Bascom strikes out 17 in Horde softball

By Keith Harrington

After falling to a strong Whitehall squad in the season opener, Granville bounced back with a 7-2 road win over Corinth last Friday in an Adirondack League softball contest.

Youth was served for the Golden Horde as fans got a glimpse into the program’s future. The freshman pitcher and catcher battery of Lauren Bascom and Haylie Barber paced Granville in the field and at the plate.

The duo has worked together since they were youngsters in elementary school. Both Bascom and Barber also play travel ball year-round for the Glens Falls Titans program. The Titans played in places as far away as Ohio last spring and will play in a tournament in Maryland this summer.

“I think one thing that kept me confident was that I had Haylie behind the plate, she knows me, and she knew what pitches to call and when to call them,” Bascom said. “She keeps me focused and grounded, which is something that I like.”

Bascom went the distance for the Golden Horde, scattering four hits. Bascom recorded 17 strikeouts out of the 21 outs in the game.

“Going into that game, I wanted to start strong and stay strong throughout the whole game,” Bascom added. “Think more strikes than balls and not letting up at all.”

The Golden Horde mustered all the offense Bascom needed in the first two innings. Granville scored five runs in the top of the first and tacked on another one in the second to take a 6-0 lead.

Granville had only six hits but took advantage of six Tomahawk fielding errors. Bascom was 2 for 4 at the plate with an RBI while Barber added a triple and two RBIs.

Bascom felt that having the first game against Whitehall under their belts even with the loss was a key to the win over the Tomahawks for both her and the team.

“It was my first varsity start as a freshman and I was nervous, but also super excited at the same time,” Bascom said. “We just started our season last week and we are still learning how to play together as a team. Against Corinth, the whole team worked together well. We were all communicating, and the coaches were supportive and encouraging us.”

Elizabeth Jensen took the loss for Corinth, but only allowed six hits. Jensen struck out 10 Granville batters.
Granville is 1-1, 1-1. Corinth is 0-2, 0-2.

Horde girls win, boys edged out

By Keith Harrington

The Granville track and field teams opened the season at home last Thursday against Corinth in an Adirondack League meet. The Golden Horde girls defeated the Tomahawks, 57-46. The Granville boys were edged by Corinth, 63-61.

Granville is now 1-0. Corinth is 0-1.

Nicole Arnhold was among the members of the Golden Horde who led the girls’ team to victory. Arnhold took first place in the long jump and triple jump. She also was first in the 100-meter dash.

Her sister Laura Arnhold took top honors in the high jump and was second in the long jump. The Arnholds combined with Ashley Pratt and Alyssa Welner to win the 4 x 100 relay.

Amber Gibbs was first in the 800 and 3,000-meter events. She was second in the 400 meters. Kaitlyn Panoushek placed first in the 1,500-meter race. Panoushek was also second in the 100 meters and third in the 800.

The Golden Hordes’ Amber Backus was first in the shot put.

For Corinth, Morgan Thompson had a solid meet. Thompson was first in the 200 and 400. She was also a member of the winning 4 x 400 relay.

On the boys’ side, Corinth’s Tyler Hall finished first in the 100- and 200-meter dash, but Granville dominated the remainder of the top spots. In the 100, Matt Barlow was second, Nick Powers third, Ethan Gibbs fourth, Asher Cornwall fifth and Jaxon Torres sixth. In the 200, Barlow and Gibbs were third and fourth.

Owen Burnham finished third in the 400, second in the 800 and third in the 1600.

Quinn Johnson and Matt Pietryka had strong finishes in the 3200. Johnson finished second and Pietryka fourth.

The Golden Horde swept the relay events. Isaiah Stevens, Torres, Myles Pauquette and Barlow combined to win the 4 x 100. Quinlan Fitzpatrick, Owen Burnham, Ethan Gibbs and Gabe St. Martin teamed up to claim the 4 x 400.

Stevens crossed the line first in the 110 hurdles, while St. Martin won the 400 hurdles.

Corinth had a strong performance in the jumping events. Ashton Tokarski placed first in the long jump, high jump and pole vault. Tyler Hall was first in the triple jump for the Tomahawks. Pauquette was second in the high jump and triple jump. Barlow was second in the long jump with Pauquette close behind in third.

Fitzpatrick, Powers and St. Martin filled up the top three spots in the shot put for Granville. Fitzpatrick was the highest thrower in the discus event.

Whitehall tops Horde in softball opener

By Keith Harrington

After a year’s hiatus caused by the pandemic, the Whitehall and Granville CSD softball teams hit the diamond again last Thursday, May 6, at Burch Field. The Railroaders have high hopes for the season as they will be led by Madison Gould, one of the area’s top pitchers. The Golden Horde is mixed with veterans and youth led by one of the Adirondack League’s premier players in senior Lexyss Zovistoski.

Gould and Granville’s freshman Lauren Bascom hooked up in a dual early, but the deep Whitehall batting order eventually imposed its will and pulled away for a 13-4 win in the season opener for both squads.

“All things considered I thought we played pretty well,” said Whitehall coach Pam Putorti. “It’s been a rough start to the shortened season. Due to the weather we’ve only been on our field once, and that was in the pouring rain to practice.”

Even with the lack of time on the field, Putorti was fairly pleased with her team’s performance.

“We had a few defensive miscues, but we were able to overcome them,” Putorti added. “We are hitting well, but we need to tighten up our defense.”

Both pitchers were dealing in the first two innings. Gould struck out the side in the first inning and picked up five Ks in the first two frames. Bascom had to work out of a bit of a jam in the first but spun back-to-back strikeouts to work her way out of it and set down four Railroaders herself in the first two innings.

Whitehall broke through against Bascom in the third. Kyrie Smith and Gould had consecutive hits to give Whitehall a 3-0 lead. The Railroaders added a run in the fourth when Olivia Whiting walked and scored on a Granville error to extend the margin to 4-0.

The Golden Horde fashioned a rally to make it a game in the fourth. Haley Corlew ended Gould’s no-hitter attempt with a bunt single. She then stole second base. Zovistoski nailed an RBI single to slice the deficit to 4-1. After Bascom walked, Rachel Beaver added a two-run single to bring Granville within 4-3.

The Railroaders did not allow the Golden Horde momentum to last long, exploding for five runs in fifth to take back command at 8-3.

Zovistoski smacked a solo homer in the sixth to bring Granville within 8-4, but Whitehall plated five more in the seventh to put the game away.

Gould scattered five hits while striking out 15 to earn the win for the Railroaders.

Bascom struck out seven in her varsity debut for the Golden Horde.

Gould had a pair of hits for Whitehall. Smith chipped in a double. Jayden Hughes also contributed two hits.

Zovistoski was 2 for 3 for Granville.

“Truly, it’s just great to be playing after last year’s canceled season,” Putorti said.

Whitehall was 1-0 after the win. Granville was 0-1.

Horde tennis team loses three matches

By Keith Harrington

The Granville CSD tennis team opened the season for the first time in two years with three matches last week on Monday, Tuesday and Friday, and the Golden Horde dropped all three contests.

On Monday Granville traveled to North Warren and lost to the Cougars, 7-0.

The Cougars swept all five singles matches. Dante Buttino of North Warren won over Granville’s Carter O’Leary, 10-2. Jack Jennings defeated Tiernon Weeden, 10-3, for the Cougars.

Tia Buttino blanked Sam O’Leary, 10-0, and Jaden Maxwell topped Andrew Lapierre, 10-0.

North Warren won the only doubles match as Peyton Robbins and Carson Peet defeated Jenna Tooley and Cassie Weeden.

North Warren was 1-0 with the win. Granville was 0-1.

On Tuesday Granville’ team the road once again, this time to Corinth, where the Tomahawks won, 5-1.

Tiernon Weeden earned a singles win for Granville as he edged Billy Smolinski, 10-7.

Sheldon Woodard, MJ Sprague and Zack Tevendale had singles wins for Corinth.

In doubles Robert Glogowski and Corbin Macqueen defeated Jenna Tooley and Cassie Weeden, 10-4 for the Tomahawks.

With those matches, Corinth moved to 1-1. Granville fell to 0-2.

Last Friday Granville visited rival Whitehall in search of its first victory, but the Railroaders didn’t allow that to happen as they shut out the Golden Horde 4-0 in Adirondack League play.

In singles play, Troy Austin of Whitehall slipped past Carter O’Leary, 10-4. The Railroaders’ Anthony Jones defeated Sam O’Leary, 10-1. Allen Beauleu completed the sweep, topping Andrew Lapierre, 10-2.

Aidan Macleod and John Twyman of Whitehall defeated Jenna Tooley and Cassie Weeden, 10-6 in the only double match.

As of Friday, Whitehall is 1-0 on the season. Granville is 0-3.

Railroaders 2-0 on baseball diamond

By Keith Harrington

Whitehall High’s baseball team opened the baseball season in impressive fashion last week, winning a pair of Adirondack League games.

The Railroaders defeated rival Granville in the opener on Thursday and cruised past Hartford-Fort Edward on Friday. Whitehall was back on the diamond for the first time since winning the Class D state championship in 2019.

At Granville, the Railroaders pulled out a close, low-scoring game with the Golden Horde, 4-2.

Kaleb Lyman led the way with his bat and Tyler Brooks on the bump for Whitehall.

Lyman was 2 for 3 to lead the Railroaders at the plate.

Brooks tossed a two-hitter, giving up just a pair of fourth-inning runs.

The Railroaders scored three runs in the second inning and another in the third to take a 4-0 lead.

Granville scored two runs in the fourth to cut the deficit in half, but Brooks and the Railroaders shut down the Golden Horde the rest of the way.

Brandon Bakerian added a triple for Whitehall.

Connor Farrell and Ryan Kunen had RBIs for the Golden Horde.

Against Hartford-Fort Edward, Whitehall fell behind early but used huge second and third innings to pull away for a 12-2 victory.

The Railroaders led 1-0 after the top of the first. The TanaForts responded with two runs in the bottom of the frame to lead 2-1.

The Hartford-Fort Edward advantage was short lived, and they didn’t score again.

The second and third innings were decisive as Whitehall exploded for 11 runs. The Railroaders scored seven in the second and crossed the plate four more times in the third.

Neither team scored again.

Bakerian was 3 for 4 for Whitehall with a home run and four RBIs. Spencer Dickinson was 2 for 3 with a triple and two RBIs. Michael Vandenburgh was also 2 for 3 and drove in two runs.

Jacob Whiting earned the win on the mound. Whiting and Tyler Fish shared the pitching duties with Whiting going five innings and Fish the final two. Whiting and Fish each had five strikeouts.

Peyton Ottens and Drake Stewart had the only Hartford-Fort Edward hits. Stewart drove in both TanaFort runs.

As of the end of the week, Whitehall is 2-0. Hartford-Fort Edward is 0-1.