At last, the field was clear and it was time for the Skaneateles baseball team to open its season. And then the snow started again.
Only this time, the Lakers ignored the April chill and, by the time the snow stopped, it proudly owned a 4-0 victory over Bishop Grimes and had put a no-hitter in the books.
A season ago, Skaneateles reached the Section III Class B championship game, only to fall to Oneida. And while pitching ace Tommy Scherrer is gone, his brother, Cregg, is still around, and Cregg would dominate against Grimes.
Prior to this, the Lakers had only managed one on-field practice, so it may not have known what to expect. But it had no reason to worry, even as the snow continued through the game’s early stages.
Scherrer, a left-hander, overpowered Grimes’ batters, only surrendering three walks. Of the 18 outs he recorded, 15 of them were strikeouts, but he stayed on a pitch count and left before the seventh inning.
By then, the sun had broke through, and relief pitcher Tommy Reed, despite allowing a pair of walks, was able to complete the no-hitter.
Reed had already doubled and scored as the Lakers used single runs in the second and third innings off Cobras pitcher Jordan Newman to go in front. Two more runs followed in the fifth.
Luke Viggiano went three-for-three at the plate, notching three RBIs. Michael Murphy added two hits as he, along with Reed, Nate Wellington and Jimmy Liberatore, scored the Skaneateles runs.
Skaneateles improved to 2-0 a couple of days later, using patience and poise to pull away and defeat Solvay 12-4.
Even with a quick start that included a four-run second inning, the Lakers only led 6-4 until it scored four more times in the bottom of the fifth, tacking on two runs in the sixth.
Scherrer earned three RBIs, with Murphy (who had three hits) and Liberatore getting two RBIs apiece. McCabe also got three hits, scored four runs and pitched three innings, splitting mound duties with Reed and Jacob Nesbitt as they combined to hold Solvay to three hits.
This tremendous opening week concluded with a game against another big rival, Marcellus, on Saturday and another tremendous pitching effort, this one from Reed, as the Lakers earned a 4-1 win over the Mustangs.
Staked to a 2-0 lead through one inning, Reed didn’t need anything more. Over six innings, he held Marcellus to four hits and two walks while earning six strkeouts before Scherrer worked the last inning of relief.
Even with that early advantage, Skaneateles tacked on single runs in the fourth and sixth innings, managing just five hits of its own but taking advantage of four Marcellus errors. Scherrer doubled, singled and scored a run as McCabe walked twice and scored twice.
Then the weather returned, threatening the Lakers’ five games scheduled for this week – a rematch with Marcellus amid scheduled clashes with Phoenix, Homer, CBA and Central Square.
