Uneven weather continued throughout last week, altering some schedules for area high school baseball teams, but not wiping out all of the games on the slate.
For example, Jamesville-DeWitt made its 2019 debut against the combined Syracuse City team, and it turned into a pitcher’s duel, a single run making the difference as the Red Rams prevailed 1-0.
All through the first five innings, J-D starter Carter Kowalczyk and Syracuse counterpart Tyler Greco matched scoreless frames, Kowalczyk only allowing two hits and striking out three.
It was Greco bending in the top of the sixth when Zach Goodson reached base for the Rams and scored on Nick Brotzki’s single. Then A.J. Ortega took over in relief of Kowalczyk and tossed two scoreless innings to end it.
The rematch with Syracuse was a different affair, but J-D won again, 13-8, doing most of its damage in a long third inning where it nearly batted around twice and plated 11 runs.
Goodson and Murphy Foss led the charge, each of them earning three RBIs. Brotzki, Nolan Giblin, Bobby Galusha and Shane Wright drove in single runs as Brotzki, in 4 1/3 innings on the mound, struck out six and, though surrendering five walks, did not allow a hit.
Moving on to Saturday’s action, J-D won twice more, starting with a 9-5 victory over Union-Endicott, with the game close until the Rams scored eight times on the Tigers in the fifth, sixth and seventh innings. Brotzki, Galusha and Santos had two RBIs apiece, with Giblin and Nolan Foss also driving in runs.
Then, in defeating Vestal 13-9 that same Saturday, J-D erased a pair of early deficits with two runs in four straight innings, but still needed a four-run rally in the top of the seventh for its winning margin.
Giblin went five-for-six at the plate with three doubles, earning four RBIs as Foss doubled, singled twice and drove in three runs. Santos, Brotzki and Wright each had one RBI.
East Syracuse Minoa was 1-1 going into last Tuesday’s game at Oswego, but quickly changed that outlook with a seven-run second inning on the way to shutting out the Buccaneers 14-0.
All told, the Spartans produced 15 hits and took advantage of high winds as Jimmy Ferris, Hunter Borkowski and Jacob Buell each hit home runs, with Buell’s shot a grand slam on his way to five RBIs overall.
Ferris, Borkowski and Brendan Seburn each drove in two runs, with Seburn getting four hits. Josh Gilkey and Ben Leib each had one RBI as Dan Garris and Sean Welch combined to blank Oswego despite allowing seven hits.
Fayetteville-Manlius opened its series against Liverpool last Tuesday and thought it had taken control late in the game, only to see it slip away in a 6-5, eight-inning defeat to the Warriors.
They were tied, 1-1, when the Hornets struck for four runs in the top of the fifth, Mitch Seabury sparking the rally as he eventually scored twice and got an RBI.
But Liverpool countered with a run in the fifth and sixth innings, plus two runs in the seventh after starting pitcher Tom Coleman was pulled. Then it prevailed when Tyler Jennings drove in Sam Sgroi for the winning run in the bottom of the eighth.
These two teams met again on Thursday, with F-M back home, but again the Hornets lost, 10-3, despite Sean O’Connor and Itai Spinoza getting two hits apiece. Max Parker pitched four innings, with Sean Arthur, John Arold and Matt Vaccarro also seeing mound stints.
This happened after ESM lost 13-6 at Liverpool on Wednesday afternoon, not getting on track at the plate until a four-run seventh inning as the Warriors built a 13-2 advantage. Seburn still had three hits, with Buell and Leib each earning two hits.
