At the very least, the Westhill softball team wanted a piece of the OHSL Liberty division regular-season championship — and if Cazenovia faltered along the way, even better.
The Warriors began its push last Monday afternoon, lighting up Skaneateles pitching in a 13-2 romp over the Lakers.
Much of the damage came early, as Westhill tagged Skaneateles pitcher Alyssa Stevens for five runs in the first inning, then three-run rallies in the second and third to make it 11-0 before the Lakers even got a run.
Kelly Mascari supplied a lot of power with a home, two doubles, four hits, three runs scored and six RBIs. Courtney Morgan scored four times as she produced four hits, while Carrie Griffo had three hits. Kelley Noonan contributed two hits and three RBIs as Erica LoBello joined Griffo, driving in one run apiece. Toni Secreti pitched all seven innings, striking out seven.
Secreti then threw a one-hitter in Wednesday’s 4-0 shutout of Solvay, earning nine strikeouts against just a single walk.
Runs in the first and fifth innings, plus a two-run seventh, gave Westhill the offense it needed. Mascari continued her tear with a double, single, walk and two RBIs as Nicole Toth scored twice and Morgan also scored a run.
On Friday, Westhill clinched at least a tie for the championship by crushing Hannibal 25-0. Scoring in every inning but the fifth, Westhill cranked out 25 hits as it earned six runs in the second and eight runs in the sixth to close things out.
Again leading the way, Mascari had five hits and four RBIs, while Griffo’s four hits led to season-best six RBIs as Griffo doubled twice and drive in five runs. Morgan and Toth joined Mascari and Secreti in scoring four runs as LoBello earned three hits. Andi Golembiewski and Mackenzie Davis each scored three runs.
As this went on, Westhill tracked Cazenovia’s progress, as those other Lakers swept Hannibal in a Monday doubleheader, then outscored Skaneateles 12-6, so it all hinged on Friday’s game at Phoenix, a team the Warriors had beat 14-0 as Toth doubled and earned three RBIs and Secreti held the Firebirds to two hits.
In nine long innings, the Lakers beat the Firebirds 2-1, the game-winner coming on Taylor Malmsheimer’s double, so Cazenovia and Westhill both finished with 15-1 league marks and shared the regular-season title.
But the Warriors and Lakers might settle things after all, at least if the seeds in the Section III Class B playoffs hold.
Westhill, the no. 2 seed, gets no. 15 seed Jordan-Elbridge in the first round, hoping to advance to a quarterfinal against Adirondack or Holland Patent. Cazenovia sits as the no. 3 seed, so they would meet in the semifinals should they both win twice.