In no way can the work inside a gymnasium replicate the conditions outside in the natural air, a reality that every softball and baseball team in Central New York knows from experience.
Jamesville-DeWitt’s softball team had to make that transition in the middle of game action during last Monday’ s season opener against West Genesee, and the start proved too painful to overcome as the Red Rams lost, 11-6, to the Wildcats.
A consistent contender for league and Section III honors, J-D normally is able to get its field into playing condition earlier than other programs, but even that didn’t protect the Rams from a poor start.
Before J-D could even settle down, it was making a series of defensive mistakes in the first two innings that led to nine West Genesee runs. The errors piled up, 11 in all, and the Rams could not recover despite two-run rallies in the third, fifth and sixth innings.
Each team finished with nine hits, but WG had just three errors. Erica Siegel still had a fabulous day at the plate with two doubles, a single and three RBIs, while Paige Sherling scored two runs.
Mackenzie Keeler scored three times as she, along with Emily Clapper and Kayleigh Hamerlink, had one RBI apiece. But Keeler pitched just two innings as Shayna Marshall and Amanda Sumida shared in the pitching duties.
None of this sat well with J-D, and with a chance to instantly redeem itself in its OHSL Freedom division opener against Chittenango 24 hours later, the Red Rams did so, cleaning up the defense and cleaning up at the plate, too, in a 20-1 romp over the Bears.
The fun started with a seven-run second inning, but not content with that, J-D pounded out nine runs in the bottom of the fourth to make it 16-0, with two-run rallies in the fifth and sixth innings to follow.
With 17 hits overall, the Rams saw Carly O’Hern, fresh off leading J-D’s girls basketball team to its second straight state Class A final, pound out four of those hits. Keeler scored four times and added a pair of RBIs as Siegel produced a team-high four RBIs. Hannah Gunther drove in two runs as Clapper’s three hits and two walks led to four runs scored. Alyssa Robens added an RBI.
J-D was dominant again Thursday in a 21-0 shutout over Mexico, scoring in every inning and piling up 25 hits, five of them from Clapper, who just missed a cycle as she doubled, tripled, scored six runs and earned three RBIs by game’s end.
Sumida also had three RBIs, earning three hits, while Makenzie Keeler scored four times. O’Hern and Robens drove in two runs apiece as Sherling and Siegel each notched three hits. Sumida earned a four-inning pitching stint, too, blanking the Tigers and surrendering just five hits.
As that went on, CBA opened its season with a wild 22-12 victory over Bishop Ludden, which featured the Brothers earning runs in each of the first six innings, peaking with a seven-run rally in the top of the third.
This happened even though CBA had just nine hits, as it benefited from Ludden issuing 17 walks, six of them to Sydney Wind, who scored twice to go with a pair of RBIs. Jessica Valerino drove in three runs as Bridget O’Hern and Claire Pierret had two RBIs apiece. Annie Carhart matched Pierret’s three-hit total.
