ONONDAGA COUNTY – Even as the Cicero-North Syracuse baseball team seemed to establish itself as the favorite for Section III Class AA honors, its rivals from Liverpool were starting to put things together.
This made the two head-to-head meetings between the Northstars and Warriors late last week so important, even though it came at a busy time in the schedule, which may have affected how the games went.
They first played Thursday at the Gillette Road complex, and it was all C-NS as it prevailed 18-1, setting the tone with a six-run second inning where Jake Lukasiewicz hit a three-run home run and Logan Karwowski had a two-run triple.
An eight-run fourth inning followed as Lukasiewicz finished with four RBIs, while Bryce Zicaro and Logan Battista joined Karowski in driving in a pair of runs.
The rematch on Saturday at Liverpool figured to be a better game – and it was, with the Warriors in it all the way to th end, but C-NS again victorious, this time by a 5-3 margin.
Down 1-0, Liverpool scored twice off Bryce Zicaro in the bottom of the second to briefly go in front before the Northstars tied it in the third and got two runs in the fourth for a 4-2 lead as Lukasiewicz and Corey Cartier both hit home runs and got two RBIs apiece.
Liverpool cut it to 4-3 in the bottom of the fourth, but Zicaro blanked the Warriors the rest of the way, only allowing four hits overall. Andrew Contos took the loss as Jack Hoppe and Lance Phillips drove in runs for the host.
Before all this, Zicaro again pitched well in a high-profile game as two key swings – one by Lukasiewicz, the other by Karwowski – produced a 5-1 win for the Northstars over Baldwinsville last Monday afternoon.
In their first meeting April 22, C-NS won 1-0 when Zicaro threw a two-hitter. Now it was Gavin Miller on the mound for the Bees, who got a quick 1-0 lead when Cameron Brennan singled home Matt Carner in the top of the first inning.
Miller kept it that way until the bottom of the fourth, when Lukasiewicz’s two-run single put C-NS in front. Then, in the sixth with two on, Karwowski turned on a Miller pitch and sent it over the fence, a three-run home run.
After surrendering that first-inning run, Zicaro blanked the Bees, striking out five and giving up just four hits and four walks before Wood worked the seventh inning in relief.
C-NS was also impressive beating Class A contender Auburn 12-3 on Wednesday, scoring three runs in four different innings as Lukasiewicz, Cartier and Nick Klamm had two RBIs apiece, while Anthony Testa scored three runs.
As that went on, Liverpool met Christian Brothers Academy for the second time in five days – and again beat the Brothers, this time in a 3-2 decision.
Building on the 1-0 win it had over CBA May 7, the Warriors saw pitcher Jack Hoppe give up six hits, but strike out seven and limit the potent Brothers offense to single runs in the first and sixth innings.
Liverpool tied it 1-1 in the second and, with single tallies in the fifth and sixth, went ahead 3-1, ultimately staying in front as Sam Michalak drove in two of the runs and Charles Anthony doubled twice, adding an RBI.
A day earlier, Liverpool faced West Genesee last Tuesday and, with steady offense and great pitching by Lucas Bradley, upended the Wildcats 8-3.
After surrendering a two-run home run to Jake DePalma, Bradley blanked WG the rest of the afternoon, using solid defense to overcome the six hits he allowed.
Steady at the plate, Liverpool managed a run in all six innings, capped by a three-run second that gave it the lead for good. Michalak and Chris Baker had two RBIs apiece, with Hoppe and Tyler Vivacqua also driving in runs.
And in between the two games with C-NS, Liverpool rallied from a 6-0 deficit Friday to beat Fayetteville-Manlius 11-8, getting eight straight runs in the third through fifth innings and three runs in the seventh to break an 8-8 tie.
The trio of Vivacaqua, Michalak and Anthony led the comeback, each of them earning three RBIs and combining for eight hits as Dylan Hograth got two hits and drove in a single run. Chris Baker got the win pitching two scoreless innings of relief.
