ECLV falls to LeRoy in District 2 final
Jason Wick/Olean Times Herald
Jason Wick/Olean Times Herald
Jason Wick/Olean Times Herald
Jason Wick/Olean Times Herald
Jason Wick/Olean Times Herald
Jason Wick/Olean Times Herald
Jason Wick/Olean Times Herald
Jason Wick/Olean Times Herald
Jason Wick/Olean Times Herald
Jason Wick/Olean Times Herald
Jason Wick/Olean Times Herald
Jason Wick/Olean Times Herald
LITTLE VALLEY — Over the last two weeks, Joe Myers emphasized three words above all others to his 11-12 all-stars:
Never give up.
And for the duration of this double elimination New York State District 2 Little League Tournament, the Ellicottville/Cattaraugus-Little Valley squad didn’t.
ECLV rallied from an opening-round loss to Wellsville to rip off four-straight victories and reach the district final. Along the way, it avenged Wellsville then knocked off Fillmore on July 4 to advance to Sunday’s championship. And even when the end seemed near, it never quit, plating three sixth-inning runs to cut a 6-0 deficit in half and give itself one last flicker of hope.
Against unbeaten LeRoy, however, it just wasn’t quite enough.
Up 3-0 early, LeRoy — needing just one win to claim the crown — broke the game open with a three-run fifth before topping ECLV, 6-3, in the 11-12-year-old District 2 title contest at the First Street youth field. And though ECLV came up a bit short of a championship, it took great pride in knowing that it battled, quite literally, until the very end.
“The kids were awesome,” a choked up Myers allowed afterward. “They worked their butts off all spring, all summer to get here. They did everything we asked; we couldn’t ask for a greater group to work with. They played their hearts out today. … We got some hits, we just couldn’t put anything together.”
And that was probably the best summation.
ECLV HAD runners on second and third with no outs in the second and two runners on with no outs in the fifth. In both instances, however, it was unable to score, with LeRoy pitcher Hunter McClurg retiring the next three batters in both frames, including five via strikeout. In the meantime, LeRoy slowly built a 6-0 advantage, turning a 1-0 game in the first into a 3-0 lead in the third and a 6-0 contest heading into the last inning.
“We got some hits, but then we couldn’t do anything with them,” Myers reiterated. “We got some runners on, we just couldn’t get them around, we just couldn’t put everything together today, and that’s the way baseball goes. Some days, it’s your day, some days it’s not. We had some hard hits that got caught, but at this level in the all-star games, those things get caught and teams make good plays.”
And though LeRoy (4-0) had a few more, ECLV registered plenty of highlights too.
Parker Schmitt doubled to open the second and he and Jameson Burlingame both posted two hits. Starting pitcher Vander Travis limited LeRoy to a manageable three runs into the fifth inning, and his defense made several tremendous plays behind him.
But ECLV’s big inning came in the sixth, when it gave itself one last chance.
Following a pair of walks and a single from Jack Widger, Easton Miller drilled a one-out, three-run double to left field that made it 6-3 before being tagged out while attempting to stretch it into a triple. With the bases clear, however, LeRoy coaxed a groundout to shortstop to seal its championship win.
“We thought if we could get a couple more breaks that last inning, maybe we tie it up, go ahead,” Myers said. “(But the) McClurg kid pitched lights out (for LeRoy). He had all our hitters a little off balance.
“We had some hitters that are usually hitting the ball up in the last inning, but they were just a little off balance, and we didn’t quite get it done. But they all went down swinging; they didn’t watch the ball go by, that’s for sure.”
Of his team’s collective effort, which included a pair of walks and a run scored from Garrett Hill, Myers added: “This team, it’s not all about any one person, it’s about all 12 that are on the team, and they all pick each other up when they have a down game. That’s what’s so great about having a group like this is that they don’t get down on each other. They’re always there to pick their friends up.”
AFTER FALLING to Wellsville on June 26, ECLV beat Allegany, Olean, Wellsville and Fillmore to advance out of the “second chance” bracket. Despite not winning the championship banner, it notched another equally notable accomplishment: It united two (and really, three) different communities for a fun postseason run.
“The best thing is these two communities have come together,” Myers said, “and these boys have lifelong friendships. This group plays ball together all year long, so they’re really great friends. And it’s great to see the communities kind of come together and be friends, and when they do play sports against each other, they’re enemies on the field, but afterward, they’re together.
“And that’s important.”
