Before and after the mid-week rains, the Baldwinsville baseball team played four times last week and won them all, thanks mostly to impressive pitching performances from Brett DeLola and Scott Blewett along the way.
It all started last Monday afternoon, when the Bees put together an impressive 2-0 shutout over Oswego. This was the first time these two sides had met since last May’s Section III Class AA final, and while there was plenty of new personnel on both sides, DeLola helped B’ville feel more comfort in its pitching options when Blewett isn’t on the mound.
DeLola gained early confidence when B’ville got to Oswego ace Ryan Lavner for runs in the first and third innings. Pat Dubiel scored both of those runs, one of them on Blewett’s single.
The Bees managed just six hits against Lavner, who struck out nine. But DeLola made that two-run lead stick, throwing a three-hit complete game as he only walked one and fanned eight Bucs hitters.
Then the rains struck, postponing Tuesday’s trip to Auburn, Wednesday’s visit from Fayetteville-Manlius and Thursday’s game against Syracuse East, creating further backup to the schedule.
At last, the second game with F-M took place Friday afternoon, just in time for Blewett to take his turn on the mound– and with the usual crowd of more than a dozen Major League scouts in attendance, Blewett delivered as the Bees blanked the Hornets 4-0.
Having pitched against the Hornets the week before (taking a no-decision), Blewett started a bit wild in this game, his fastball approaching 90 miles per hour, but then found control in the latter stages and, mixing in plenty of off-speed stuff, proceeded to keep F-M off the board.
In five innings of work, Blewett allowed two hits and struck out eight, ceding to Ben Webb in the sixth as Webb worked the last two innings in relief.
B’ville got all the runs he needed when it scored three runs in the bottom of the second off Hornets starter Josh Loeffler. DeLola’s double ignited the rally, which included Charles McAllister’s sacrifice fly and Dubiel’s two-out RBI single. McAllister added a sixth-inning RBI single.
Best of all for the Bees, the rain held off long enough on Saturday for two games – one the makeup of a rained-out showdown with its neighbors from Liverpool, the other a non-league test against Rochester McQuaid.
In the opener, B’ville again turned to DeLola to pitch – and he didn’t disappoint, tossing a complete game and shutting down the Warriors in an 8-1 victory. DeLola amassed eight strikeouts and held Liverpool to six hits, only walking one.
Still, the Bees trailed, 1-0, when it broke through for four runs in the bottom of the fourth off Warriors starter Bobby Zywicki, and then tacked on four insurance runs in the sixth. Mike Borek led the way, going three-for-three with a double and three RBIs, while McAllister, Dubiel and Kevin Paul each drove in one run and Blasi scored twice.
Then, in the nightcap, B’ville edged McQuaid 7-6, using a four-run third inning to go out in front, but seeing the Knights tie it, 4-4, before answering with two runs in the fifth and another run in the sixth to get a 7-4 lead.
Even with McQuaid scoring twice in the top of the seventh, Webb, appearing in relief after Cody Kaestle got the start and Tom Scarfino replaced him, managed to get the final outs for the save. Blasi got everyone going with a home run as he and Andrew Chajkowski both got a pair of RBIs. Dubiel and Kevin Carson also drove in runs.
This put B’ville at 9-1 on the season, halfway through its condensed regular-season slate, with games up ahead this week against Syracuse West, Cicero-North Syracuse, Central Square and Oswego before a Saturday rematch with Liverpool.
And aside from all the games still scheduled, B’ville will get a little more time to complete its schedule due to Section III moving back the regular-season cutoff for games, from May 17 to 20.
