Sports

Senior point guard Mackenzie Reigle recalls the first basket that she ever made – a three-point shot after being called up late in the season as a seventh-grader. From that point on, she knew what she wanted to achieve as a Batavia High varsity girls’ basketball player.

“I remember being really nervous, but it was super exciting, my first point was a ‘3’ right on the side and I followed it up with a block on the other end. It was so exciting and I’ve always wanted to score 1,000 points since then,” Reigle said tonight after reaching that goal in the Lady Blue Devils’ 55-35 victory over visiting Greece Olympia in Monroe County League Division IV action.

Needing just one point to hit the milestone, Reigle misfired on her first two shots before taking a pass from Kennedy Kolb and sinking an 18-foot baseline jumper at the 5:07 mark of the first quarter. That gave the Lady Devils their first points – they trailed 5-2 at that point – and prompted the referees to call a timeout for her to pose with Coach Marty Hein at center court as fans and players from both teams applauded her accomplishment.

When play resumed, Batavia scored only four more points the rest of the period, missing 11 of 14 shots from the field, and trailed Olympia by a 9-6 score.

Olympia was up 14-9 with five minutes left in the second quarter when Reigle drove to the basket for a layup and Tess Barone scored on consecutive trips to give Batavia its first lead at 15-14.

The home team went on to score 10 more points – completing a 16-0 burst – as Reigle had a three-pointer and layup, Barone converted a pass from Reigle for a score and Bryn Wormley sank a three-pointer at the buzzer for a 25-14 halftime advantage.

Batavia stretched the lead to 28-14 on a three-point shot by Bella Houseknecht but Olympia, behind Taylor Jung’s 12 points, pulled with 10 at 37-27 heading into the final period.

Then Reigle took over -- sinking four free throws after getting fouled on drives to the hoop, converting a steal into a layup and going to her right hand (she is left-handed) to score from 10 feet out.

She then assisted on Barone’s hoop before Haylee Thornley scored inside to give Batavia a 49-33 lead with three minutes to play.

Reigle scored 27 points to raise her per game average to 17.9 this season and also had six assists, 11 rebounds, eight steals and two blocks.

A force on the offensive end, the 5-foot-7 Reigle is equally impressive on defense with her ability to steal the ball from the opposing point guard, establish position on the boards and block shots.

“I just try to read the defenses,” she said. “I know that with this team (Greece Olympia) a lot of them were weaker left-handed players so I took away their right side and it worked tonight.”

After the game, Hein emphasized Reigle’s work ethic and determination.

“When you’re with somebody as long as I have been with Kenzie, it makes it so special,” he said. “I’ve seen her sweat and cry and bleed through this whole endeavor and she wants it so badly. She works so hard; she’s always in the gym. She so much deserves this, and I’m really happy for her.”

Reigle joins Tiara Filbert (2015), Madison McCulley (2016) and former teammate Ryann Stefaniak (2018) as the only Batavia girls' basketball players to score 1,000 points in their varsity careers.

As far as the team is concerned, Hein said the girls were pressing at the beginning of the year – Batavia started 0-3 – but have learned to run the offense and trust each other since then to put together a seven-game winning streak.

“If losing those first three games of the season puts (us) in a position where we’re at now, then they were a really good three losses … as we’ve grown from there. The belief is there that if we’re going to do this (win a sectional title), it’s going to be all nine of us.”

Batavia has defeated Olympia three times this season and the margin was 20 points each time, including a 55-35 win on Feb. 17.

The Lady Devils host Our Lady of Mercy at 8 p.m. Thursday and close out the regular season at Greece Odyssey for a 2:15 p.m. game on Saturday.

The Section V Class B1 Tournament begins on Tuesday night, with Batavia expecting to host the first-round game at 7 o’clock. It is possible that Batavia, currently the third seed, will face Olympia, currently the sixth seed, for a fourth time.

Reigle said she has one more goal, and that’s to win a sectional title – something that Batavia has come close to in her varsity years.

“We’re hoping that it is this year … but we have to stay strong,” she said.

Photos by Steve Ognibene.

To view or purchase photos, click here.

Photos, from top to bottom: Batavia team celebrates Mackenzie Reigle's accomplishment following the win over Greece Olympia; the shot that put Reigle at 1,001 points early in the first quarter; Bryn Wormley launches a three-point shot; Tess Barone gets inside position; Reigle drives to the hoop; Kennedy Kolb shoots over a Lady Spartan defender. Photos by Steve Ognibene.

Oakfield-Alabama beat Holley 72-37 on Monday to give Head Coach Ryan Stehlar his 100th career win.

Kaden Cusmano scored 24 points to lead the Hornets. Travis Wiedrich scored 16 points and Gaige Armbrewster scored nine.

Also in boys basketball

• Attica beat Notre Dame 64-54
• Byron-Bergen beat Elba 66-54
• Wheatland beat Alexander 37-35
• Batavia beat Olympia 70-42

Photo by Kristin Smith.

Oakfield-Alabama beat Holley on Monday, 49-17.

Makena Reding scored 11 points for the Hornets. Kelsey Schlagenhauf scored nine.

O-A is now 5-3 on the year.

In other girls games:

• Elba beat Byron-Bergen 64-37 (game coverage)
• Hornell beat Le Roy 83-46
• Alexander beat Wheatland 53-38
• Notre Dame beat Attica 59-44
• Pavilion beat Mt. Morris 73-21

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

Taylor Augello scored 21 points against Byron-Bergen on Monday night to lead Elba to a 64-37 victory.

The Lady Lancers are now 10-0 on the season. 

Brynn Walczak scored 14 points and had 12 rebounds. Laci Sewar scored nine points.

For the Bees, Ava Wagoner scored 15 points and Sasha Schramm scored 11. MacKenzie Senf had eight rebounds.

Batavian Tony Sprague came up a bit short in an attempt for his second United States Bowling Congress-certified perfect game last Sunday, rolling a 298 in the T.F. Brown's Adult-Child League at Mancuso Bowling Center.

Sprague, a lanky right-hander who will be celebrating his 19th birthday in a couple weeks, left a 7-10 split on the final delivery as the ball came in just a little light of the 1-3 pocket. He finished with a 652 series.

Last February, he registered a 300 game as a youth bowler at Mancuso's and in early January of this year, posted a 299 in the T.F. Brown's league.

Other top series around the Genesee Region last week:

• Nathan Cordes of Batavia flirted with an 800 series in the Toyota of Batavia Thursday 5-Man League at Mancuso's, starting with 268 and 280 before closing with a 224 game for a 772 series;

• Steve Krna of Alexander rolled a 758 series in the Antique World Tuesday Coed League at Mancuso's;

• Scott Briggs of Perry started with a 266 game en route to a 758 series in the Thursday Night League at Perry Bowling Center.

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

Oakfield-Alabama fell to Attica in a Saturday game 60-56.

For the Hornets, Gaige Armbrewster scored 15 points, Petyon Yasses scored 12, Kaden Cusmano 11, and Travis Wiedrich 10.

In other boys basketball:

• Alexander beat Notre Dame 84-79
• Lyndonville beat Elba 67-57
• Batavia beat Honeoye Falls - Lima 65-63

In girls basketball:

• Batavia beat Honeoye Falls - Lima 55-51
• Livonia beat Le Roy 67-50
• Pavilion beat Geneseo 62-25

Photos by Kristin Smith. For more, click here. For O-A JV, click here.

There were a few storylines to take note of going into this afternoon’s Monroe County Division IV girls’ basketball game featuring the host Batavia Lady Devils and the Honeoye Falls-Lima Lady Cougars.

One, could Batavia avenge a loss to the HF-L earlier this season and hand the Lady Cougars their first league defeat?

Two, could the undersized Lady Devils find a way to prevent 6-foot-1 junior center Teagan Kamm from dominating on both ends of the floor?

And three, could senior guard Mackenzie Reigle find a way to maneuver through and around a defense set up to stop her and running mate Bryn Wormley to score the 16 points she needed to reach 1,000 points in her varsity career?

Well, the answers – in order – are (1) yes, (2) yes, after the opening quarter, and (3) almost.

Getting contributions from eight players, Batavia posted a 55-51 win over HF-L, dropping the Lady Cougars to 6-1 in the league and 6-3 overall.

The Lady Devils’ sixth straight victory puts them at 6-2 in league play and also 6-3 overall.

Reigle scored 15 points – and now has 999 points since being called up to the varsity late in the season as a seventh-grader – and Wormley added 13 for Batavia, but it took clutch baskets by their teammates to put them over the top.

Tess Barone tallied eight points – four during a 9-0 run late in the third quarter that gave the Lady Devils a 37-33 lead – while Kennedy Kolb added seven, Haylee Thornley five, Tianna Rhim four and Rachel Wright three.

Rhim, a junior, made her presence felt in the second half – using her size and strength while matching up with Tamm and enabling Batavia to have success on the defensive boards. Reigle led the way with eight rebounds (to go with her six assists and six steals) while Kolb pulled down six caroms; Rhim and Wormley five each; Barone, Thornley and Wright four apiece, and Bella Houseknecht two.

Kamm led all scorers with 18 but had just eight points after intermission, with the last three coming on a three-point shot with three seconds left. She scored nine of her team’s 10 points in the first quarter.

Batavia led 14-10 after the opening period and HF-L led 22-19 at halftime. The Lady Devils rallied to outscore the visitors 20-14 in the third period for a 39-36 edge.

The Lady Cougars took a 43-42 lead on Kamm’s layup with 5:25 left in the game before Batavia responded to move ahead, 49-44, on an offensive rebound and basket by Rhim, three-pointer by Reigle and layup by Kolb on a nifty assist by Reigle at the three-minute mark. The home team stayed in front the rest of the way.

Reigle sank two free throws and, with 1:09 remaining, drove in for a basket to pull within one of 1,000 points, but she will have to wait for Tuesday night’s home game against Greece Olympia to reach the milestone.

After the game, she seemed to take it all in stride, giving credit to her teammates.

“They (HF-L) are a tough team and played a triangle-and-two to try to stop us (her and Wormley), but the other girls took the shots when they were open and they came through,” Reigle said.

Seniors Olivia Friedlander and Hannah Selke scored nine points each and sophomore Clare Ruff added seven for HF-L, 64-50 winners over Batavia on Feb. 11.

Oakfield-Alabama notched its fourth win of the season Friday with a 42-32 win over Attica.

Makena Reding scored 12 points for the Hornets and Kelsey Schlagenhauf added 10.

In other girls basketball:

• Elba beat Lyndoville 73-51 (click here for coverage)
• Pembroke beat Kendall 53-43
• Notre Dame beat Alexander 37-33

In boys basketball:

• Batavia beat Eastridge 68-49
• Pembroke beat Kendall 80-47
• Pavilion lost to Geneseo 56-43

The Elba Lady Lancers now have three starters in the 1,000 point club, with Brynn Walczak reaching the milestone early in the first quarter last night on a two-pointer in the paint.

Within the past week, both Leah Bezon and Maddie Muehlig scored their 1,000th career points.

Elba is now 9-0 on the season after blowing out Lyndonville 75-51.

Taylor Augello scored 19 points, Muehlig and Walczak both scored 15 points, and Bezon added 12. Muehlig and Walczak each had six rebounds.

For Lyndonville, Ella Lewis scored 19 points.

Photos by Debra Reilly.

Press release:

Iroquois National Wildlife Refuge (NWR) announces applications for the spring turkey lottery will open on March 1. Similar to last year, applications must be completed online here.

You can create an account, or log into your existing account at that website. Once you are logged in, select the appropriate hunt, and follow the prompts to apply.

Applications can be filled out online from March 1 until April 1.

The preseason lottery will be conducted to select hunters for the first (May 1-15) and second (May 16-31) sessions of the spring turkey hunt season. Please note there will be a $5 application fee to cover administrative costs.

Winners will be notified approximately one week after the close of the application period by email, whether or not selected.

Additionally, youth turkey hunt permits will be available starting March 1 on a first come, first serve basis. There is no fee for this permit.

All other aspects of the Iroquois NWR turkey hunt will be similar to previous years. Hunters with disabilities may contact the refuge for information on how to apply. Please see our Turkey Hunting and Youth Turkey Hunt Fact Sheets for full details on the 2021 hunting season, which can be found on the Permits page of our website.

Iroquois NWR is located midway between Buffalo and Rochester, and is managed by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. For further information contact Iroquois National Wildlife Refuge, 1101 Casey Road, Basom, NY 14013 or call (585) 948-5445.

Both Bryn Luckey and Jillian Curtis did their part Thursday night in Le Roy but it wasn't enough for the Lady Knights to overcome Haverling.

Haverling won 60-45.

Luckey scored 23 points and Curtis scored 13 and pulled in 12 rebounds. Goose Dunn had nine rebounds.

In other girls basketball:

• Pavilion beat Keshequa 60-13
• Batavia beat Sutherland 48-33 (game story)

Photos by Tim McArdle.

It was the Gaige Armbrewster show in Oakfield on Thursday night as the junior scored 28 points to dominate the Hornets game against the Alexander Trojans.

Oakfield-Alabama won 60-44 to move to 5-1 on the season.

Travis Wiedrich scored nine points for the Hornets and Jordan Schlagenhauf and Kaden Cusmano each scored six.

For Alexander, Devin Dean scored 17 points and Nicholas Kramer scored nine.

In other boys basketball: 

• Byron-Bergen beat Kendall, 79-51
• Pembroke beat Elba 48-31
• Lyndonville beat Notre Dame 67-65

Photos by Kristin Smith. For more, click here.

The Batavia Lady Blue Devils were “locked in” from the start of tonight’s Monroe County League game against Pittsford Sutherland -- playing their best half of basketball of the season – en route to 48-33 victory over the visiting Lady Knights.

The win was the fifth straight for Batavia after an 0-3 start and avenged a 44-40 loss to Sutherland on opening night.

Coach Marty Hein’s squad kept the ball moving on offense and utilized a full court press and double-teaming of the ball on defense to make it tough on Sutherland, now 3-4.

Individually, senior guard Mackenzie Reigle showed why she was named Division 4 Player of the Year in 2020 as she scored 29 points, grabbed seven rebounds, blocked two shots and came up with seven steals.

She now is 16 points shy of reaching 1,000 in her varsity career. Batavia has three regular season games remaining, with the next one at 3:15 p.m. Saturday at home against Honeoye Falls-Lima.

Beyond the numbers, Reigle controlled the pace of the game – getting high-percentage attempts for herself and good shots for her teammates while setting the tone on defense with her ball-hawking ability.

Reigle scored 10 of Batavia’s first 12 points (including a pair of three-point baskets) as the Lady Devils jumped out to a 12-5 advantage, and she ended the period by finding senior guard Bryn Wormley for a three-pointer to make it 15-9.

It was more of the same in the second quarter as Reigle drained two three-point shots and three driving layups – two of them off of steals – to put Batavia up 31-15 at halftime.

Batavia kept up the defensive intensity in the second half but to the Lady Knights’ credit, they hung in there and closed the gap to 33-23 midway through the third quarter on a basket by sophomore Ellie Bergin.

However, Batavia responded with baskets by Wormley, Reigle (a three-pointer) and Rachel Wright to stretch the lead to 42-25 entering the fourth quarter. Sutherland could pull no closer than 12 points from that point on.

Wormley finished with 11 points and nine rebounds while Haylee Thornley had four points and three steals. Bergin scored 20 for Sutherland and sophomore Laura Brandt six for the visitors.

Whether Tiger Woods can ever play competitive, PGA-level golf again depends on more than just his determination to recover from injuries he sustained Tuesday in a single-vehicle accident in Los Angeles, said Dr. Matthew Landfried, an orthopedic surgeon at United Memorial Medical Center.

Landfried spoke with members of the local media about the front-page news of the past couple of days involving the world's most famous golfer.

The 15-time winner of major tournaments lost control of the SUV he was driving and it crossed a median and veered through two lanes of traffic before hitting a curb, hitting a tree, and landing on its side in the brush, according to news reports.

Woods suffered multiple leg injuries. Landfried said based on what he's read of the injuries, Woods has a long, difficult recovery ahead of him.

"The amount of energy or force that causes the injuries creates additional problems with healing, excessive tissue damage, et cetera," Landfried said.

What concerns Landfried the most, when it comes to playing on the PGA tour, is the broken bones in the golfer's feet. Such injuries may make it impossible for Woods to walk -- as required by the PGA -- over 18 holes of golf on four consecutive days.

Then there are the compound fractures in his legs, which of themselves Woods may be able to overcome, but there are potentially two complications: whether the bones were broken at the ankle and knee joints (unknown) -- making rehabilitation more difficult -- and a procedure apprarently required in this case called a fasciotomy.

Landfried explains:

There are four (compartments) in the lower leg. Around those compartments is a sheath that's called fascia and it's actually very hard. I don't want to call it stiff, but it's unforgiving. It doesn't expand. So inside each compartment, most of them, there's a nerve and muscles and blood supply or blood vessels. When the muscles get injured that much, they bleed, they swell and they expand or want to expand beyond the ability of fascia to expand.

What starts to happen is you start cutting off blood supply, muscle starts to die and the nerves can be injured or killed. So you have to split that fascia. You have to take a knife and open that up from the top to the bottom. And when you do that, a muscle kind of comes oozing out and pours out, but it's taking the pressure off.

He added:

Because it is so swollen, you never close the fascia, but you can, most times close the skin, even in the leg. ... They probably did a two incision, for four compartments. So you got two large wounds from, you know, top of your leg to the bottom of the leg, wide open now. So those have to be treated with dressing or vacuum dressings, and infections are the biggest risk.

Finally:

The ability to heal because at that level of trauma is a second problem because what happens when the bone breaks that badly, it comes through the skin, the periosteum, which is a lining around the bone. I tell people it's like the sausage, the skin on a sausage, but it's around the bone that's been torn and stripped the blood supply to those areas that are broken, have been stripped and are gone. So, you know, as long as they reestablish, then you heal. If they don't reestablish, then you get what's called a delayed union or nonunion and sometimes it never heals.

So, all of those varabiles factor in Tiger's ability to not only fully recover but recover enough to hit the links again.

Woods hadn't been playing because he recently went through his fifth back surgery and was in recovery. Landfried said he hasn't seen any reports to indicate whether Woods reinjured his back in the accident but that could be another factor in his ability to play on the tour again.

At 45, Woods is just at the start of the age where most people find it more difficult, and it takes longer to recover from injuries. What may be in his favor is his athletically maintained body and his own willingness, well demonstrated over his career, to work hard. He will also have the advantage of physical therapists working with him every day.

"He's an incredible athlete," Landfried said. "He's working hard and he's going to have the best of the best. So as long as he can walk the 18 holes, he'll be back. But I just think it'll be some loss of power."

Alexander pulling out a close victory Wednesday over Oakfield-Alabama, 51-48.

For the Trojans, Hailie Kramer scored 19 points and Allison Mileham scored 11.

For the Hornets, Danica Porter scored 15 points, Brooke Reding, 12, and Kelsy Schlagenhauf, 10.

In other girls basketball:

• Elba beat Pembroke 62-35. Brynn Walczak scored 27 points for Elba and had 10 rebounds. Leah Bezon scored 10 points. For Pembroke, Serene Calderõn scored 10 points. (Game pictures included below.)
• Byron-Bergen beat Kendall 39-35
• Notre Dame beat Lyndonville 53-33

In boys basketball:

• Le Roy beat Haverling 54-51
• Pavilion beat Keshequa 42-34

O-A v. Alexander photos by Kristin Smith (click here for more). Elba vs. Pembroke photos by Debra Reilly.

On Senior Night, Le Roy beat Letchworth 61-30.

Jillian Curtis scored 22 points, grabbed 18 rebounds and knocked back five shots. Bryn Luckey scored 25 points and snatched four steals. Zharia Newton scored eight points and had seven rebounds. Jen Pullyblank scored 10 points.

Also in girls basketball, Pavilion beat Cal-Mum 50 to 18.

Photos by Tim McArdle.

The Hornets beat the Bees 74-56 in Oakfield on Tuesday night behind 17 points for Travis Wiedrich.

Kaden Cusmano added 15 points, Peyton Yasses, 11, Gaige Armbrewster, 10, and Kyle Porter, 8.

For Byron-Bergen, Jerrod Amesbury scored 16 points, Gianni Ferrara 15, and Braedyn Chambry, 11.

Also in boys basketball on Tuesday:

• Batavia beat Odyssey 74-25
• Notre Dame beat Pembroke 76-65
• Attica beat Elba 54-40

Photos by Kristin Smith. For the varsity game, click here. For JV game, click here.

Press release:

The Batavia Muckdogs are proud to announce that there will be in-stadium entertainment this year as Le Beau Salon presents the Diamond Dance Team!

The Diamond Dance Team will be featured during the breaks in the ball game showing off their dance routines and keeping the crowd entertained with their abilities. The dance team has been a part of CAN-USA Sports baseball in Elmira and it is a tradition that has been passed down year after year. 

CAN-USA Sports owners Robbie and Nellie Nichols are quick to tell the story: “We want young people to be engaged at the ball park and giving them an opportunity to be a part of this historic franchise will be a great way to do that. The Diamond Dance Team will not only be an avenue for dancers to showcase their talent, but it will also allow parents and family members to see their loved ones perform in front of people in a unique environment.”

The Muckdogs first took the field in 1998 and captured three division titles in 2008, 2010, and in what would be their final season of 2019. Batavia also brought a League title back to Dwyer Stadium in 2008. 

The Diamond Dance Team will be managed by KMS Dance Studio and tryout information will be available through KMS. 

Season Tickets are on sale now! You can call (607) 734-7825 or email mwitt.canusa@gmail.com and reserve your spot at Dwyer Stadium for the first pitch and everyone that follows!

Press release:

CAN-USA Sports is proud to announce that a unique event is set for Sunday May 16th at Dwyer Stadium as KMS Dance Academy will present their Annual Dance and Cheer Showcase outdoors at Dwyer Stadium this year! 

KMS Dance Academy has been a staple in the community offering a wide range of dance classes from ages 2 through adult, including tot hip hop, baby ballerinas, and competitive level classes, by owner/director Erica Grazioplene, a local to Batavia with more than 25 years experience.

Grazioplene is very appreciative of the Muckdogs and CAN-USA Sports.

“I would like to thank Nellie and Robbie for helping me fulfill my promise to our dancers and families at KMS Dance Academy that we can have a show this year," she said. "I am so grateful and excited to work with them and the Muckdogs organization." 

This will be the first time the event will be held outside for the first time in the history of the showcase and also the first time the stadium will host another event outside of baseball as well. 

Robbie Nichols, owner of CAN-USA Sports, told media members “When we decided to come to Batavia we knew that there was a lot of possibilities to bring entertainment to this venue outside of just hosting baseball games. Bringing in a competition like this is just the first step of the process and we are excited to see more and more events come to Batavia and utilize this beautiful stadium as much as possible.”

Tickets are on sale now! You can call Erica Grazioplene at KMS Dance Academy at (585) 409-6875 and reserve your spot at Dwyer Stadium for this historic event Sunday May 16th!

Maddie Muehlig needed 17 points to reach 1,000 on her career going into Monday's Lady Lancers' game against Attica.

She scored 21, with her milestone point coming on a three-pointer in the third quarter.

Elba beat Attica 65-43.

Muehlig (#2 in photos) was 6-10 on three-point shots.

Leah Bezon, who joined the 1,000-point club in Elba's previous game, had 15 points.

Next in line for 1,000 points is Brynn Walczak. She scored 17 points.

Also in girls basketball on Monday:

• Batavia beat Odyssey 63-32
• Oakfield-Alabama beat Byron-Bergen 50-42
• Notre Dame beat Pembroke 62-59

In boys basketball, Le Roy beat Letchworth 66-35.

Photos by Debra Reilly.