By SPENCER BATES

batesoleanstar@gmail.com

OLEAN — For the 10th year in a row, Randy’s Up the River has taken home the Olean City Cup Softball Tournament title, fending off Smethport VFW, who threatened to play the spoiler.

Up until the first game of the final, Randy’s had gone unbeaten. Smethport, however, wound up taking the long road to the title game, fighting its way through the losing-teams bracket.

And while Randy’s held a 3-0 lead through four of the seven regulation innings of Game One, a resilient Smethport fought back and forced a winner-take-all finale with a 7-3 victory.

In that first game, Teagan Kosinski went 3-for-4 to lead the victors. Inga Welty, Molly Kate-McCollough, Mia Welty, Mallory Welty and Amber Nelson each had two hits in the win as well.

For Randy’s, Jordan Lucas tallied two hits.

In Game Two, Randy’s established a 3-0 advantage once again, this time after just three frames. However, this time around, they were not to be the victims of any sort of comeback. In fact, they managed to tack on two more runs to their total tally over the final three innings while their defense slammed the door shut on Smethport for a 5-0 win.

In their victory, which cemented their 10-year run of success, Alyssa Ramarge stole the show, going a perfect 4-for-4 with four runs and a home run — a performance that saw her named the Finals MVP. Behind her, Jaleesa Ard-Sledge and Kayla Welty recorded two-RBI apiece.

For Smethport, Inga Welty led the way with three hits.

For Randy’s, this was their 14th consecutive appearance in the championship game, appearing every year since 2012, and winning 12 of the last 13 titles.

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On the men’s side, Parkwood cruised to a 17-7 win over BTB to claim the City Cup title.

Ryan Carney led the way for Parkwood, scoring five runs.

See below for more photos from the City Cup Finals:

Members of Smethport VFW pose with their runner’s up trophy after falling to Randy’s Up the River in the women’s City Cup championship game. Back row (from left): Tierra Bodamer, Amber Nelson, Mallory Welty, Inga Welty, Molly Kate McCullough, Kara Kosinski, Courtney MacNeal, Mary Okerlund and Cailey Barnett. Front row: Karly Welty, Mia Welty, Teegan Kosinski and Kamryn Cook. (Photo provided)

Members of Randy’s Up the River celebrate after claiming victory over Smethport VFW in the women’s City Cup Championship. (Spencer Bates)

Smethport VFW’s Inga Welty (left) stretches for a tag at first base. (Spencer Bates)

 Randy’s Up the River’s Jordan Beckwith stretches for an out at first base. (Spencer Bates)

Members of Parkwood pose with their trophy after defeating BTB 17-7 in the final of the men’s City Cup. (Spencer Bates)

Down 6-4 in the seventh and final frame, Smethport — the overall No. 1 seed in the playoffs — needed three runs to take the winner’s bracket final. Hits from Mallory Welty (2-for-3), Kamryn Cook, Teagan Kosinski (2-for-4), Karly Welty (3 hits) and Courtney MacNeal (2-for-4) powered them to just that. Molly Kate McCullough recorded three hits in the game as well.

And it was MacNeal’s base-hit that scored Kosinski for the walk-off win.

Nicole Calbi, Alex Calbi, Spruce York, Kayla Welty and Torri Johnson each recorded two hits in the loss for Randy’s.

Bamboo Strategy 16, Shamrocks 5

OLEAN, NY — Perfect 3-for-3 days at the plate from Alyssa Johnson and Casey Cummings powered Bamboo Strategy to a big win over Shamrocks.

Kimmy Martinelli went 2-for-3 with a triple in the win as well.

Michela Williams and Amie Peck both finished 2-for-2 in the loss.

Angee’s 8, 716 Fitness 2

OLEAN, NY — Leslie Nasuta and Kristiana O’Connell each finished 3-for-4 and recorded two RBI for Angee’s as they breezed past 716 Fitness.

Evelyn Nuzzo went 1-for-1 and drove in two RBI in the win as well.

Liz Owens and Ashley Erkskine each went 2-for-3 for 716 Fitness.

Pink Ladies 9, Union Whiskey 8

OLEAN, NY — With two runs in the bottom of the seventh inning, Pink Ladies secured a walk-off win over Union Whiskey.

Elyse Graham’s 2-for-3 day at the plate, complete with a home run and three RBI, powered Pink Ladies to victory. Rachel Confer (3-for-4, RBI, triple), Ann Baxter (4-for-4, 2 RBI), Courtney Martin (3-for-3) and Kindle Gruber (3-for-3) all contributed in the win as well.

For Union Whiskey, Kristin Sledge went 3-for-4 with a double and Kaelyn Arnold finished 4-for-4 with two RBI.

Randy’s 11, Pink Ladies 0

OLEAN, NY — Alex Calbi’s two run homer jumpstarted Randy’s offense, which hummed en route to a shutout victory over Pink Ladies.

Nicole Calbi and Kayla Welty each finished with three hits while Alyssa Ramarge and Spryce York added two hits for Randy’s as well.

716 Fitness 7, Bamboo Strategy 6

OLEAN, NY — With both offenses producing, 716 Fitness just managed to edge Bamboo Strategy for a narrow victory.

Liz Owens, Ashley Eskins and Michelle Cisco each went 2-for-3 in the win for 716 Fitness.

For Bamboo Strategy, Kim Martinelli, Shannon Detweiller and Andrea Darrow each finished 3-for-4.

Shamrock’s defeated Mickey’s by a score of 18-17 in the Olean Women’s Softball League (OWSL) Playoffs behind a completely dominant performance from Natasha Beil who finished the affair 5-for-5 with seven RBI and two home runs.

Her supporting cast included Lizzie Chapman  (4-for-5, triple), Micheyla Williams (3-for-5, 2 RBI triple), Kelley Lyons (4-for-4), Tricia Moore (3-for-4, RBI), Meghan Sizemore (2 RBI) and Kim Stebbins (2 RBI).

Karissa Neal led the charge for Mickey’s in the narrow defeat, finishing 3-for-5 with six RBI and a home run. Behind her was Alexa Schoonover (3-for-5), Makenna Manning (5-for-6, 2 doubles), Eva West (4-for-6, 2 RBI), Shannon Schoonover (3-for-5, RBI) and Beth Mills (2 RBI).

Angee’s 11, Bamboo Strategy 3

OLEAN, NY — A five-run first inning paced Angee’s in their win over Bamboo Strategy.

Betty McNabb led Angee’s, finishing the game 3-for-3, with two RBI and a double. Hannah Lathrop (4 RBI, HR), Sophia Fratercangelo, Kristiana O’Connell, Kendra Colegrove (3 RBI) and Courtney McCutcheon each finished 2-for-3 for Angee’s as well. Leslie Nasuta and Sheri Droney added a hit and an RBI apiece in the winning effort as well.

Amber Mohr (RBI), Shannon Detweiler and Andrea Darrow each went 2-for-4 for Bamboo Strategy. Ashley Colley added a 1-for-3, two-RBI performance in the loss as well.

Smethport VFW 16, Union Whiskey 2 (5 innings)

OLEAN, NY — Scoring 14 runs between the first two innings, Smethport VFW cruised to a big win over Union Whiskey.

Karly Welty’s two-hit, three-RBI performance in which she homered led Smethport on the path to victory. Tierra Bodamen (three hits), Mia Welty (two hits), Courtney MacNeal (two hits) and Inga Welty (2 hits) all contributed in the win as well.

Kristen Sledge tallied two hits for Union Whiskey.

Randy’s 3, Pink Ladies 2

OLEAN, NY — After conceding the two-run lead they had held through the final four innings, Randy’s grabbed a walk-off win over Pink Ladies.

The hero on the day was Alex Calbi, who finished the affair 3-for-4 with two RBI. The latter of the two RBI was the walk-off single that scored Alyssa Ramarge in the bottom of the seventh.

Kayla Welty added two hits for Randy’s.

Elyse Graham went 3-for-3 at the plate in the loss.

716 Fitness 16, Mickey’s 3

OLEAN, NY — Behind perfect 3-for-3 performances from Brandi Buttino (2 triples) and Michelle Cisco, 716 Fitness was able to coast to victory over Mickey’s.

Tiffany Worthington added a 2-for-3 stat line complete with a grand slam in the win.

For Mickey’s Karissa Neal (triple) and Alexa Schoonover each finished 2-for-3.

Bamboo Strategy 14, Misfits 13

OLEAN, NY — In the other high-scoring, close affair of the day, Bamboo Strategy just managed to edge past Misfits.

Amber Mohr went 5-for-5 to lead Bamboo Strategy. Behind her, Shannon Detweiler went 4-for-5, Devin Ralston went 2-for-4 with a double and triple and Ashley Colley finished 4-for-4.

For Misfits, Emily Cooper went 3-for-6 with a triple, Kasey Wilder went 4-for-5 with a double and Karlene Familio went 4-for-5 with a double.

Pink Ladies 13, Parkwood 8

OLEAN, NY — Despite a relatively consistent offensive day for Parkwood, Pink Ladies came away with the victory behind two high-scoring frames.

Rachel Confer led the winning effort, going a perfect 4-for-4 with three RBI and a double. Courtney Martin (triple) and Reneé Williams each went 3-for-3, Elyse Graham went 2-for-3 with an RBI and a double and Grace Walker went 1-for-4 with two RBI and a double in the win as well.

For Parkwood, Jen Olson went 2-for-4 with a home run. Alongside her, Kayla Berlin went 3-for-4 with two RBI and a double, Sara Levia went 3-for-4 with an RBI and a double and Avery DeFazio went 1-for-4 with two RBI and a double.

Unlike their previous game on Sunday, where their work in the batter’s box only began in the fifth, Bradford got right to work against Kane. Through their first four batters, Post 108 put two men on base while suffering two outs. Having AJ Lama and Ethan Obergfell on first and second, Nik Manroe cracked a ground ball single to center field, driving in the pair to put Bradford in front early. They would tag on one more run before the end of the initial inning, with Manroe making it to third on a passed ball before scoring on a Kane error. 

Despite allowing Kane to load the bases, Bradford held off any retaliation with the second and third out coming by way of strikeout and a play at first. Getting back to the plate, Post 108 would tally one more run on the day in the second. Lucas Miller led off with a walk before Tarren Reese joined him on base with a single. Obergfell would then record an RBI with a sac-grounder that gave Miller enough time to clear the distance between home. 

From there, Post 108’s defense took over, constantly shutting out Kane for the next three frames. In the bottom of the fifth, however, Kane chipped away. Three consecutive singles would give way to Kane’s first run of the day before a walk and fielder’s choice grounder scored their second. Despite their building momentum, Brody Haviland, who took the mound in the same frame, dispatched Kane with back-to-back Ks. 

Leaning on their defense, Post 108’s lead would survive, producing their second win of the season. 

Manroe finished 1-for-4, scoring once and batting in two other runs for Bradford. Miller scored once while Trey Buchholtz ended 1-for-4. On the mound, Lama and Haviland combined for 13 Ks. 

AT KANE

            R H E

Bradford      310 000 0   4 6 1

Kane            000 020 0   2 7 2 

Bradford: Lama (6 SO, 2 BB), Haviland (5) (7 SO, 0 BB) and Haviland, Stiles

Kane: Pitcher 1 (X SO, X BB), … and catcher

OWSL

Randy’s 14, Union Whiskey 2 (5 innings)

OLEAN — Scoring 14 runs on 20 hits, one of which being a home run from Alyssa Ramarge, Randy’s pulled out a big win over Union Whiskey.

Ramarge led Randy’s, finishing 4-for-4 with six RBIs. Nicole Calbi had three hits and three RBI while Jalesa Ard-Sledge, Alex Calbi, Spryce York, Jessica Weinman and Shaina Griffin and Torri Johnson contributed two hits apiece.

Faith Capito, Emily Horton and Kristin Sledge each finished with three hits for Union Whiskey.

Pink Ladies 13, Mickey’s 1 (5 innings)

OLEAN — Scoring 11 of its 13 runs in the opening frame, the Pink Ladies ran away from Mickey’s, collecting a big win.

Elyse Graham, who was responsible for the run that forced the mercy-rule to come into play, led the Pink Ladies going 4-for-4 with a double and four RBIs. Grace Walker went 4-for-4 with two doubles and an RBI and Bella Morales went 2-for-3 with a double and two RBIs in the win as well.

For Mickey’s, Sarah Cole went 2-for-2 with a double and Beth Mills went 2-for-2 with an RBI.

Shamrocks 21, Murdock’s 4 (5 innings)

OLEAN — With nine runs in the fifth inning, Shamrocks brought the run-rule into play in its win over Murdock’s.

Jen Barnes went 5-for-5 with six RBIs to lead Shamrocks. Natasha Beil (4-for-5, 3 doubles, RBI), Meghan Button (4-for-5), Tricia Reynolds (3-for-4, RBI), Jade Cooper (1-for-2, 2 RBI), Lizzie Chapman (RBI) and Steph Falandys (RBI) all contributed in the victory as well.

For Murdock’s, Kay Slater went 2-for-3, Amy Slater and Vicky Kenyon each went 2-for-2 and Angel Kenyon went 2-for-2 with an RBI.

716 Fitness 12, Misfits 3

OLEAN — 716 Fitness wasted no time setting the tone in its game against Misfits, scoring four runs in the first inning.

And while keeping its opposition quiet on offense, 716 Fitness compounded its lead and put the game out of reach with two runs in the fourth and six in the sixth.

Robyn Berlin-Hillard went 4-for-4, leading 716 Fitness while Lacey Arnold, Elizabeth Owens and Ashley Erskine each finished 3-for-4.

For Misfits, Sunny John and Linsey Germane went 3-for-3.

Other Scores:

Smethport VFW 9, Bamboo Strategy 0

Hangry Pitches 12, Angee’s 11