CENTRAL NEW YORK – In the last week of the high school softball regular season, several local teams tried to get in as many games as possible, with Marcellus still well-positioned as one of the Class B favorites.
Yet even though the Mustangs were able to sweep two games from Solvay during the week, it was the Bearcats’ Jenna Wing who put together the week’s most special performance – a perfect game.
Wing faced 21 batters in last Friday’s game against Tully and retired all of them in a row in a 6-0 victory, 11 of them with strikeouts and 10 of them with putouts from her defense.
Not only that, but Wing also bashed a two-run single as part of a five-run fourth inning that gave Solvay a late cushion. Delaney Kaszubinski, Wing’s catcher, also drove in a run, as did Alivia Orr, Sylvia Sgroi-Whalen and Riley Gosha.
Before this, Marcellus locked up the regular-season OHSL Liberty 2 division championship last Wednesday against Solvay at Onondaga Community College, taking charge in the fourth inning to beat the Bearcats 18-7.
A four-run first inning was answered by Solvay getting runs in the second and third to tie it, 4-4. Then, in the top of the fourth, Marcellus batted around as six runs crossed the plate and eight more would follow in the next three innings.
Bella Mondello hit another home run, her fourth of the season, on her way to a four-hit effort that included three RBIs, which Amelia Novitsky equaled thanks to her double as she scored four times. Jill O’Connor and Hannah Fagan each drove in a pair of runs, with Bryn Goldsworthy, Maddie Richer and Janzen Long getting one RBI apiece.
Most of Mondello’s outs were earned via 17 strikeouts, but Solvay still found some success against her at the plate. Kaszubinski had two hits and an RBI, with Wing and Gianna D’Eredita each scoring twice.
Even more lopsided was the Mustangs’ 14-0 shutout of Solvay on Thursday afternoon where a nine-run third inning essentially settled matters.
The Mustangs accumulated 16 hits, two each by Mondello, Novitsky, Long, Goldsworthy, Chloe Kuttruff and Carly Sears, with O’Connor joining Mondello and Goldsworthy earning two RBIs apiece. Mondello and Sears paired to hold Solvay to three hits, two of them from Rachel Willsey.
Westhill and Skaneateles were originally set to face each other twice, but pared it down to a single game last Wednesday afternoon – and then rain postponed that contest, too.
Back on Monday, Westhill romped past Mexico 17-1, with a five-run second inning and six-run third inning breaking the game open and Alexa Korrie enjoying a power surge.
Korrie bashed her second and third home runs of the season, giving her 17 for her career, and finished with six RBIs, Samantha Snyder tripled, doubled, singled and drove in three runs, with Bella Johnson and Sydney Medeiros adding two RBIs apiece.
The rematch a day later was rained out, but Skaneateles did get in a game against Onondaga/LaFayette and took a 12-3 defeat that sunk the Lakers’ overall record to 5-9.
However, Skaneateles rebounded as its game with Cazenovia, halted on Monday, ended on Thursday with a 6-4 victory.
Two Skaneateles runs made the difference as Ellie Walsh and Reese Gaidis each finished with three hits and scored three runs between them. Finn Pas’cal added two hits as Ayla Pa’scal scored twice and Carly Schell earned an RBI.
Westhill returned to action Friday and bashed Mexico 17-0, pounding out 15 hits. Catherine Cottrell and Morgan Kohanski had three hits apiece as that pair joined Sophia Johnson getting three RBIs. Medeiros, Jocelyn Caputo and Cadence Ramsing each drove in two runs.
Skaneateles did play on Saturday – against Christian Brothers Academy, taking a narrow 3-2 defeat to the Brothers as it was not quite able to overcome an early 3-0 deficit. Finn Pas’cal and Margaret Lootens drove in runs, while Gaidis was three-for-four and Grace Wagner pitched a complete game with six strikeouts.
That same day, Westhill ran into Chittenango and lost, 14-7.,though Cottrell tripled and drove in three runs and RBIs also went to Kohanski, Korrie and Isabella Johnson. The Bears got home runs from Lauren Machan, Stephanie Huckabee and Julia Spencer.
Then the sectional playoff brackets were released on Sunday, with Marcellus the no. 2 seed in Class B playing no. 15 seed in the opening round just as Solvay, the no. 5 seed, hosts no. 12 seed Herkimer and Skaneateles, the no. 9 seed, travels north to face to no. 8 seed Lowville, all on Tuesday afternoon.
A tough assignment awaits Westhill, the no. 7 seed in Class A as it goes on the road Thursday to face no. 2 seed New Hartford in the quarterfinals, with the winner getting to a tough semifinal Saturday at Onondaga Community College against Chittenango or South Jefferson.
