A return of cold, wet weather caused some changes to the schedule for local high-school baseball, but play did resume by mid-week, and four local sides would combine for a 6-1 overall record, with only Jamesville-DeWitt taking a blemish.
On Wednesday, Christian Brothers Academy played the first of tense back-to-back contests. The Brothers (now no. 15 in the state Class A rankings) held off Cortland 8-7 CBA roared out to a 7-0 lead by the third inning on the Purple Tigers. Andrew Gacek earned a pair of RBIs, while Mike Trasolini, Sean Lavin and Jack Glover also drove in runs.
Glover, off a superb complete-game effort in a win over Bishop Ludden in his last start on April 18, could not hold that lead, Cortland scoring seven times in the fourth and fifth innings to pull even, 7-7. The Brothers inched back in front in the sixth, and reliever Charlie Ryan made that margin hold up, Ryan going two innings to earn the win.
In another close call on Thursday, the Brothers held off Phoenix 5-4. Here, the Brothers zoomed to a 3-0 lead by the fourth inning as Mason Garlatti hit his third home run of the season.
Still with that three-run margin, in the sixth CBA put two runners on base, and got them both home when Trasolini’s single got booted.
So it was 5-0 going to the top of the seventh. Brad McCaullife, so effective before this frame, suddenly got in trouble as Phoenix exploded for four runs before the Brothers were able to get the final out and escape.
Jamesville-DeWitt resumed on Wednesday and fell to Chittenango 5-2, ending a three-game win streak. The Red Rams got in early trouble, falling behind 5-0 by the third inning as pitcher Max Bregande gave way to Kyle Naugle, who saw a four-inning stint in relief and did well.
Single runs in the fourth and sixth inning got the Rams closer, as Chris Lenish and Dan Canfield scored and John Werbowky added an RBI, but Bears pitchers Sean Cliff and Wes Burghardt combined to hold J-D to four hits.
That skid quickly ended Saturday as J-D blanked New Hartford 9-0 on Saturday afternoon. Runs in four of the first five innings, capped by a four-run fourth, gave the Rams plenty of cushion.
Eric Thompson managed three hits, including a triple. Lenish doubled and scored three runs as Werbowky’s double and single led to three RBIs. Canfield and Paul Fitzgibbons managed two hits apiece as three pitchers – Bregande, Matt Yonta and Chris McGee – combined on a three-hit shutout.
Not until Thursday did Fayetteville-Manlius resume, testing itself against defending Class AA champion Liverpool and hanging in there before taking a 5-3 loss to the Warriors in a game shortened to six innings by more rain.
Mike Monashefsky and Mike Perry both had run-scoring singles in the first two innings. Still, by the end of the third inning Liverpool led, 4-2, propelled by Alex Caruso’s two-run home run in the first and Pat Wright’s solo shot in the third off Hornets pitcher Matt Godleski.
F-M’s best chance to win it came in the fifth, when it scored a run and loaded the bases with two outs against Caruso, who also pitched. On the first offering he saw, J.P. Quinn flew out, and the Warriors tacked on another run in its part of the fifth for the final margin.
When the Hornets faced Rome Free Academy two days later, Le Moyne-bound ace Zach Tucker reclaimed the form he lost in his previous outing, helping the Hornets beat the Black Knights 3-1.
In a complete-game effort, Tucker gave up seven hits, but struck out 13 and constantly worked his way out of trouble. To reward him, the Hornets broke up a 1-1 tie with two decisive runs in the bottom of the fifth, brought home by Dave Nuzzo’s double. Seth Pedersen had the other RBI.
East Syracuse-Minoa got out there for last Tuesday’s game at Fulton, and Steve Brownell shook off a poor start to give the Spartans a much-needed 6-2 win over the Red Raiders.
Both sides scored twice in the first inning. From there, though, Brownell shut down Fulton, giving up five hits and four walks while amassing eight strikeouts.
Single runs in the second and fifth innings, plus a two-run sixth, got ESM out in front. Casey Sullivan struck the big blow, a two-run home run, while Greg Fingar managed a pair of hits. Adam Flock and Cameron Lawless both had one RBI.
