Compared to all the woes and struggles of the early part of this spring, the Baldwinsville boys lacrosse team has evolved into a confident unit playing at its best just when it matters most.

The Bees, who put a real scare into Fayetteville-Manlius in a 7-4 defeat on May 14, closed out the regular season three nights later with a 10-6 victory over Cicero-North Syracuse last Tuesday night at Pelcher-Arcaro Stadium.

By winning, B’ville improved to 8-4 in the CNY Counties League and 8-7 overall, and did so with a timely attack and a defense that continues to make big progress.

Trailing the Northstars 2-1 going into the second quarter, the Bees would set out and, over the next two periods, outscore CNS 8-3. All the while, the defense played in top form, with Parker Ferrigan recording 16 saves.

Casey Colligan led the attack, getting five goals, half of B’ville’s total. Nick Ciampi added four assists as Luke Evans and Brian Heffernan each found the net twice. Billy Rumble had the other goal as Joe Delia picked up two assists and Steve Mitchell had an assist, too.

This helped B’ville rise to the no. 5 seed for the Section III Class A playoffs as it will visit no. 4 seed Corcoran in Tuesday’s quarterfinal round. The winner plays CNS or West Genesee in the semifinals on Thursday, with the finals Saturday as both of the latter rounds will take place at CNS’s Bragman Stadium.