FRANKLINVILLE — Just a ninth grader, Matt Spittler had the composure of a veteran upperclassman Tuesday.
Spittler struck out five and surrendered just two runs over six innings to help Franklinville (8-4) to a 12-2 victory over Cattaraugus-Little Valley (1-10) in a CCAA Div. III game.
“Spittler played excellent and remained composed throughout even as a young player,” Franklinville coach Reed Mitrowski said.
Spittler remained sturdy despite some defensive muscuies by his infield. Two errors allowed two runs to score in the fourth and had Franklinville up by just a run.
“He is a ninth grader, so for him to keep his cool despite some errors was great for us,” Mitrowski said.
Behind a gem from Spittler, the Franklinville offense ignited in the fifth and sixth, striking for nine runs and forcing the 10-run rule into effect.
Beau Bielecki caught Spittler’s outing and hit two doubles, drove home two runs and scored three times.
Isaac Towne had three singles and drove in three runs, while Noah Shenk reached twice on a pair of singles and scored twice for the Panthers.
Kodi Colton started for C-LV and rolled, striking out seven over five innings before the Panthers pulled away over the final innings.
“It was a close game throughout and you have to give a lot of credit to their pitcher because he did really well before things sort of started to come apart,” Mitrowski said.
Portville 16, Randolph 1, 5 innings
RANDOLPH — Portville launched three home runs to support Mario Pascucci’s five-inning complete game effort.
Luke Petryszak hit a grand slam, while Maxx Yehl, who went 2-for-2, and Michael Cole both hit homers for the Panthers (13-1, 10-0). Pascucci helped his own cause, hitting 4-for-4 with a double three runs and Ryan Stillman had two hits.
Pascucci struck out nine batters with one walk, holding Randolph to four hits.
Luke Pagett hit a solo home run and also marked a double for the Cardinals.
“Mario was in total control the whole game, threw a lot of strikes, got ahead of hitters and it’s a lot easier to pitch when you’re getting ahead,” PCS coach Mike Matz noted.
Silver Creek/Forestville 8, Salamanca 1
SILVER CREEK — Despite limiting Silver Creek/Forestville to five hits, five errors helped the Black Knights stay ahead of the Warriors.
Kam Sakpal went 2-for-2 with a run scored and Gavin Borrello reached base all four times he stepped to the plate for SC/F (10-3, 8-2). Cade Neubauer held Salamanca to two hits in a complete game, striking out eight with two walks.
Cory Holleran reached base twice and scored a run for the Warriors (10-6, 7-4).
“We just made it tough on ourselves,” Salamanca coach Greg Herrick said. “We gave up six runs in the first three innings and only one of those six were earned. Just too many errors and (Neubauer) kept us off balance at the plate, did a great job throwing strikes and we just never mounted a rally against him.”
Ellicottville 8, North Collins 6
ELLICOTTVILLE — Ellicottville rallied from a 3-0 first-inning hole, and a 6-5 hole after the top of the first to put away North Collins in the late innings.
Ellicottville pitcher Caedon Wyatt held North Collins to two earned runs on eight hits, striking out five and walking three in a complete game. His brother Braylon Wyatt had a double and an RBI. Hunter Smith (single) and Logan Grinols drove in two runs each for the Eagles (9-7).
“We got down 3-0 in the first inning and we’ve got a resilient group,” ECS coach Chris Mendell said. “I told them we’ve got a lot of game left, stay with it. We only had four hits but the hits we had were timely and we squeezed in two runs, which was huge.
“Caedon Wyatt threw his first complete game of his career. He was a real difference maker for us.”
Derek Ebersole went 2-for-3 for North Collins and Montana Robbins and Matt Warsaw both hit doubles.
