Most opposition has not bothered the Skaneateles baseball team during the 2016 season – except one foe.
That would be Westhill, who for the second time in as many weeks defeated the Lakers, only this time it came in the form of a 16-0 decision where everything went right for the Warriors and the exact opposite was true for Skaneateles.
A 9-2 record had Skaneateles situated at no. 17 in the state Class B rankings – two spots behind Westhill, who had given the Lakers its first defeat of the season April 25 at Myrtle Beach in a 7-1 decision where Warriors pitcher John Geer held Skaneateles to two hits.
It was Geer’s turn in the rotation again for the rematch, and again he threw a two-hitter, this time holding Skaneateles off the scoreboard while watching his teammates unload on four Skaneateles pitchers – Cregg Scherrer, Jake Reed, Nate Main and Adam Lupo.
The Warriors ruled from the outset, gaining a 5-0 lead by the second inning, adding four runs in the third and then scoring seven times in the top of the fourth inning. Meanwhile, Geer only surrendered hits to Scherrer and Eric Huba, plus a single walk to Evan Goldman.
Brad Canavan had three of Westhill’s 13 hits, including a double, and earned two RBIs while scoring three runs. Galen Hayes and Chris Coates each managed a team-best four RBIs as Ryan Roland drove in three runs. Joe Carello and Brian O’Mara had two RBIs apiece.
Rained out of Friday’s game with Utica Proctor, Skaneateles would take on another league foe, Bishop Grimes, on Saturday afternoon, and find far more success the second time around against the Cobras, prevailing by a 9-2 margin.
No doubt, the Lakers remembered how Grimes had beaten them 7-1 at Myrtle Beach a week earlier, and it quickly took a 2-0 first-inning lead. Following an exchange of runs in the second, Skaneateles got away by scoring twice more in the fourth and four times in the sixth inning.
Though helped by the Cobras making seven errors, the Lakers still made some noise at the plate as Josh McCabe had a single, double, triple, RBI and two runs scored. Noah Cliff and Joe Pitman also drove in runs as Lupo and Pete Knupp both had two hits and scored two runs apiece. Cliff also had two hits.
Tommy Scherrer continued his solid season on the mound, too, limiting Grimes to single runs in the second and seventh innings and just four hits, not allowing a walk and recording six strikeouts.
At 10-3 on the season (with two of the losses to Westhill), the Lakers are set to meet Marcellus, Jordan-Elbridge and Bishop Ludden this week, and still will need to make up some other games as the regular season begins to wind down.
