No area softball team had a more crowded slate than Bishop Grimes as the Cobras had to play six games in a span of four days.
Bishop Grimes pounded Onondaga 19-8 amid Wednesday’s wind and rain, scoring five runs in the first and fourth innings and six runs in the third on the way to pounding out 17 hits against the Tigers.
Marissa Curtis had four of those hits, leading to a career-best six RBIs. KayLee Steiner doubled twice, tripled and drove in four runs, with Kendall Mancuso adding a double and four RBIs in a four-hit effort. Alyssa Cavallo drove in two runs, with Mariah Rinaldi adding a double and RBI.
Then, in a rematch with OCS 24 hours later, the Cobras won by a more modest 7-2 margin, and even this required a comeback as the Cobras, trailing 2-1 after the Tigers scored a run in the bottom of the sixth, broke through against pitcher Morgan Wadsworth by scoring six times in the top of the seventh.
Steiner, with three RBIs, led the comeback and finished the day with three hits. Mancuso, Curtis and Brianna Squier each drove in one run as Squier pitched quite well, holding OCS to five hits while earning 10 strikeouts.
And this was the quiet part for Grimes, who were now supposed to face doubleheaders on back-to-back days, starting with Friday’s twin bill against the Tully Black Knights – but those games were rained out.
Grimes did play on Saturday, though, and one more time the Cobras offered up a comeback to edge past the Port Byron Panthers 4-3.
A first-inning run was all that either team could produce until Grimes tied it, 1-1, in the top of the fifth. Immediately, Port Byron answered with a pair of runs, going in front 3-1 and keeping it that way until the top of the seventh.
Again, though, the Cobras showed it could produce under pressure, getting to Panthers relief pitcher Kaleigh McCloughin for four runs in that seventh inning and seeing Brianna Squier, who only allowed four hits all afternoon, pick up the final outs.
Continuing her torrid stretch at the plate, Steiner had two hits and joined McKenna Squier as they each got two RBIs. Steiner, Curtis, Cavallo, Becca Vinciguerra and Emma Purce scored one run apiece as Grimes improved to 8-4 on the season.
Fayetteville-Manlius also resumed last Tuesday and could not get on the board in a 14-0 shutout loss to Baldwinsville. Though it improved a bit on Friday afternoon against Cicero-North Syracuse, the Hornets still fell to the Northstars 10-4.
Against the Northstars, everyone in the lineup got a hit, but C-NS constantly got out of trouble as Sara Arthur notched a pair of hits and scored a run. Kathryn Colone and Laura Oakes also scored runs as Sarah Vaccaro pitched and took the loss.
