Due to the bad weather that pushed the start of its 2014 season back for more than a week, the West Genesee baseball team found itself hosting both of last spring’s Section III Class AA finalists when it finally took the field – and beating them both.
Most satisfying of all was what took place last Friday afternoon, as Baldwinsville, the reigning state Class AA champions, arrived in Camillus and proceeded to get silenced by Wildcats pitchers Bailey Gauthier and Seamus Barry in a 4-1 victory.
It helped, no doubt, that B’ville didn’t have highly-touted senior ace Scott Blewett on the mound, as he had pitched two days earlier and struck out 15 against Syracuse East in a 3-0 shutout.
Instead, Cody Kaestle got the call for the Bees, and WG beat him with a run in the first inning and two more in the bottom of the third to break a 1-1 tie and put the hosts ahead for good.
Gauthier started and went 4 2/3 innings, frustrating the Bees as he didn’t allow a hit. With two out in the fifth, Barry took over, and while B’ville’s Gage Blasi did get a hit, Barry made sure that it didn’t translate into anything more with a lengthy save.
Will Randall led the Wildcats at the plate, managing a pair of hits and getting two RBIs, while Collin Bevard’s two hits also led to a pair of RBIs. Randall, Gauthier, Joey Vetter and Evan Reichel scored the Wildcats’ runs.
Two days earlier, WG took on Oswego and used steady production at the plate, along with a clean defensive effort, to beat the Buccaneers 10-3.
WG scored in each of the first five innings, capped by three-run rallies in the third and fifth. Brittain, with two hits and two RBIs, led the way as Bevard also drove in a pair of runs. Barry, Vetter and Sean Beney scored two runs apiece as Vetter, Reichel and Gauthier each got one RBI.
On the mound, Sean McConnell earned the victory, pitching five effective innings where he overcame six Oswego hits by striking out eight. Nick Davis and Vince Mills both saw relief stints.
The bigger test came Friday against reigning state Class AA champion Baldwinsville,
Before that, though, WG went to Liverpool on Thursday and lost, 5-1, getting just three hits off Warriors starting pitcher Nick Claver and a single tally in the top of the seventh.
By that point, Liverpool had a 5-0 lead, having touched up Reichel for two runs in the first and three insurance runs in the sixth. Don Pauldine led the Warriors with a pair of RBIs.
As that went on, West Genesee’s softball team finally had its season opener on Thursday afternoon. Primed to get underway, the Wildcats went to Fayetteville-Manlius and immediately took control in an 11-3 romp over the Hornets.
WG batted around in the top of the first inning, lighting up F-M pitcher Megan Bright for seven runs, all that it would need. Eventually, the margin got to 11-0 by the fifth inning.
On its way to 14 hits, the Wildcats saw Jenna Amidon get two hits and three RBIs. Allie Nave scored twice and drove in a pair of runs, while Morgan Nichols had three hits, three runs scored and an RBI. Nichols also pitched, blanking the Hornets until the fifth inning and striking out 11 while limiting F-M to a single walk and six hits overall.
