Not much has proven easy to attain for the Cazenovia baseball team, so it gladly accepted any chance to produce a more convincing victory.
And it finally happened during last Monday’s home game against Hannibal, where the Lakers shook off a quiet start and, in the second inning, produced all that it needed for a 10-4 victory over the Warriors.
Hannibal jumped on Cazenovia starting pitcher Matt Regan for a pair of first-inning runs. From there, Regan was dominant, notching nine strikeouts in five innings of work while holding the Warriors to just three hits before relief stints from Dylan Roy, Josh Bauder and Alex Marshall.
That 2-0 deficit vanished when the Lakers batted around in the bottom of the second, piling up six runs. A three-run fourth inning followed and Cazenovia tacked on a run in the sixth as Evan Begley led the charge with two singles and a triple, plus a pair of RBIs.
Graham Demo and Eric Ketcham matched Begley by driving in two runs apiece. Regan’s pair of hits led to three runs scored as Paul McLaughlin also got a pair of hits.
A day later, Cazenovia had a rematch with Hannibal, this time on the road, and got a different result, falling to the Warriors 5-2.
Begley kept the game close until the bottom of the fourth, when Hannibal, up 1-0, struck for three more runs, a decisive blow as Jon Combes led the Warriors with three RBIs, Taber Carter got three hits and Ethan Straub scored twice.
Trying to answer, the Lakers, down 5-0, notched both of its runs in the top of the sixth as Noah Race doubled and then scored a run, while Demo got credit for an RBI. Despite this, and despite solid relief pitching from Marshall and Dan Hammond, Hannibal held on as Carter, in a complete-game effort, held Cazenovia to four hits, striking out seven.
A tough test loomed for the Lakers Wednesday, at Solvay, who at 12-2 had already clinched the OHSL Liberty National division regular-season title. And the Lakers got a lot of runs – but only after surrendering far more in a 23-13 defeat to the Bearcats.
All of Cazenovia’s production came after it fell behind 15-0, the key blow for Solvay a 10-run third inning. Battling to the end, the Lakers had Race earn four hits, with Regan, Ketcham, Demo and Dustin Hammond earning two hits apiece. Jake Kyanka led the Bearcats with a double, triple, three runs scored and five RBIs.
Despite this, the Lakers still went 3-2 for the week because it swept Friday’s doubleheader against Altmar-Parish-Williamstown.
In the opener, Cazenovia topped the Rebels 6-3, squandering an early 3-0 lead but recovering with two runs in the fifth and an insurance run in the sixth. Regan pitched and amassed 13 strikeouts while allowing just one walk as he and McLaughlin both had two hits and one RBI. Begley and Race also drove in runs.
The second game proved tighter, but the Lakers pulled it out, 7-6, with a late comeback. Cazenovia netted four runs in the fifth inning to erase APW’s 6-3 lead as Begley and Hunter Kolaweski both gained two hits and two RBIs. Hammond also drove in a run.
Regan pulled off a rare feat by pitching both ends of the twin bill. He went two innings on the mound, not allowing a hit and striking out three as Hammond pitched 3 1/3 innings and earned the win and Dylan Roy tossed 1 2/3 innings of scoreless relief.
When it resumed last Tuesday afternoon, Chittenango got handled in a 12-1 loss to Fulton. Justin Gondeck drove home Seamus St. Leger in the top of the second inning, but in the bottom of the second the Red Raiders tagged the Bears for seven runs and chased starter Zane Garvey.’
St. Leger and Tom Valentine would see relief stints, but the damage was rendered. Chittenango only had six hits (two of them by St. Leger) off Fulton starter Nolan Bonnie, who also led his side at the plate with three RBIs as Cameron Clark drove in two runs.
Visiting Central Square on Thursday, the Bears pulled out a 7-6 victory. Leading 3-0 at one point, the Bears gave up that edge when the Redhawks scored five runs in the bottom of the fifth, but answered with a three-run rally in the sixth to regain the lead.
After Central Square tied it again, 6-6, Chittenango used a run in the top of the seventh to again go in front, and hung on when Wyatt Myers, pitching in relief of Zane Cowburn, got the final three outs. The Bears won despite committing six errors as Myers and St. Leger both got two hits and Matt Milliman earned a pair of RBIs.
