Back in late April, the Cicero-North Syracuse softball team got tripped up for the only time this season, beaten by its own mistakes in a 9-2 defeat to John Jay-East Fishkill in a tournament near Binghamton.
But the second time the Northstars ventured into tournament play, it turned out quite different, C-NS going 4-0 and winning last weekend’s 32nd annual Ace Morabito Memorial Tournament at Herkimer’s Muddville complex.
Newly focused after a scare from Syracuse East back on Thursday, C-NS unleashed both of its pitching stars, Sydney O’Hara and Kalet Lenart, in Saturday’s opening rounds.
It began with the Northstars shutting out Carmel, 3-0, in a game where O’Hara had to be sharp because Carmel blanked C-NS for most of the contest.
Not until the bottom of the sixth did the Northstars break the 0-0 deadlock, scoring all three of its runs on hits from O’Hara, Lindsey Silfer and Morgan Phillips. Then O’Hara closed out another one-hit masterpiece in the seventh, finishing with 13 strikeouts against three walks allowed.
Lenart took her turn in the second round, against Mount Laurel, from New Jersey, and with some key early run support, Lenart relaxed and pitched quite well in C-NS’s 5-1 victory.
Going the route, Lenart blanked Mount Laurel until the sixth inning, allowing six hits and striking out five. By then, the Northstars had the lead thanks to a run in the first inning and two-run rallies in the third and fifth.
Silfer continued her hot hitting with a double, single and three RBIs, while O’Hara doubled and also drove in a run. Lauren Floyd had a pair of hits.
When Sunday’s play began, C-NS turned back Valley Central 2-0. Van Hoven doubled, tripled and scored a run as Phillips added two hits. Single runs in the first and seventh innings proved enough as O’Hara threw her second straight one-hitter and piled up 17 strikeouts.
It all climaxed with Sunday’s final between C-NS and Brockport (Section V), where Lenart enjoyed one of her best outings of the season and the Northstars won by a 5-1 margin.
Staked to a 3-0 lead by the third inning, Lenart, named the tournament MVP, was cool and precise, earning eight strikeouts and holding Brockport to two hits and a fourth-inning run. Then C-NS put it away with two more runs in the fifth.
Phillips hit her team’s only home run of the tournament, finishing with a pair of RBIs, while Van Hoven had a double, triple and two runs scored. Floyd also managed two hits, adding an RBI.
Liverpool also played in the Morabito Tournament, going 3-1 in its division, starting on Saturday with a 20-3 rout over Monsignor Preston which included four different innings where the Warriors scored four-plus runs, including a seven-run outburst in the top of the fifth.
Alicia Hansen could not be stopped, smashing a home run and triple and piling up a season-best seven RBIs. Nicole Cerrone and K.C. TenBroeck also went deep, with Cerrone getting five RBIs and TenBroeck three RBIs as Peyton Bellrose doubled and drove in four runs.
Brockport would trip up Liverpool 7-1 later that day, but the Warriors rebounded to win both of its games on Sunday, stopping Clarkstown South 7-3 and rolling past Suffern 10-1.
Against Clarkstown South, Liverpool trailed 3-0, but rallied with two runs in the fifth inning, three more runs in the sixth to get in front and two runs in the seventh for insurance. Hansen hit her second home run of the tournament as Taylor Charles tripled and drove in three runs. Cerrone and Allyse Burgos managed one RBI apiece.
No rally was required against Suffern, though, as Liverpool broke open a tight contest with four runs in the top of the fourth inning in support of Bellrose, who pitched a complete game four-hitter that included five strikeouts.
Hansen had three hits, scored twice and earned a pair of RBIs. Cerrone and Ericka Sadowski matched Hansen, driving in two runs apiece as Sadowski pounded out four hits, while Bellrose, TenBroeck and Burgos each had one RBI.
