In an early-season showdown, the Westhill baseball team met its neighbors from Solvay at the new Onondaga Community College complex Thursday night, and it turned into a particularly exciting contest, with the Warriors requiring a late comeback to beat the Bearcats 5-4.
Sam Walsh got the start for the Warriors, opposing Davis Kippen. They exchanged second-inning runs before Solvay moved in front with single runs in the third and fifth innings, and maintained that 3-1 edge until the bottom of the sixth.
At that moment, the Warriors got to Davis Kippen for four big runs. Jeff Lobello, Brad Canavan and Chris Coates all hit singles to load the bases, and Eddie Kernan reached base on a throwing error that brought home the tying runs. A wild pitch then brought Coates home to put Westhill up 4-3, and Jesse Chester’s squeeze bunt scored Tim Kelly.
Now with a 5-3 lead going to the seventh, Walsh gave up a single to Cody Pucello and a walk to Sal Dahlin. Lobello relieved Walsh, but walked Kippen to load the bases with one out.
With a chance to tie and even put his team front with a hit, Josh Rutkowski could only manage a sacrifice fly that scored Pucello. With two out, Lobello struck out Jeff Honsinger swinging to end this tense battle.
Off for a week since beating Marcellus 5-2 in its April 2 opener, Westhill returned to action last Wednesday, at Phoenix and mostly relied on one big inning at the plate to overcome an early deficit and get a 7-5 victory over the Firebirds.
Trailing, 3-0, the Warriors batted around in the top of the third and scored six times. That cushion was needed, since Phoenix pulled within 6-5 with a pair of runs in the sixth before Westhill got an insurance run in the top of the seventh.
Mike Burton pitched five innings and earned the wins, striking out four and only walking one. Lobello struck out three batters in 1 1/3 innings of relief as Walsh, Kernan, Canavan and Bobby Antonacci each got one RBI. Galen Hayes scored a pair of runs.
Right after the Solvay thriller, Westhill made it four straight wins on Friday, stopping Jordan-Elbridge 6-3 as it used two runs in the first inning and three more runs in the fifth to seize control.
Connor Tackley pitched 5 1/3 innings for the win, holding J-E to one hit and striking out 12 in a breakout effort. Coates, at the plate, managed two hits and scored twice as he, along with Antonacci and Kernan, drove in single runs. J-E’s Zach Pangaro managed two hits and two RBIs as Ryan Cooper pitched four innings and took the loss.
And then the Warriors got its fourth victory in as many days on Saturday by shutting out Skaneateles 8-0, as Burton took another turn on the mound and, in six innings of work, limited the Lakers to five hits.
A four-run fifth inning that chased Skaneateles pitcher Nick Hyland broke a 2-0 game open, as Burton and Jesse Chester both finished with two hits and an RBI. Antonnaci, Hayes, Lobello, Walsh and Kernan also drove in a runs as part of a well-balanced Solvay lineup.
Solvay shook off the Westhill defeat in a big way, routing Cazenovia 10-1 on Friday as it used a four-run first inning to gain control and extended the lead to 9-0 by the end of the fourth.
That was plenty for Dahlin, who threw six innings and struck out six while allowing just six hits. Rutkowski pitched in relief and was unstoppable at the plate with three hits and four RBIs, while Dahlin and Brandon Franklin each scored twice and drove in a run. Sam Kippen also had an RBI.
When the two sides had a rematch on Saturday afternoon, Solvay prevailed again, 9-3, making it a sweep of Cazenovia as it improved to 3-1 on the season.
