When the first state Class B softball rankings were released, Solvay settled into the no. 4 spot, trailing Windsor, Cohoes and Marlboro, so it had to do something to impress the pollsters.
Taking on the combined Syracuse city squad last Wednesday afternoon, the Bearcats again unleashed its bats, not letting up until it had registered a 19-1 victory, its fifth in a row.
Jackie Gardner’s RBI double was part of a two-run first inning. Four more runs followed in the second off back-to-back doubles from Brandi Pidkaminy and Molly McGuire, and it kept getting better, Solvay getting five runs in the third and seven runs in the fourth.
Pidkaminy finished with five RBIs and scored five runs. Gardner, with four hits, drove in four runs as Jordyn Everett and Lauren Nichols joined McGuire in the two-RBI column. Nicole Antonacci and Aleah Yaizzo each got three hits, with Antonacci scoring four times and Kayla Emmi scoring three runs. Gardner allowed a run, but didn’t surrender a hit in her pitching efforts.
Marcellus, fresh from a tournament victory at Mudville on April 18, returned to OHSL Freedom division action last Monday and fought hard for a 9-7 victory over the Fulton Red Raiders.
Through two run-filled innings, the Mustangs led, 7-5, only to see Fulton tie it with a pair of runs in the fourth inning before Marcellus won it by scoring twice in the seventh.
Sydney Lewis led the Mustangs at the plate, notching three hits and four RBIs. Rylie Spicer stayed hot with a triple, single, three runs scored and RBI. Kristin Field also tripled in a run as she, along with Dominique Weeks, Jennie Delia and McKenna Donegan, drove in one run apiece. Pitcher Laura Finn overcame early struggles to finish with eight strikeouts.
Jordan-Elbridge finally broke into the win column last Monday, defeating Hannibal 6-2. The Eagles built a 3-0 lead through three innings, but added some insurance with two runs in the fifth after the Warriors closed within 3-2, plus a run in the sixth.
Ashley Pangaro, Kamryn Monette and Libby Baker each had two hits, with Cheyenne Steacy and Keelie Hotchkiss joining Monette and Pangaro in the RBI column. Emily Klock and Bailey Van Gardon also had hits for J-E’s cause as, two days later, it lost, 15-10, to Skaneateles.
Westhill, coming off an April 16 defeat to Solvay, rebounded last Monday by getting a 7-3 win over Syracuse, leading from the start with a three-run first inning, though it took two-run rallies in the fifth and seventh innings to create the eventual margin.
Leah Diefendorf’s pair of hits led to two RBIs, and she scored twice. Claire Hewitt scored three runs as she, along with Maggie Dunn, earned one RBI apiece. Claire Diefendorf and Melissa Newcomb both had two hits. Newcomb’s complete-game pitching effort included four strikeouts.
