Wet weather early in the first full week of May nearly caused havoc with the schedule of Chittenango’s baseball and softball teams, but things had settled down by week’s end and, more importantly, both sides were doing well.
The baseball Bears, who sneaked into the no. 20 spot in the latest state Class A rankings, beat the precipitation during last Monday’s game against Cortland and overcame a sluggish effort at the plate with a pair of late runs to earn a 3-2 victory over the Purple Tigers.
Neither team scored until the bottom of the fourth inning, when Chittenango inched into a 1-0 lead. Cortland used run-scoring hits from J.P. Reagan and Devin Darrow to move in front, 2-1, in the top of the fifth.
But the Bears had the last move, scoring twice in the bottom of the sixth. Devin Christopher, pitching in relief of Wes Burghardt, got the win, though it took Greg Jasek tossing a scoreless seventh inning to earn the save. Burghardt, Jasek and Brad Phelps each had one RBI.
With Tuesday’s game against East Syracuse-Minoa rained out, the Bears returned to play Thursday, against Mexico, and the two days of rest refreshed the Bears, who roared past the Tigers by an 11-1 margin.
A pair of first-inning runs pushed Chittenango in front, but it had to wait until the bottom of the fifth to break it open as, ahead 3-1, the Bears scored five times to chase out Mexico starter Clayton Loomis.
Jasek went three-for-three, with two doubles and three RBIs. Burghardt, Devin Christopher and Aaron Endres each notched two hits, with Christopher earning a pair of RBIs. Phelps, Erik Kurz and Josh Cretaro each drove in one run.
Sean Cliff didn’t need that much run support, as the Bears pitcher struck out four, holding the Tigers to six hits, five of them singles.
When they made up the ESM game on Friday, again Chittenango had a quick start, and protected it well during an 8-0 win over the Spartans as three pitchers – Burghardt, Kurz and Cretaro – combined on a three-hit shutout.
Four first-inning runs were all that was required, but the Bears got three more in the bottom of the fifth and spread the production around. Jasek and Kurz each had two hits and two runs scored, with Burghardt also getting two hits and Phelps adding a pair of RBIs.
Only on Saturday did the Bears (10-4) cool down, falling to Bishop Ludden 3-1. Jasek pitched and, after his own RBI single in the first inning that scored Burghardt, blanked the Gaelic Knights for much of the afternoon on his way to nine strikeouts.
However, in the bottom of the sixth Ludden got to Jasek for all three of its runs as Tyler Dunsmoor and Kyle Hawk each had an RBI. Cory Poplawski protected that lead, too, as he held Chittenango to three hits overall.
Chittenango’s softball team shook off a rough start in last Monday’s game against Chittenango and took over in the middle stages to beat the Purple Tigers 10-6.
Kaleigh Koegel surrendered three runs in the top of the first. Chittenango still trailed, 3-0, when it broke through for two runs in the bottom of the third.
An inning later, the Bears scored four times to move in front, 6-3, but it still needed a three-run fifth and a tally in the sixth to account for its eventual winning margin.
To help her cause, Koegel hit a home run, finishing with three RBIs. Jennifer Sternberg scored twice and drove in two runs, while Alexa Farsaci, Brianna Koegel and Brigitta Martin each had one RBI. Malarie Mohorter scored two runs.
Then the Bears (7-7) beat Mexico 4-0 on Thursday, getting all of its runs in the first two innings in support of Kaleigh Koegel, whose three-hit shutout included seven strikeouts and two walks allowed. Alyssa Mroczek managed two RBIs as Koegel and Farsaci each drove in one run.
