempts and a third went sailing over the net.

The Barons had a corner with less than a minute left before the break, but never got a shot off.

The momentum that Batavia had built near the end of the first half vanished fast at the start of the second half as Michael Patchen scored off a pass by Joe Shapiro at the 42 minute mark

Batavia had a few chances to score, but not many quality opportunities because of the Brighton defenders. Bonar had 11 saves for the Barons, who are 2-3 in the league and 3-7 overall.

Brown made nine saves for Batavia, which drops to 0-4 in the league and 4-6 overall.

 

 

UPDATED WITH VIDEO

Elba/Byron-Bergen to have historic homecoming

By Brian Hillabush

History will be made in Elba on October 4.

The Elba/Byron-Bergen football team will be playing its homecoming game under the lights for the first time in the history of the program.

Elba has never had lights on its field and the Elba Sports Boosters will be bringing in temporary lights for the game against Alexander, allowing the Lancers to host a night game for the first time ever.

The Section 5 schedule still says the game has a 1:30 p.m. kickoff time, but it will actually be at 7 p.m.

Alexander Stops Losing Streak, Tops Elba 3-1

By Chad Flint

Alexander had lost 2 in a row, both by 3 goal margains and was in desperate need of a win over Elba to avoid falling further off the pace in the GR Division 1 race.  They did just that with a 3-1 win over the Division 2 leading Elba Lancers.

Alexander went on top early in the game as 9th grader Julia Pettys (just recalled from JV) got a breakaway and fired it on net, it was saved by the Elba keeper, but Junior Anna Dominick ripped the rebound into the net to put Alexander up 1-0 10 minutes into the game.  The lead didn't last long as 5 minutes later as Alexander lost a 50/50 ball in their defensive 3rd on a goal kick and the ball was blasted into the net to tie the game at 1.  The 1st half was full of mistakes by both teams and ended 1-1.

Alexander came out much stronger in the 2nd half and it paid off 8 minutes in as Senior Rachel Pettys sent a cross in from the left side and Dominick beat the goalie to the near post and flicked it over the goalies head and into the net.  The goalie got her hands on the ball but was unable to keep it out of the net.

Alexander Goalie Hannah Wilson made the save of the game moments later as Elba Senior Chelsi Clark (the 2nd leading scorer in the league) sent a rocket on net from 30 yards out, but a leaping Wilson got both hands on it, tipped it into the air, and caught it before an Elba player could get her head on it.

Alexander iced the game with 7 minutes left as Rachel Pettys found her younger sister Julia on a through ball and the younger Pettys went in on a breakaway and calmly tucked the shot inside the left post to make the score 3-1.

Lost in the scoreline was the play of 8th grader Abby Shilvock who marked Clark the entire game and limited her to a handful of shots with only one being dangerous.  Shilvock, who is normally a midfielder, has really taken to her new role in the back and is taking a lot of pressure off of the rest of the defense by being able to take a player out of the other teams attack.

Alexander improves to 6-4-2 overall and 6-2-1 in the league and moves back into 5th place in the Class C Standings.  With 2/3 of the season gone Alexander is showing signs of improvement from their young lineup and if they can continue to show more poise on the ball they should continue to improve.

Fighting Irish volleyball improves to 7-3

By Brian Hillabush

Notre Dame had no problem in beating Kendall 25-8, 25-12, 25-12 Wednesday.

Liz Geandreau dropped in nine kills and an ace and Kendra Wall added 15 assists, a kill and one ace for the Fighting Irish (7-3).

Meghan Fahy had five digs, five kills and a pair of blocks for the Eagles (2-8). 

Boxler helps Attica top Pembroke

By Brian Hillabush

The Attica girls volleyball squad cruised by Pembroke Wednesday, 25-8, 25-11, 25-23.

Katie Boxler had seven kills, five aces, 10 assists and 12 digs with Jackie Alger adding five kills, nine digs and 12 assists.

Jen Ireland had four aces and two kills for the Dragons (2-8).

Attica is 7-2. 

Week 4 football previews

By Brian Hillabush

 Canisteo-Greenwood (1-2) at Le Roy (3-0)

7:30 p.m. Friday

The Oatkan Knights are coasting after beating Wellsville 77-8 in Week 3 and should have a big advantage over Canisteo-Greenwood, which has only scored 66 total points through three weeks of the season.

The only way Le Roy could struggle in this game is if the players think past C-G with tough games against Avon (2-1) and Caledonia-Mumford (3-0) and Hornell (3-0) to end the regular season.

The Oatkan Knights - ranked fifth in the state in Class C - have the highest scoring offense and have allowed the least amount of points of all the teams in Livingston Conference Division II.

Le Roy is moving the ball on the ground and through the air as Andrew Alexander has rushed for 421 yards through three games and Travis Fenstermaker has thrown for 357 yards, most of which has gone to Mike Humphrey.

Humphrey and Fenstermaker are possibly the best passing duo in Section 5, hooking up for five touchdowns so far. Humphrey has been over 100 yards receiving in the last two games.

 

Batavia (1-2) at Midlakes (0-3)

7 p.m. Friday

The Blue Devils hit the road for the first time this season and have momentum after a big 41-28 win over Waterloo last week.

Batavia has given up a lot of points this season, but scoring has not been a problem. Dan Geiger's offense has put up 74 points over the last two games.

Rob Williams has been a big reason why.

The senior has 374 yards rushing, which is quite impressive when you throw in the 17 yards he was held to in a Week 1 loss against Le Roy.

Williams has also been a factor on the defensive side of the ball and special teams, so Midlakes will be looking out for him.

Enter Anthony D'Aurizio.

D'Aurizio is the perfect compliment to Williams and runs with a bruising style. He picked up 180 yards and two touchdowns last week.

Midlakes has struggled, scoring just 21 points while giving up 73.

Batavia enters this road game with momentum and as the favorite, with a chance to even up at 2-2.

 

Holley (0-3) at Alexander (0-3)

1:30 p.m. Saturday

This game features the only two winless teams in the Genesee Region League and two programs with new coaches.

Holley's Chad DeRock served as jayvee coach last year while the school did not field a varsity squad. He has some players on the line with some size and the Hawks look to pound the football.

Unfortunately, they haven't had much success doing it thus far, scoring just 30 points so far this season.

Holley had just 56 total yards of offense in last week's 41-0 loss against Pembroke.

Alexander's Dave Radley has a squad filled with juniors and has had the hardest schedule in the GR so far, having to play Oakfield-Alabama (3-0), Pembroke (3-0) and Attica (2-1).

The Trojans have done a so-so job of putting points on the board, netting 33. But the defense has been beyond porous, giving up 117 points. 

Both squads are going to look to play physical football, with the winner getting their coach a first victory. The losing team will fall to 0-4.

 

Oakfield-Alabama (3-0) at Notre Dame (2-1)

1:30 p.m. Saturday

This is a huge game in terms of the race for the Genesee Region League title after Notre Dame's lone loss coming to Pembroke and O-A still having the Dragons on the schedule.

The Hornets are doing it again, running the ball with several different runners behind a solid offensive line, led by Division I prospect Chris Williams. 

Tim Smith (304 yards, 4 TD), Brad Riner (279 yards, 6 TD), Joe Natalizia (192 yards, 2 TD) and Jason Stanley (162) all have the ability to go off at any time.

O-A - ranked 13th in the state for Class C - has already rushed for over 1,000 yards as a team and has scored a league-leading 153 points.

Quarterback A.J. Kehlenbeck can also throw the ball a little.. He has completed 7-of-14 pass attempts for 94 yards and two TDs this season.

The Fighting Irish have skilled players all over the field.

Mike Pratt went for over 100 yards rushing in a Week 2 win over Attica and Kevin Schildwaster went for over 100 in Week 3's 37-6 victory over Barker. Both will get carries and you can look for the one that is running the ball better to keep getting the ball.

But if O-A's stingy defense shuts down the run, Notre Dame has a great passing option with quarterback Nick Bochicchio and wide receiver Kevin Francis.

The last time these two teams met on Notre Dame's field two years ago, the game went into overtime during a rain storm, with the Hornets escaping with a win.

 

Attica (2-1) at Barker (1-2)

1:30 p.m. Saturday

Class B Offensive Player of the Week Andy Ruddock looks to lead the Blue Devils, who beat Elba/Byron-Bergen 40-6 last week.

Ruddock earned the honor after gaining 193 yards with a score on 18 carries in the game. He also caught a pass for 19 yards and returned a kick 43 yards.

Barker is probably going to focus on shutting Rudy down, so Blue Devil coach Jeff Cusmano might let his quarterback have a big day.

Brandon Rollins - who transfered to Attica this school year - has gotten better in each game this season and had a nice passing game last week. He went 8-of-12 for 85 yards and three touchdowns last week.

The Blue Devils always think defense first and it has shown as the team has given up a league-low 39 points.

That could be a problem for Barker, which has scored just 31 points this season. The only victory the Raiders have came against Holley.

Greg Brown is the top rushing option, gaining 238 yards with two TDs so far. Ray Paul has pitched in 136 yards with a couple of scores.

Anthony Porter and Ethan Dewart each have thrown for 57 yards this season.

 

Elba/Byron-Bergen (1-2) at Pembroke (3-0)

1:30 p.m. Saturday

The Dragons spread the ball around, but Andrew Wright has easily been one of the top players in the league so far.

He has nine total touchdowns so far this season and has been huge as a runner, a receiver and a kick returner.

Wright had two touchdowns and a 99-yard kickoff return for a score in Week 1, carried the ball just eight times for 185 yards and four touchdowns in Week 2 and then picked up 118 yards rushing on 10 carries with two catches for 55 yards in Week 3.

He has 18 rushing attempts for 283 yards and five touchdowns and has caught five passes for 180 yards and three scores.

Mike Dibble will spend the entire game in the backfield and does a great job of pacing the game. He has 47 rushing attempts for 240 yards and four scores.

David Kleckler has put up some very efficient passing numbers this season and also has the ability to run as a quarterback. He will typically look in tight end Ken Babcock's direction at least a couple of times in the game.

Kleckler has gone 11-of-23 passing for 317 yards with five touchdowns and three interceptions. He has rushed for 127 yards and two TDs on eight carries.

Babcock has caught six passes for 137 yards with two touchdowns.

The Lancers have had no problem rushing the ball so far, but have only managed to score 57 points.

Brandon Spurling is at almost 400 yards rushing and Zach Green has about 200 yards.

Elba has also made the switch at quarterback, making Eric Kowalik the full time QB and moving Cody Torpey to wide receiver. He could also get some rushing attempts.

D'Errico stars at Penn State

By Brian Hillabush

 Penn State Volleyball is off to a 12-0 start this fall and Byron-Bergen graduate Alyssa D'Errico is having a great season.

The Nittany Lions are the defending NCAA Division I champions and are cruising already this year.

D'Errico played in all 36 matches last season and has played in all 12 thus far in 2008 and is tied for third on the team with 68 digs.

She has 13 assists and 10 service aces.

Penn State will be hosting Purdue on Friday and Illinois on Saturday.

D'Errico led Byron-Bergen to three straight New York State Public High School Athletic Association titles (2004-2006) while earning first-team all-state honors in all three seasons.

Check out this cool little Q&A with D'Errico that is on the Penn State Web site.

The Fighting Irish drop a close one to the Hornets

By Eric Geitner

The Notre Dame Boys Cross Country Team suffered their first loss of 2008, dropping a one point decision to Oakfield (27-28).  The Irish cruised past Avon (18-42), Livonia (17-43), and Dansville (19-40).  Quin O'Connor (17:23) again led the Fighting Irish finishing second behind an experienced Kevin Grazioplene (17:14) of Oakfield.  Kevin Pawlak (17:52) placed fifth with Matt Jackson (17:57) just behind in sixth.  Eric Shormann rounded out the top 10 in 18:32.  Nate Flumerfeldt was the Irish fifth man placing 14th in 18:58, a lifetime best time on the flat and fast Avon course.  Marshall Argenta (20:39) had the best finish for the Irish, holding off an Avon and Dansville runner for the 26th spot, while Andrew Fischer also had a lifetime best time for the Irish finishing in 21:03.  The team is now 10-1.

 Other Irish finishers include:

Taylor Alexander  19:23  (16th)

Vince Stadler       21:14 (33rd)

Matt Sausner       21:42 (34th)

Conlan Edwards   33:50 (45th)

James Barcomb   43:52 (46th)

 

The Fighting Irish Girls were victorious over Avon (24-32) and Livonia (25-30) and lost to Oakfield (22-34) and Dansville (23-35).  Ashley Calarco (20:58) finished in second behind fellow state rep Kim Mills of Oakfield.  Jill Marshall was again strong for the Irish running a lifetime best of 22:44 to take the ninth spot.  Haley Alexander (23:56) made a strong last mile effort to place 17th with Meghan Zickl (23:58) taking 19th.  Rachel Berggren ran tough to place 26th in 25:45.  LeeAnn Tindell (33:59) looked very strong and showed great improvement in her 33rd place finish.  The Irish are now 8-3. 

Other Lady Irish Harriers:

Teresa Jackson  27:55 (27th)

Tia Arnold          31:51 (32nd)

Kate Spadaccia  36:00 (34th)

Attica scores first and gets first league win

By Brian Hillabush

 The Attica boys soccer team had not won a Genesee Region League match, until Tuesday night.

The Blue Devils scored first then held on to beat visiting Lyndonville 3-0.

"We've been behind in almost every game and we were on a six game losing streak," Attica coach John Dickhut said. "It was nice to get one early on somebody."

Brandon Reiner scored eight minutes in on a header, off a pass by Andy Hagen to get the ball rolling.

Matt Sheffield then scored an unassisted goal eight minutes later.

"We have quite a few guys that can score," Dickhut said. "We had relied on Andy Hagen a lot early on, but just about anybody can put it in. A couple of games ago I changed my strategy and added another forward to boost the offense a bit."

Joe Wolak added an insurance goal late in the second half off a pass by Reiner to cap off the victory and give Attica a 1-5 league and 4-6 overall record.

Goalie Jacob Seiferth made 10 saves.

"We haven't helped him out too much this year," Dickhut said. "This was his first shutout of the year and he didn't have to work super-hard to get it. The defense really helped him out today."

Lyndonville falls to 2-4, 3-5-1.

Comden leads Hawks to 2-0 win over Bees

By Brian Hillabush

Brandon Comden scored with just under 10 minutes left in the game to give Holley a 2-0 win over Byron-Bergen in a boys soccer match.

The other Holley tally came on an own goal.

Keith Lutes stopped six shots to earn his first career shutout for the Hawks (5-3-1).

Tyler Sass had 12 saves for B-B (4-5-1). 

Muckdogs Championship T-Shirts

By Mollie Radzinski

Attention all you Muckdogs fans and supporters! if you haven't heard, Muckdogs championship t-shirts are available for purchase! Check out the website, muckdogs.com (direct link here: http://muckdogs.com/index.asp?orgid=67&storyid=315&sid=FD4A130C-FED5-441D-8157-560D0254FB2F), for more info!

Notre Dame's Bochicchio starting at Utica

By Brian Hillabush

Notre Dame graduate Christian Bochicchio made his first start at quarterback for the Utica College football team this past weekend.

The freshman stepped into the starting role which was held by Keith Barone, and had a rocky, yet productive, first start.

The Pioneers turned the ball over several times in losing to Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, losing a 24-10 homecoming game in front of 2,835 fans.

 Bochicchio - who was the quarterback for the Fighting Irish when the team won the Section 5 Class D championship in 2006 - now looks to be the top option for Utica.

"He can do some things. Right now, he's our guy," UC coach Blaise Faggiano told the Utica Observer-Dispatch after the loss.

Bochicchio went 14-of-24 for 120 yards with a touchdown and three interceptions in his  college debut.

The Pioneers (0-3) will be at Springfield College on Oct. 4.

Batavia announces 6 new members to athletic HOF

By Brian Hillabush

Six new members will be inducted to the Batavia Blue Devil Hall of Fame on Saturday, October 18 at Terry Hills Restaurant and Banquet Facility.

Nancy Viola worked in athletics and served as Athletic Director from 1981-1998, where 14 Batavia teams won Section 5 championships, including a New York State football title in 1981.

Viola was a chairperson for Section 5 girls basketball from 1975-1997 and NYS girls basketball from 1978-1982.

She earned the 1985 Jean Giambrone Rochester Press Radio Award, was inducted into the Section 5 basketball HOF in 2001 and is a member of the Rochester Red Wing Walk of Fame.

Jonathan Walton was a 1974 graduate after playing four years of varsity basketball and three years of both football and baseball, 

Earned all-county honors in both basketball and baseball. He earned second-team all-county honors when he helped the Batavia basketball team go 19-2 during his junior year.

Walton played baseball and basketball at Buffalo State College and was drafted by the Pittsburgh Pirates in 1974.

1964 graduate Douglas King played four years of football, bowling and baseball at Batavia and earned the Judd-Guinlock MVP award as a co-captain during his senior year.

King led the 1964 bowling team with a 194 scoring average.

Compiled an 11-3-2 record on the mound as a senior, tossing a no hitter, four one-hitters and four shutouts.

He was named the best male athlete at BHS in 1964 and was awarded the Mary Delbridge Citizenship award.

King was scouted by the Pittsburgh Pirates, N.Y. Yankees and San Francisco Giants.

Thomas Vincellos is a 1961 graduate and ran four years of cross country and track, and wrestled one season.

He was the Section 5 cross country champion as a senior and led Batavia to four straight Genesee-Wyoming team titles, setting the course record twice.

Vincellos was the best athlete of senior class and earned the Babe Ruth Sportsmanship award in 1961. He was also a three-time recipient of the Dominic Valle Cross Country MVP award.

1943 graduate Don Johnson played football and ran track for four years while playing baseball and basketball for three each.

He was awarded the 1943 Cope-Dowd Award for excellence in Track & Field and was named to the 1943 Section 5 basketball tournament all-star team.

Johnson earned a letter in four sports in his junior and senior years.

Ralph "Buddy" Houseknecht is a 1968 graduate and played three years of baseball and two years of football and basketball.

He won the Judd-Guinlock MVP award as captain of the football team as a senior. Was also a captain on the baseball team.

Houseknecht was named best BHS athlete in 1968 and received a scholarship to Edinboro State College in Pennsylvania where he played football.

Has been a long-time Batavia High School and Blue Devil Athletics supporter as member of Batavia Rotary Club and as President of Pepsi-Cola Batavia Inc.

The 7th Annual Induction Ceremony has a social hour beginning at 5 p.m., followed by a 6 p.m. dinner.

Tickets are available at the Athletic Directors office at Batavia High School. For more information you can call 585-343-2480 ex. 2003

Attica's Ruddock Player of the Week

By Brian Hillabush

 Well, it took three weeks but a local football player was finally named Section 5 Player of the Week.

Attica's Andy Ruddock rushed for 193 yards on 18 carries as the Blue Devils beat Elba/Byron-Bergen 40-6 Friday night and he earned the offensive honor for Class B.

Ruddock also had a 2-yard touchdown run in the second quarter.

Attica is 2-1 and will be playing at Barker this Saturday.

Alexander falls to Wheatland 4-1, Drops 2nd Straight

By Chad Flint

Alexander dropped a 4-1 decision to Wheatland in Wheatland on Monday to see their league record drop to 5-2-1 and overall drop to 5-4-1.  The halftime score was 1-1 after Wheatland jumped out to an early 1-0 lead and Alexander tied it with around 10 minutes left to go in the first half.  The first half was very even possession wise but Wheatland had several chances that were saved by Alexander keeper Hannah Wilson in the games opening 10 minutes.

The 2nd half was a different story as Wheatland came out flying and never slowed down.  Wheatland buried a shot off a giveaway in the center of the field 10 minutes into the 2nd half and took only 4 minutes to make the score 3-1 after a great give and go that was finished off by Lauren Drago.  8 minutes after that it was 4-1 and the rout was on after Drago finished off her 2nd goal of the game.

Alexander struggled to complete passes in the 2nd half and Wheatland punished us for every mistake we made.  Alexander's best chance in the 2nd half came on a cross from Anna Dominick to Rachel Pettys but Pettys failed to get off a good strike and the keeper handled it easily.

Alexander's goal was scored by 8th grade midfielder Abby Shilvock.  Alexander finishes their 6 game in 10 day stretch Wednesday when they are home to Elba and are in need of a win to avoid falling further off the pace in the GR Division I race.  Wheatland improves to 7-2 overall and 6-1 in the league and is undefeated against the Division 1 teams in their crossover games thus far.

Jermaine Curtis HR caught on video

By Howard B. Owens

Just found this video from he first game of the NY-P Championship in Jamestown.  The only real interesting part is at 2:35 in or so and you can see Jermaine Curtis hit his game-winning home run.

Here's another video of the final out of the championship.

September 22nd is Muckdogs Day!

By Philip Anselmo

It's official! City Council this evening proclaimed September 22, 2008: Muckdogs Day. The 2008 NY-Penn League champions have since dispersed, many of the young players heading to St. Louis for the Cardinals post-season training camp, so that means no go on a parade for this year. But plans are already in the works to hold a victory parade when the champs return to Batavia in June.

We'll be sure to pass along more info as it becomes available.


In other City Council news...

A public hearing has been set for October 14 to discuss a local law that would abolish the city's Board of Ethics. If the action goes through, the city will in future refer all "ethics issues" to the county's Board of Ethics.

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