When Skaneateles baseball senior pitcher Ryan Prochna matched up against state no. 1-ranked Westhill Wednesday afternoon at Frank O’Neill Field, he put up a brilliant effort, striking out eight and only allowing three hits.
Yet Prochna, and his Lakers, were still on the wrong end of a 1-0 decision because Westhill’s ace, left-hander Alex Godzak, put together a no-hitter.
Prochna and Godzak knew each other well, as they have shared spots on the same summer-league teams in recent years. Both are going to the college ranks, too, as Prochna is headed to Cortland State and Godzak is on his way to Canisius.
And from the moment the game started, it was clear that both aces were in top form. Prochna struck out four of the first six hitters he faced and added two more K’s in the top of the third to thwart Westhill’s first scoring threat.
In the bottom of the third, Godzak plunked Tyler Saunders, giving the Lakers its first base-runner. After Saunders took second base on a passed ball, Brandon Barron got an intentional walk, but Godzak struck out B.J. Kerr to end the threat.
It remained 0-0 through five innings, as Prochna stranded four more Westhill runners and Godzak worked his strikeout total to 11, striking out the side in the fifth.
All of this led to the top of the sixth, when J.C. Pena coaxed Prochna into a leadoff walk and wild pick-off throw that put him on second base. After a groundout, Godzak, in a pinch-hit role, smacked a single through the right side that scored Pena.
Skaneateles got just one more runner on base, when Kerr coaxed a two-out walk. Conor Herr got ahead, 3-0, but took two called strikes before swinging at strike three to end the threat. The Warriors’ lefty struck out the side again in the bottom of the seventh to complete his no-hitter, running his strikeout count to 15.
One of the reasons Prochna will need to excel is because the Lakers’ other top pitcher, Luke Drancsak, just came down with mononucleosis and may miss the rest of the season.
More bad weather led to a one-day postponement of the Lakers’ game at Solvay. When it was played, Skaneateles did manage both hits and runs – and it still didn’t matter as it lost a 6-4 decision to the Bearcats.
Herr started on the mound and got roughed up in the first inning, Solvay scoring four times. From there, Herr settled down, and Skaneateles pulled within 4-3 by the fourth inning, but the Bearcats used single tallies in the fourth and sixth innings to make up its winning margin.
Prochna, Barron and Ryan Cunningham each had two hits, with Herr joining Barron and Cunningham in the RBI column. John Savo led Solvay with three hits and two runs scored, while teammate Forrest Gilbert had a double and two RBIs.
Skaneateles looks to regain its winning form in trips to Cazenovia and Jordan-Elbridge before hosting Marcellus Friday. The Mustangs, defending Class B champions, saw head coach Pete Birmingham and his entire staff resign on April 20 due to a dispute with school officials and parents about which players saw game action.
