Granville sports round-up, May 25, 2023

You are currently viewing Granville sports round-up, May 25, 2023
Granville's Donny Woodell waits for a pitch during the Golden Horde's 5-3 Class CC quarterfinal win over Greenwich. (Photo by Keith Harrington)

Horde (13-1) in baseball semi-finals

What a difference a few days makes.

Sunday evening in the Adirondack League baseball championship game, Granville would have done anything for a couple of runs. Their usually potent bats fell silent in a 1-0 loss to Lake George.

Fast forward to Friday. The Golden Horde connected for three hits and four runs in the bottom of the first and held off Greenwich, 5-3, in the Section II Class CC quarterfinals at the Ken Burch Complex.

“Something that is super important is to get out to a great start and we did,” Granville coach Cory Burton said after the game. “It really makes the rest of the day more stress-free when you’re not grinding for the first one.”

In the bottom of the first Granville went to work against Greenwich starter Dutch Hamilton. Caleb Nelson led off with a single. Hamilton struck out Trey Senevey but the low pitch went under the catcher’s glove to the backstop and Senevey beat the throw to first. Cody Nelson then blistered a hard grounder toward second base that was too hot to handle, plating the first two runs of the game.

Next, Brent Perry singled and Will Jennings doubled into the left-centerfield gap as Granville opened up a 4-0 advantage.

The Golden Horde tacked on a run in the fifth and it turned out to be important. Senevey reached on an error and came around to score to make it 5-0.

Greenwich rallied with three runs in the sixth. Joey Skiff drove in a run and Eli Strasswimmer added two more RBIs as the Witches sliced the deficit to two runs.

The Granville outfield played a key role in the win, making multiple big plays. None was more clutch than an outstanding grab by Alex Torres, reaching over the left-field fence to rob the Witches of a home run.

“It was hit really well. It was definitely going over. I had a little bit of luck,” Torres said of the fielding gem.

Winning pitcher Cody Nelson praised the run-saving grab by Torres.

“It was a great catch. He bombed it out there. I didn’t think he was getting it. He got to it,” Nelson said.

Caleb Nelson gave up just two hits in six innings of work, striking out eight. Cody Nelson pitched the seventh inning to earn the save.

Caleb Nelson was pleased with how Granville bounced back from a heartbreaking loss.

“It was pretty tough. Only two hits against Lake George and to end up losing, but we came back today and got the win,” Nelson said. “After losing that game. The only loss of the season. It sucked.”

Caleb Nelson was tiring late in the game, but Burton is fortunate to have another Nelson to go to.

“He’s the bulldog. He wants the ball, but you could see he was wearing a little bit, but it’s nice to have a twin. Did they (Greenwich) even know there was a pitching change? It’s nice to have a pair of Nelsons,” Burton stated with a laugh.

Besides Jennings, Torres also had a double. Caleb Nelson finished 2 for 4 at the plate with a run and two stolen bases. Cody Nelson contributed a pair of RBIs.

Granville now faces another Wasaren League foe, six-seed Hoosick Falls which upset three-seed Canajoharie.

Granville improved to 13-1 with the victory. Greenwich closes the season 10-11.


Granville Unified loses two games

The Granville Unified basketball team dropped its first game of the season, falling to Queensbury, 44-32, and later in the week suffered a second loss at the hands of Glens Falls, 41-30. Jasmyn McMahon led the Golden Horde with seven points. Connor Martin and Zander Wilson added six points each. Cole Zarczynski scored 10 of his career-high 14 points in the second half.

Chris Boulton and Breanna Chandler each added 10 points for the Spartans.

Queensbury is 3-1. Granville is 2-1. Last Thursday Granville struggled with its shooting and fell to Glens Falls, 41-30.

“We had a lot of great shots. Unfortunately, they didn’t want to go in the basket,” Golden Horde coach Katie Barber said.

Mike Fante of Glens Falls led all scorers with 19 points.

Brady Stewart and Zander Wilson had eight points each for Granville. Connor Martin and Jasmyn McMahon added six points apiece for the Golden Horde. Gavin Mitchell had two points. Granville is now 2-2 on the season.