Just a few days after Cicero-North Syracuse’s baseball team debuted with a win, Liverpool did the same – only it carried a bit more value.
The Warriors played the first two of its three-game series with Fayetteville-Manlius, and in the opener staged quite a comeback to defeat the Hornets 6-5 in eight innings.
For much of the afternoon, Liverpool found itself stymied at the plate thanks to F-M ace Tom Coleman, who over six innings recorded 11 strikeouts. And he appeared to get the run support he needed when the Hornets scored four times in the top of the fifth to break a 1-1 tie.
Unfazed by this, Liverpool earned single runs in the fifth and sixth innings. Then, in the bottom of the seventh, with Coleman out, Liverpool tied it by loading the bases and then scoring on a fielder’s choice and Aaron Sisto’s sacrifice fly.
It was still 5-5 when, in the bottom of the eighth, Sam Sgroi reached on a Hornets errors. Sgroi stole second, sprinted to third on a wild pitch, and plated the winning run when Tyler Jennings singled.
Anthony Lapine pitched two innings of scoreless relief and earned the win after Luke Harder started and Nyhim Green saw relief duty. Kobe Stenson singled, doubled and drove in two runs, with Harder, Sisto and Shane Hazelmeyer getting one RBI apiece.
These teams met again on Thursday at F-M, but only after a Wednesday meeting with East Syracuse Minoa where Liverpool didn’t wait until the homestretch to put up lots of runs as it beat the Spartans 14-6.
ESM, the defending Section III Class A champions, were close until the Warriors struck for three runs in the fourth inning and five runs an inning later, with the top of the order all doing serious damage.
Jake Wheeler doubled twice, scoring three runs and finishing with three RBIs. Stenson’s pair of hits led to three RBIs as Mike DeStefano had three hits and two RBIs. Matt Pare pitched four innings to earn the win, while Evan Crook struck out three in three innings of relief.
Then came the rematch with F-M, and again Liverpool prevailed, but this time didn’t wait until the late innings to move out in front as it breezed past the Hornets 10-3.
Wheeler, aside from scoring three runs, struck out seven and held F-M to three hits in his five innings on the mound before Nyhim Green pitched two scoreless innings of relief, by which point Liverpool was well in charge.
Harder earned three of the Warriors’ eight hits and drove in a pair of runs. DeStefano earned three RBIs, while Stenson and Lapine both scored twice. Stenson and Green had one RBI apiece.
While that was going on, Cicero-North Syracuse was earning it second shutout in as many games, putting away Oswego 11-0 at the Gillette Road complex.
Four pitchers – Justin DelVecchio, Tim Taladay, Mike Wieczorek and Carter Wisely – combined to hold the Buccaneers to five hits, DelVecchio striking out nine in his four innings of work.
After scoring twice in the first inning, C-NS added three-run rallies in the second, third and sixth innings. Drew Bristow had two hits and two RBIs, with DelVecchio, Taladay, Wieczorek, Ryan Newman, Mitch Tuohey, Gabe Khan and Connor Gonzalski also driving in runs.
Both of them undefeated, C-NS and Liverpool now made their way to Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, for a week of games before hitting the heart of their league schedules.
