By SPENCER BATES
OLEAN — Returning all but two players from last year’s roster, Olean baseball head coach Les DeGolier has on his hands an experience-laden squad.
In its first game of the season, against Springville-Griffith, that deep level of understanding was put on display in a well-rounded 5-3 victory.
The Huskies gave up a run in the first inning, but responded with two of their own in the second — establishing a lead that would carry throughout the remainder of the game. The pitching, after some early hiccups, found a rhythm and was nearly unsolvable. But even when the Griffins did get a hold of a pitch, the Olean defense was sound.
Everything ran like a well-oiled machine for DeGolier. Never did his team get too high or too low. Led by a core of veterans, they found a vein of success and stayed in it.
“Some old guys led the way with some big hits, Landon (Johnson) had a big hit, Joe (Mest) had a big hit, some guys that have been here three, four years,” DeGolier said. “Then some of the underclassmen (stepped up). Dom (Myers) had his first home run as a freshman and the thing is … we’ve been working on hitting the ball away and he hit that out in right-center. That shows a big step in growth for him. Those are the things we talk about. If we keep incrementally getting better, and everybody works on their individual things, as a team, we’re going to be tougher and tougher.”
The Olean offense connected for seven hits from seven different batters on the night. Joe Mest and Taylor Teachman each tallied an RBI double apiece while the three runs that the team tacked on in the bottom of the fifth inning came courtesy of a three-run home run to right-center field from freshman Dom Myers.
“The bottom (of the lineup) did well and then the top finally came around,” DeGolier said. “Landon had a good game from the plate, driving a couple baseballs. Even (Ethan Woodring) had one. He hit a rocket to the second baseman who made the play. Otherwise, we score two there with two outs. I thought everybody swung the bat pretty well and put the pressure on them. If we do that 1-9, we’re gonna be happy.”
Noah Cartmill got the start on the mound for the Huskies and save for the lone run he gave up in the top of the first, he put together a solid, five-inning performance, striking out three and preventing the visitors from doing any further damage. Johnson entered the game in relief and slammed the door shut on the result, picking up four of the team’s final six outs via strikeout.
“He stayed mentally tough,” DeGolier said of Cartmill. “His command wasn’t there in the first two innings, but I thought in the third and fourth innings, he got stronger. He worked out a couple of those kinks. That was good to see. He didn’t panic. And then for Landon to come in and close the game out strong, that’s a big thing. He kind of ended the year last year with his control a little off, and he stepped out first thing this year and shut the door.”
Olean’s Noah Cartmill (9) delivers a pitch. Cartmill struck out three batters and allowed just one run in five innings against Springville-Griffith. (Spencer Bates)
The Olean defense had a significant impact on the game as well. While the team’s bats were producing, Springville certainly threatened, out-hitting the hosts 9-7. But thanks to stellar defensive plays all over the park, including a diving catch made by Gehrig Perry at shortstop for a lineout, the Huskies’ guests were left frustrated.
“Our pitchers are told to let their defense work behind them,” DeGolier said. “We want to force the action. We want to throw strikes and make them earn it because I believe we have a strong, deep defense. There’s a couple guys on the bench that could step in and there would be no letdown. So yeah, the depth of our roster and the strong defense, we’re certainly excited about.”
Olean will look to build on the positive result in its next game, set for April 1 at Wellsville.
AT OLEAN
Spring-Griff 100 001 1 R:3 H:9 E:1
Olean 020 030 X R:5 H:7 E:0
S-G: Glass (1 SO, 2 BB), Brown (0 SO, 1 BB), Michalski (2 SO, 1 BB) and Roy
OL: Cartmill (3 SO, 3 BB), Johnson (4 SO, 2 BB) and DeGolier
