During a busy week of spring break, the Chittenango baseball team began with a defeat, but quickly recovered to gain some wins.
First, the Bears went to New Hartford last Tuesday afternoon and took a 4-3 loss to the Spartans.
A first-inning run gave Chittenango a brief lead, though New Hartford scored twice in the bottom of the frame. The Bears tied it, 2-2, only to have the Spartans answer again with single runs in the third and fourth innings.
Despite a fifth-inning tally, Chittenango could not catch up. Shaun Skurpski took the loss, with Pat McGinnis working in relief. Not only did McGinnis pitch, he also smacked a home run and earned two RBIs, with Jake Bicknell also driving in a run.
From there, the Bears went to the Borgognoni Tournament at Canastota and won its first two games there, including a 6-4 conquest of Oneida.
The Indians started fast, with three runs in the top of the first. But the Bears caught up, 3-3, by the third inning, then used three more runs over the next two frames to seize the lead for good.
After McGinnis got knocked out early, Kevin Streeter took over on the mound and worked long enough to earn the win as Skurpski got the save and also had two doubles at the plate, part of an 11-hit attack.
For his part, McGinnis doubled and drove in two runs as Chris Green and Jon Stevens each had one RBI. Oneida’s Nate Mallinder earned two RBIs, with teammates Brian Chevier and Justin Didio also driving in runs.
At that same tournament, the Bears handled Adirondack 9-4, racing to a 6-0 lead by the top of the third inning as Stevens took the win, with relief help from Streeter.
Showing balance at the plate, Chittenango saw McGinnis, Skurpski and Zach Drake each finish with two RBIs as Andrew Lampman also drove in a run.
