In one cold and unforgiving afternoon, the post-season hopes of both the West Genesee baseball and softball teams were dashed.
After waiting out two days of rain, the baseball Wildcats, as the no. 3 seed in the Section III Class AA playoffs, drew no. 6 seed Syracuse East in Saturday’s quarterfinal round, and it never got on track, taking an 8-4 defeat to East.
Back on May 1, WG had lost to East, 3-2, and in the rematch East scored twice in the first inning on Damon Ozelek’s single, setting up a game-long chase that proved frustrating for the Wildcats.
Every time the hosts would get a run, East would respond. The key inning was the sixth, when the Wildcats only trailed 4-2, but watched East score three times, Ozelek again striking the key blow as he drove in two more run. That proved a cushion as WG earned two runs in the bottom of the sixth to make it 7-4, but would get no closer.
Four pitchers – Adam Reichel, Seamus Barry, Ryan Matthews and Evan Reichel – worked for the Wildcats, none more than 2 1/3 innings as Adam Reichel took the loss.
At the plate, Wes Randall tripled and drove in two runs, while Colin Bevard added an RBI. Frank Vigliotti, pitching in relief of Jeff Belge, got the win for East, also earning two hits and two RBIs at the plate. John Larca set the tone as the leadoff hitter, going three-for-four with three runs scored and two RBIs.
Just as that was going on, WG’s softball team, as the no. 4 seed, met the same fate in its Class AA quarterfinal, though it wasn’t until extra innings that things fell apart in a 10-5 defeat to the no. 4 seed Auburn Maroons.
With a berth in the semifinals against heavily-favored top seed Cicero-North Syracuse on the line, the Wildcats, who beat Auburn 9-4 on this same home field back on April 17, fell behind 4-0, the Maroons getting three runs in the top of the third to seize early control.
Gradually, WG fought back, with a run in the fourth and three runs in the fifth that cut the deficit to 5-4. And facing elimination in the bottom of the seventh, the Wildcats bore down and pushed across the tying run.
So it was 5-5 going to the top of the eighth, but here Auburn got to WG pitcher Morgan Nichols, batting around and posting five decisive runs, something the Wildcats could not answer. Ali VanGiesen led the Maroons’ attack with a pair of home runs and four RBIs, while Danielle Vuillemot also went deep and Ally Nicolisi added a pair of RBIs.
Tess Andrews went three-for-five, including a double, and got two RBIs. Allie Nave also had three hits and got an RBI as Nichols and Sierra Smith also drove in runs. The Wildcats’ season finished with a 10-9 mark.
