By PAUL GOTHAM
ROCHESTER, N.Y. — Curtis Welker tossed a complete game, and host Greece Olympia/Odyssey (5-3) defeated School of the Arts, 6-2 in non-league action on Friday.
The senior right-hander improved to 2-1 and went the distance for the third time this season.
“I was throwing strikes, and I really trusted my defense,” he said. “They’re going to make plays. I got to put them in position to make the plays.”
He worked around a two-on, one-out situation in the first inducing a pair of ground balls before facing the minimum in the second. In the third, he gave up a two-out RBI and then set down five of six.
He allowed two runs on six hits and three walks.
“He knows he’s got a good defense behind him,” said Olympia/Odyssey head coach, Dan Ford. “He knows he’s not going to overpower people. He pitches to the umpire’s zone and makes contact. The middle infield was phenomenal today.”
The Griffins broke open a one-all game with a five-run fourth. Welker took advantage of two errors to reach third to start the frame. He eventually scored on a wild pitch. Tyler Ashton followed with a two-run double.
Ford pointed to Enrique Lopez’s at-bat as the spark to the big inning.
“Enrique had two strikes. He didn’t get a great swing on it, but it found a hole for us and opened it up for Tyler to get a good pitch to hit.”
Lopez and Ezequiel Ofarril scored on the play. Angelo Ubal capped the inning with a two-out, two-run single.
Angelo Ubal connects on a two-out single up the middle to cap five-run fourth. Tyler Ashton and Connor Welker score on the play. @GreeceOlyOdyBB 6 SOTA 1 pic.twitter.com/oxUGv384HM
— Paul Gotham (@PickinSplinters) April 18, 2025
Alex Rink makes the play from second. Curtis Welker finishes off a complete game. @GreeceOlyOdyBB 6 SOTA 2 pic.twitter.com/Y8K4pXElid
— Paul Gotham (@PickinSplinters) April 18, 2025
The win was the fourth straight for the Griffins.
“It’s our starting pitching,” Ford said of the recent success. “Tyler (Ashton) and Curtis, every day they go out and throw strikes. The defense behind them is making every single play which is the last years watching our games hasn’t been the story. Pitching and defense gotten us there and our bats are starting to come around.”
All three of Olympia/Odyssey’s losses have been by one run.
“The bench energy is there, and that’s putting a spark into us,” Welker said. “Whenever we’re down, the bench picks us up and we’re back in the game. As a pitcher, I feel like we’re all confident that our defense has us, and our bats will get us timely hits. “
A year ago, Olympia/Odyssey opened the season with seven straight losses and finished with a record of 8-12.
“This is a pleasant surprise, but we had 8-to-10 kids who worked hard since that last out against Athena that ended our season last year,” Ford said. “They had a bitter taste in their mouths, but they knew they could compete with the big dogs. I think we’re starting to show it. Our schedule hasn’t been the toughest, but it’s giving us a precursor for when we get into league play.”
Ashton scored twice in the win. Ubal finished with three RBI. Connor Welker singled, walked and scored a run. Alex Rink was 1-for-3.
Henry Hawkinson led SOTA (2-2) going 2-for-2 with two walks and an RBI. Bennie Laver went 2-4 with a double and a run scored. Bruce Newton singled and drove in a run. Moses Aponte accounted for a hit. Brendan McKibben scored a run.
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