Photo by Mark Evans Warren’s Emma Gray connects during the Dragons’ 9-7 loss to Bradford on Thursday at Lady Dragons Field.

WATTSBURG — Youngsville plated 12 runners in the fifth inning to break open a close game and close out the region baseball schedule with a 13-2 five-inning victory over the Seneca Bobcats on Thursday.

The Eagles (10-7), who finish up their regular season slate with a non-region game Saturday in Reynolds, will now await their District 10 Class A postseason destination announcement which could come as early as today.

Thursday’s game began as a pitchers’ duel as the Eagles struggled to score and pitcher David Manning picked up where he left off from Monday’s no-hitter win against Iroquois. Manning flirted with a no-no again on Thursday before allowing a pair of runs and a pair of hits in the fifth inning when the game was no longer in question.

The fourth inning started with a 0-0 tie before the Eagles finally cracked the scoreboard. Talon Mesel and Dylan DePasquale led off with singles and Josh Pikna was hit by a pitch with one out to load the bases.

Aaden Patch was up next and was also hit by a pitch to bring home Mesel and start the scoring. Unfortunately for the Eagles, a double play would end the inning and no more runs would be pushed across the plate.

Youngsville had no such trouble in the fifth inning.

The Eagles sent 13 batters to the plate before the first out of the inning, ultimately scoring 12 runs to make a 1-0 nailbiter into a 13-0 laugher. Braydon Baker led off the big inning with a triple and Manning would add a three-run triple of his own later in the fifth. Mesel, DePasquale, Bryce Spinks, Pikna, Patch, Cole Johnson, Baker and James Johnson also had RBIs during the inning.

Seneca would finally break through in the bottom of the fifth, getting a pair of RBI singles but it wasn’t enough to keep the game from ending via the 10-run rule.

SOFTBALL

LADY DRAGONS COME UP SHORT

Warren’s softball team scored five runs in the bottom of the fifth inning, but the Dragons’ comeback fell short in a 9-7 non-region loss at Lady Dragons Field.

“Alana (Stuart) wasn’t going to not pitch at her last home game,” said Warren coach Carissa Stuart of her daughter and senior Mercyhurst University commit. “She’s such a competitor and I had to give her that opportunity.”

Due to injury, the two-time region all-star as a four-year starting pitcher hasn’t been in the circle during Warren’s five-game losing streak dating back to May 6. On Thursday, she came on in relief, throwing 3-1/3 innings, allowing two hits and a walk without an earned run, and striking out nine.

“The girls fought back,” said Coach Stuart. “We had runners on second and third in the last inning, (and) Laken (Carroll) put a nice hard ball in play; a couple more feet away from the second baseman, and we could have tied it.”

Warren outhit the Lady Owls, 12-5, with two hits each from Emma Gray, Alexis Jones, Peyton Hagg and Alana Stuart, who reached base all four times with a double and two walks. Jones tripled. Emily Davidson, Warren’s other senior, and Malysia Sorensen each had a hit, a run, and two RBIs in the loss.

Warren is 8-10 overall with a final regular-season game today at Franklin.

Bradford jumped out to a 9-2 lead after 4-1/2 innings with the help of nine walks, three hit batters and two Warren errors.

Bradford senior pitcher Daisy Greene got the win, and she helped herself by reaching all four times at the plate, including two hits and three RBIs.

Warren’s junior varsity team lost 23-16 in a six-inning game. Gray, Braidin Stewar and Riley Cull turned a triple play for Warren. Stewart also homered, and Bella Oyola, Brooke Sherry, Tori Solberg, and Hagg added hits.

EAGLES CLOSE OUT HOME SLATE

YOUNGSVILLE — The end of an era.

Playing without its starting pitcher and much of the game without its cleanup hitter, Youngsville came up just short in a 13-11 loss to the Kane Wolves Thursday at Youngsville High School.

The game was the last scheduled varsity event to be played at Youngsville High School.

The Eagles already entered it facing an uphill battle. Starting pitcher Kamden Swearingen missed the game due to her Warren County Career Center graduation, and cleanup hitter Ireland Abraham joined her after the third inning.

Still, the Eagles fought.

Trailing 3-0 early in the game, the Eagles got on the board in the bottom of the first inning. Before exiting, Abraham delivered an RBI single that scored Hailey Gray and cut the deficit to two.

Youngsville’s next tally came in the third while trailing, 4-1. Alyssa Gentz was hit by a pitch with one out and moved up on Caitlyn Pikna’s single. Moments later, Gray hit the first of her two doubles to score Gentz and make it 4-2.

After surrendering two runs in the fourth, Youngsville finally pulled even with a four-run outburst in the bottom of the fourth. Youngsville loaded the bases when Peytynn Kirby was hit by a pitch and Alyssa Goss and Paige Stover delivered singles.

Gentz then crushed a two-run single to make it 6-4 and Pikna blasted a two-run homer that scored another pair and tied the game at 6-6.

Unfortunately for the hosts, Kane’s biggest inning of the night would come in its next at bat. Highlighted by a three-run triple from Macy McCoy, the Wolves would score six times in the fifth and take a commanding 12-6 lead to the bottom of the fifth. McCoy finished the game with six RBIs.

Still, the Eagles fought.

Youngsville again loaded the bases on a Marli Rectenwald single and walks from Kirby and Goss. Stover then delivered an RBI single and a ball hit by Gentz was misplayed for an error allowing two more runs to score and make it 12-9.

After a 1-2-3 top of the sixth, Youngsville got one run back in the bottom half when Stover drove in her second run of the night with a fielder’s choice.

Kane scored its final run in the seventh and the Eagles came to bat needing three runs to tie and four to win.

Pikna led off with a walk and Desirae Merritt reached on an error before Rectenwald’s RBI groundout made it 13-11. That would prove to be as close as the Eagles would get.

Youngsville finishes its regular season on Saturday when it travels to Oswayo Valley. The Eagles also eagerly await their postseason fate as District 10 is scheduled to announce its brackets as early as today.

WEDNESDAY

IKE’S SEASON ENDS WITH LOSS

RUSSELL — Eisenhower closed out the 2025 baseball season on Wednesday, falling to Union City 9-2 at Werner Park.

The Bears jumped out to a 1-0 lead in the top of the first inning on Aiden Shuman’s RBI single. The Knights’ Caleb Jakubczak, who would drive in both Eisenhower runs in the game, belted an inside-the-park home run on a deep drive to center field to knot the score at 1-1.

Union City would add another run in the third inning but it did the most damage in the top of the fourth when it added seven runs to take a 9-1 lead to put the game away.

Jakubczack’s triple accounted for Eisenhower’s other run to cut the deficit to 9-2. He would finish 2-for-3 at the plate. Jarius Casey added a double in the loss.

Senior Griffin Williams started on the hill for the Knights (1-14). The right-hander pitched 32/3. He allowed six hits and seven runs (two earned), struck out one and walked three. He was relieved by Jakubczack who finished up on the mound.

Union City (8-5) got a strong pitching performance from freshman Cooper Fox in his debut as a starter. He struck out 13 in his complete-game performance.