By SPENCER BATES
PORTVILLE — With its win over Portville in a non-league clash, the Olean baseball team officially finished the regular season with just one loss to its name.
The Huskies cruised to a 13-2, five-inning victory over the Panthers, largely benefitting from some early struggles on the mound.
Olean scored eight runs in the first frame, with five coming via bases-loaded walks. Three runs in the second brought the threat of a three-inning mercy, but Portville was able to stave off the early ending for another two innings as their pitching and defense found a groove.
Two runs and two runners in scoring position in the bottom of the fifth inning nearly kept the Panthers alive even longer but ultimately, the Huskies slammed the door shut.
Olean was led by Caine DeGolier on the day, who finished 3-for-3 at the plate with three runs. Dom Myers (1-for-1, 2 runs, 2 walks) and Alex Jones (1-for-2, run, 2 walks) tallied two RBI apiece in the win as well.
Jo Dieteman recorded the lone hit for Portville.
But the result was merely secondary to the true importance of the season finale for both teams: one final tune-up before the postseason.
Both teams were able to get a number of players at-bats and pitchers innings on the mound. Experience that may prove crucial in a potential deep playoff run.
“(We were looking to) kind of fill out some of the depth and get guys in positions that they may have not been in lately,” Olean head coach Les DeGolier said. “Unfortunately, we’ve played a lot of five-inning games, so for my pitching staff, getting a couple guys out there, getting a few more innings, was a big deal. … It was just kind of a nice game to have, to get brushed up before the playoffs.”
While the size of the loss certainly stung, Portville head coach Joe Pleakis echoed the importance of the game.
“Coming out here and getting 10-runned doesn’t do us any good, but we wanted to see some at-bats, we wanted to see some pitchers, give guys looks, and get tuned up,” Pleakis said.
The Panthers had a strong end to the regular season, taking four of their last five contests. Wins at Franklinville and at North Collins over that stretch came by nine and eight runs, respectively. That run of form has Pleakis optimistic about where his team is ahead of the playoffs.
“I think we’re in a pretty good place,” Pleakis said. “I think we’ve been playing better baseball each game. I think we’re improving. I feel good about where we’re at in our class and making a run.”
Portville’s Parker Keim (5) delivers a pitch against Olean. (Spencer Bates)
The one game that Olean lost during the regular season was by one run away from home at Southwestern. But that defeat feels like a long time ago as it capped the campaign with a 12-game win streak.
But a streak of that length can be dangerous as much as it can be imposing to an opposition. So, Les DeGolier noted, in the few days that he and his team have before the postseason begins, there will be a hyperfixation on the basics and mental side of the game.
“It’s gonna be a focus on fundamentals,” Les DeGolier said. “Just every rep, every pitch, going back to the basics to be ready for really good competition. The (Class) A2s are really deep, and we’re gonna have to be playing our best ball to make a run.
“Baseball is kind of funny in that you usually have a bad game sooner or later. So, we’re gonna continue to work on consistency. It’s kind of nice, we now have two days of practice before playoffs start on Saturday, so we can really go back to a lot of our fundamentals and make sure that the boys have their heads in the right spot.”
Portville finished the regular season with an 8-7 record. Olean finished the regular season 14-1.
AT PORTVILLE
Olean 830 02X X R:13 H:7 E:1
Portville 000 02X X R:2 H:1 E:2
OL: Cartmill (3 SO, 0 BB), Myers (1 SO, 0 BB), Perry (2 SO, 2 BB) and DeGolier
Port: Taylor (1 SO, 7 BB), Wenke (1 SO, 4 BB), Keim (0 SO, 3 BB) and Chudy
