Bad weather caused some havoc with the Section III softball playoffs, but it did not keep the top two seeds, Cicero-North Syracuse and Liverpool, from making it to this week’s Class AA semifinal round.
Going first, the no. 2 seed Warriors endured several delays in last Thursday’s quarterfinal against no. 7 seed Baldwinsville, but still managed to eliminate the Bees 5-2.
It was 0-0 until the top of the fourth, when B’ville seized a 2-0 lead on Danielle Sayler’s two-run home run off Dana Nicoletti. But Liverpool promptly answered with three runs in the bottom of the fourth to move in front for good.
A pair of fifth-inning insurance runs helped, too, as Peyton Bellrose, who pitched the last two innings in relief, got two hits, including a double, and two RBIs. Nicole Cerrone, Kaylah Quilty and Ericka Sadowski each drove in one run as Nicoletti and Sadowski both matched Bellrose’s two-hit output.
As for C-NS, the top seed, it had to wait until Saturday to play its AA quarterfinal because no. 9 seed Fayetteville-Manlius needed two days to knock out no. 8 seed Utica Proctor 7-2.
But the well-rested Northstars didn’t mind the wait, for when it took the field on Saturday, Sydney O’Hara and Kalet Lenart combined on a no-hitter as C-NS stopped F-M 14-0.
O’Hara went five innings before Lenart worked the last two innings. Together, the pair of senior right-handers amassed 15 strikeouts and only allowed a single walk.
The C-NS attack took a few innings to warm up, but in the bottom of the third it got to F-M pitcher Marisa Duval for four runs, and did the same thing in the fourth before tacking on five runs in the fifth inning.
Lindsey Silfer went three-for-four with a pair of doubles and a team-best four RBIs. Khaliya Flournory used her pair of hits to produce three RBIs as O’Hara and Amy VanHoven drove in two runs apiece. Morgan Phillips and Beth Bonin each had one RBI as Van Hoven and Brooke Szabo each scored three times.
