Back from its week of work in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, the Baldwinsville softball team had to wait until last Wednesday’s visit to Cicero-North Syracuse to resume its CNY Counties League schedule.
But it was worth the wait as the Bees led the Northstars from start to finish, not letting up until it had picked up an 8-3 victory that was, in large part, due to the multiple contributions of pitcher Kayla Young.
Like the rest of the B’ville players, Young knew that C-NS was reeling after it surrendered a six-run lead in an 8-6 defeat to state no. 3-ranked Liverpool two days earlier, and it proceeded to jump all over the still-recovering Northstars.
In the top of the second inning, the Bees scored twice, and followed up with three runs in the third inning to make it 5-0. though C-NS got on the board in the bottom of the third, B’ville countered with three more runs in the fifth and sixth innings to make it 8-1.
Young wouldn’t allow a big comeback, either, pitching a complete game where she held the Northstars to three hits (two of them by Victoria Dunn) and earned 11 strikeouts.
Not only that, but Young scored three runs and earned three RBIs to pace an attack where Madison Ascioti earned three hits and scored twice. Kaycee Hawk, Madelyn Shuler and Brittany Cole drove in one run apiece.
If Young was superb against C-NS, she was even better a day later when the Bees pulled out a 1-0 victory over defending Section III Class A champion Jamesville-DeWitt.
Quickly, the game evolved into a duel between Young and Red Rams pitcher Shayna Myshrall. Each ace would give up just three hits and three walks, but Young earned six strikeouts to Myshrall’s one.
More importantly, in the bottom of the third inning, with Allie Hotchkiss on base, Hawk delivered the single that plated Hotchkiss with the game’s lone run. Jillian Dunn and Chloe Branshaw had B’ville’s other hits.
B’ville would return to the Gillette Road complex for Saturday’s Northstar Elite Tournament, playing Averill Park (Section II) and Lancaster (Section VI) in back-to-back afternoon contests.
It proved close against Averill Park, but the Bees lost, 7-5, unable to hold the 3-0 lead it built through three innings as AP scored twice in the fourth inning and four times in the fifth inning to take charge. Young still had three hits and two RBIs, with Hawk and Shelby Stisser also driving in runs. Hotchkiss scored twice.
Lancaster then defeated B’ville 15-5, the Legends scoring at least one run in each of the first six innings, capped by a five-run second, and accumulating 19 hits. Only Shuler had two hits for the Bees as she and Dunn both earned two RBIs. Hawk scored three times and also drove in a run,
