Hitting a home run to win any baseball game is sweet enough — but when it caps a last-inning comeback and beats a long-time rival, it’s even better.
Brandon Barron’s blast in the bottom of the seventh inning did just that for the Skaneateles Lakers as it beat its most ardent foe, Marcellus, in a 10-7 classic on Saturday afternoon.
Right from the start, the Lakers were in catch-up mode, thanks to the four runs Marcellus posted off starting pitcher Nolan Cunningham in the top of the second inning.
Fighting back, the Lakers scored twice in its half of the second and, after Marcellus tacked on a run in the third, responded with three tallies in the bottom of the fourth for a 5-5 tie.
Marcellus didn’t flinch, scoring twice in the sixth to reclaim the lead as, by this point, Phil Zdanowski and Kyle Tierney both had gone deep for home runs on the Mustangs’ behalf, combining for five RBIs.
But after relief pitcher Tom Jones held Marcellus without
a run in the top of the seventh, Skaneateles proceeded to tear up Mustangs hurler Adam Breuer, getting some runs before Barron, with one big swing, ended it.
Barron, overall, had four RBIs, adding a double to go with his game-winning round-tripper. Jared Amory doubled and drove in two runs as Jake Carvalho, Jake Bird and Zach Augustine each had one RBI.
Before meeting Marcellus, the Lakers had a trio of non-league games and went 2-1, starting on Wednesday with a strong effort against Tully that led to a 4-1 victory.
The Black Knights arrived with a 5-1 record, but Augustine was ready. He blanked Tully over the first five innings and, in a complete-game effort, gave up just four hits and one walk while striking out five.
The Lakers went ahead 1-0 in the second inning, then used a three-run rally in the bottom of the third to take charge. Augustine, Carvalho, Amory and Sean Cooney each had one hit and one run scored.
A day later, Skaneateles played a doubleheader against Onondaga and earned a split. It beat the Tigers 12-5 in one game, bolting out to a 10-1 edge by the third inning as Packy Jones pitched and earned the win, with relief help from Pat Roberts.
Owen Stokes doubled, tripled and drove in three runs, while Cooney added a double and three RBIs. Matt Carvalho added two RBIs as Augustine and Jake Carvalho each had one RBI.
In the other game, the Lakers fell to OCS 8-2, unable to solve Tigers pitcher Aidan Wiese as he limited Skaneateles to four hits. Wiese starred at the plate, too, earning a double, triple and four RBIs, all earned in the third and fourth innings.
The comeback win over Marcellus lifted the Lakers’ record to 6-3 (4-1 league) and set up Monday’s clash with defending state Class B champion Westhill, a prelude to road games with Cazenovia and Jordan-Elbridge later in the week.
