Having won six of its last eight games, the Baldwinsville baseball team carried plenty of momentum into last week’s set of four games in as many days, featuring a three-game series against West Genesee.
But that momentum dissipated in the series opener against the Wildcats, a 10-0 defeat where B’ville never could figure out WG pitcher Kyle Korzeniewski, who held them to five hits, one each by Zach Bush, Cam Williams, Jarrod Williams, David Cerqua and Frank Levanti.
For its part, WG had just eight hits, but took full advantage of them, building from a 1-0 lead with five total runs in the third and fourth innings, plus four runs in the sixth as Matt Kot led with a triple, single and four RBIs. Nick Borek lasted 3 2/3 innings and took the loss, with Nate Johns logging 2 1/3 innings in relief.
A day later, B’ville and WG met again, and it was quite different, with the Bees making two different late comebacks to pull out a 6-5 decision over the Wildcats.
WG started Colin BeVard, who had thrown a no-htiter against CBA in his last start May 5 at NBT Bank Stadium. This didn’t seem to impress the Bees, who poked across single runs in each of the first three innings.
Staked to that 3-0 advantage, Cody Kaestle could not hold it as the Wildcats scored twice in the fourth and fifth innings. Even after B’ville tied it, 4-4, in the bottom of the fifth, WG notched a run in the top of the seventh and gave the ball to reliever Kevin Donohue.
Here, the Bees staged its biggest half-inning of the spring, earning the tying and winning runs off Donohue. Cerqua was the only B’ville player to earn two hits as Billy Clifford, Nate Johns, Cam William s and Jarrod Williams earned one RBI apiece.
The third and decisive game of the series came on Thursday, and proved just as close as the previous one – but here the Bees were the victim of a late comeback, rather than the author of it, and lost, 6-4, to the Wildcats.
Here it was the Wildcats getting the first run and then surrendering the lead, with the Bees scoring twice in the third and again in the fifth. An exchange of runs followed until WG, down 4-2, broke through with four runs in the bottom of the sixth.
The late struggles masked a good start by Cameron Morrissey, who went five innings and earned seven strikeouts before Clifford and Nate Valentine saw relief duty. Bush had three hits and scored a run, with Clifford and Cerqua getting two hits apiece. Brian VanBeveren led WG with triple, single and three RBIs as relief pitchers Billy O’Brien and Liam Barry logged 2 1/3 solid innings following Marshall Winn’s departure in the fifth.
In the last week of the regular season, the Bees would visit Oswego on Wednesday and host Corning on Saturday, finding out on Sunday what the Section III Class AA pairings will look like.
