ALBANY, NY — Over the weekend, Kasen Hardy officially became the first Salamanca wrestler to compete at the New York State High School Wrestling Championships since Brad Cunningham in 2014.
He also became the first to place since Dusty Lewis in 2013.
Hardy grabbed seventh place after going 4-2 at the Championships. His two losses were to the eventual third and fourth place finishers.
INDOOR TRACK AND FIELD
Section 6 State Qualifier
HOUGHTON, NY — The Salamanca indoor track and field team brought their season to a close on Feb. 28 at the Section 6 State Qualifier in Houghton.
Leading the way for the boys team was Evan Spruce, who capped off his career by breaking his own school record in the shot put with a throw of 45-04, which was good for a third-place sectional patch.
Xazavier Escobar, dropping more than a full second in the 300-meter dash, clocked a 37.60 to set a new Salamanca school record. The time was good for 11th out of 26 competitors.
Carter Bucktooth, Taylor Hayes, Preston Smith, and Payton Bigler all delivered season-best splits in the 3200-meter relay. The result was a 26-second improvement over their previous time, and a new school record.
COLLEGE BASEBALL
Feb. 28: St. Bonaventure 12, Navy 0
March 1: Navy 4, St. Bonaventure 0
ANNAPOLIS, MD — Splitting the latter two games of its three game series against Navy, the St. Bonaventure baseball team fell to 4-6 on the season.
The Bonnies controlled the second game of the series, collecting a 12-0 victory behind great pitching and hitting.
Chris Hoalcraft got things started early with an RBI apiece in the first and third innings, the first of which went down as his 100th career hit. The 2-0 lead lasted until the seventh when the Bonnies scored on a wild pitch. Conner Vercollone and Hoalcraft then each picked up two-run doubles in a six-run eighth.
Nolan Feidt got the start for Bona, recording four strikeouts and giving up just three hits in seven innings.
Unfortunately overnight the Bona bats cooled off as they fell 4-0 in the third game of the series. A result that saw the Midshipmen take the overall series.
Enger Paulino did well on the mound for the Bonnies. He struck out a season-high seven batters, did not allow an earned run through five innings and conceded just one hit.
“We played three competitive games,” Bona baseball head coach Jason Rathbun said. “Unfortunately, in two games we didn’t come up with the clutch hits at the right time. I have confidence our hitters will figure it out. I am extremely happy with the way our pitchers are performing. They are giving us a chance to win every game. These games have been a good learning experience as we get closer to conference play.”
COLLEGE SOFTBALL
Feb. 28: Incarnate Word 9, St. Bonaventure 0 (5 innings) & No. 3 Texas 12, St. Bonaventure 2 (5 innings)
March 1: Incarnate Word 21, St. Bonaventure 1 (5 innings)
AUSTIN, TX — The St. Bonaventure softball team wrapped up play at the Longhorn Invitational with a trio of defeats, two coming at the hands of Incarnate Word, and the other to No. 3 ranked Texas.
In its first game of the weekend, the Bonnies conceded a pair of runs in the first inning and another in the second. But the game was blown open in the third frame as the Cardinals recorded a three-run double before scoring a fourth run in the frame on an error.
In the second game, the Longhorns picked up seven runs in the bottom half of the first, which was capped by a grand slam. A three-run home run in the second and a pair of solo home runs in the fourth made it a 12-0 ballgame. Bona did manage to score two runs on a pair of errors.
In the final game of the weekend, and its second against the Cardinals, Bona suffered a hefty defeat. The team’s lone run came in the bottom half of the second when Sydney DeGram lined an RBI triple, which scored Sawyer Burke.
MENS LACROSSE
Le Moyne 7, St. Bonaventure 6
ST. BONAVENTURE — Despite controlling just about every statistical category, the St. Bonaventure men’s lacrosse team came up just shy of victory, falling to Le Moyne.
The Bonnies outshot the Dolphins 44-24, finished with seven fewer turnovers and were successful in 18 of 20 clear attempts to Le Moyne’s 17-23. The Bonnies also won 10 of 16 tries at the faceoff dot.
Cole Kucinski, Patrick Shanahan and Chris Lawrence each scored a pair of goals on the day Bona.
“I’m glad we were able to fight back today,” Bona men’s lacrosse head coach Brendan Storrier Our play on defense and facing off allowed us a chance in the fourth quarter. The biggest difference today was one team needed to win and one team wanted to win. Needing something is a lot more powerful than wanting something. As a program we need to focus on the small details. When we are able to do that consistently we will have sustained success.”
WOMENS LACROSSE
St. Bonaventure 14, Niagara 6
NIAGARA FALLS, NY — The St. Bonaventure women’s lacrosse team snapped its nine game losing streak to Niagara, dating back to March 12, 2012, with a convincing win on the road.
A trio of hat-tricks, courtesy of Brooke Piper, Rylee Gonzalez and Sidney Van Tassel, led the Bonnies to victory.
Megan Schillinger scored twice and Gracie Williams, Arianna West and Grace Hollenbeck each scored once for Bona as well.
Goalkeeper Judy Mahoney played the full 60 minutes and made seven saves.
“As a staff, we are very happy with how the team played today,” Bona women’s lacrosse coach Leighann Stauffer said. “The offense was clicking right from the very beginning and our defense continued to stay strong throughout the full 60 minutes. Everyone did their job today and we’re excited to get on the flight to North Carolina.”
