As was the case for so many others in Central New York, Liverpool’s softball team had to wait until the April school break, and a trip south to Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, to get underway.
For the Warriors, who advanced all the way to the state Class AA title game a season ago, the work is of greater urgency, for every opponent will try and knock the Warriors from the top of the Section III ranks.
Playing in the Ripken Experience Tournament at Myrtle Beach, Liverpool got started on April 4 against Liberty Union, from Ohio, and relied on one big inning to prevail 9-1.
Entering the bottom of the fifth, the Warriors clung to a 1-0 lead, but it suddenly got at the plate in that frame, batting around and not letting up until eight runs had crossed the plate.
Katie Yudin, with three RBIs, led the way as Jenna Wike, Gina Meyers and Dominique LaRose each drove in two runs. Delanie Alberici added an RBI as Erika Sadowski had two hits and Jasmine Kelly scored a pair of runs.
Pitcher Peyton Bellrose, in her first start of the season, shut out Liberty Union until the seventh inning, but still tossed a three-hit complete game, striking out 11.
A day later, playing West Allegheny (Pennsylvania), the Warriors didn’t get that big rally, but still made it back-to-back wins in a tight 2-1 decision.
Bellrose allowed more hits (five) than against Liberty Union, but limited West Allegheny to a second-inning run and, with two strikeouts, also got strong defense behind her. Single tallies in the first and second inning proved enough as LaRose got two hits and Joelle Nesci added an RBI. Yudin and Alicia Hansen scored the runs.
Another Pennsylvania school, Carlisle was next for the Warriors, and in last Monday’s action the bats again took over during an 11-1 romp that ended in five innings.
It was only 1-0 going to the top of the fourth, but Liverpool netted four runs there, and added six runs in the top of the fifth as it batted around, more than enough for Yudin, who held Carlisle to one hit and earned seven strikeouts, also getting a double, two singles and RBI at the plate.
Hansen began to warm up her bat, earning a triple and two RBIs while scoring twice. Jordan Wheeler also drove in two runs as LaRose, Kelly and Dana Egan also drove in runs.
Following a day off, Liverpool face East Lake North (Ohio) on Wednesday, and took just five innings to put away a 15-0 victory that ended early due to the mercy rule.
A four-run second inning and seven-run third inning did most of the damage, the Warriors accumulating 18 hits, three of them by Bellrose, who doubled twice and got two RBIs to go with her two-hit pitching effort that included eight strikeouts. LaRose tripled and drove in four runs, with Yudin adding a triple and three RBIs. Hansen and Nesci each had two RBIs.
Two games concluded the trip on Thursday, the Warriors taking on Ballard Memorial (Kentucky) and Holy Name. In the opener, Liverpool rolled past Ballard 12-2, this time requiring six innings for another mercy-rule decision.
Putting up at least one run in all six innings, the Warriors saw Hansen go four-for-four to lead the 16-hit attack, earning a pair of RBIs. LaRose tripled and singled, while Yudin, Danielle Alberici and Alexis Lamson had two hits apiece. Yudin got her turn in the pitcher’s circle, too, and struck out six in a complete-game effort, holding Ballard to four hits.
To end this 5-0 string, Liverpool defeated Holy Names in a tense 3-2 battle later that day. Trailing 2-1 going into the bottom of the seventh, the Warriors pulled it out by scoring the tying and winning runs as Bellrose, who overcame five hits to strike out 13, also earned a pair of RBIs.
Back home, Cicero-North Syracuse, determined to take the sectional title back from Liverpool, opened its season last Tuesday at West Genesee and trailed in the middle stages before taking over late and beating the Wildcats 14-5.
Entering the top of the fourth, the Northstars were down 2-1, but three runs in that frame put C-SN in front, and then it erupted for 10 runs in the fifth, helped in no small part by a shoddy WG defense that committed nine errors.
C-NS had error-free defense and saw Victoria Dunn produce three hits. Jessica Callisto, Kachelah Flournory and Janelle Walters had two hits apiece, with Julianna Vassallo scoring three runs. Walters, Flournory, Lauren Floyd and Meghan Bocyck scored two runs apiece. Pitcher Meg Tully struck out seven and walked four in her complete-game effort.
