All of that mid-week rain meant a rash of postponements for area softball teams, but at least it was dry enough at the start of the week – and the end of it, too.
Jamesville-DeWitt returned to action Friday afternoon and got a five-inning no-hitter from Kerri Keeler – and needed it, as the Red Rams scraped past Mexico 1-0
Keeler surrendered just one walk while striking out 10 Tiger batters. But Mexico kept the game 0-0 until the fifth, when Alyssa Robens reached base and raced home on Maggie Austin’s hit.
A day later, Keeler pitched again in a 5-2 win over Chittenango shortened to five innings by rain. Two runs in the first and fifth innings, plus a run in the fourth, proved enough as the Rams moved to 9-0, Robens and Emily Clapper each getting two hits and one RBI. Erica Siegel also drove in a run.
Before the rains, East Syracuse-Minoa split last Monday’s doubleheader with Fulton, dropping the opening game 8-2, but able to bounce back and beat the Red Raiders 6-5 in the nightcap.
In the opener, the Spartans scored twice in the bottom of the third to pull within 3-2, only to see Fulton get five runs in the fifth and sixth innings to pull clear. Only Danielle Ventrone managed a pair of hits as Fulton’s Keisha Pierce had a home run, triple and three RBIs.
Later, in the second game, ESM overcame 12 Fulton hits, one of them Cheyenne Laun’s home run. Alissa Daly had two hits, two runs scored and two RBIs. Courtney Legare also drove in two runs. Michelle Burgun, taking her turn in the pitcher’s circle, struck out 10 in her complete-game effort.
Fayetteville-Manlius began its week by blanking Syracuse East 10-0, with all of the runs scored by the Hornets in the fourth and fifth innings to break a 0-0 deadlock.
A six-run fourth and four-run fifth included Rachel O’Byrne, Alex Lunderman and Emma Bilmeyer each scoring two runs, with Anna Porter picking up a pair of hits. Megan Bright gladly accepted this support and limited East to two hits, walking just one while striking out six.
This followed a weekend where the Hornets won both of its games, routing Jordan-Elbridge 21-4 and also defeating Mexico 5-1.
F-M scored twice against J-E in every inning except the first, capped by a seven-run seventh inning. Bright and Bella Sebastian both drove in three runs, while with Erin Burnett adding two RBIs. Lunderman gained three hits and two walks, and scored five runs.
Four runs in the first two innings proved enough against Mexico as Bright (who pitched a complete game), Porter Burnett and Teegan Shaw managed one RBI apiece.
Back in action on Saturday afternoon, F-M lost, 11-8, to Baldwinsville, squandering an early 3-0 lead when the Bees scored six times in the top of the third. O’Byrne still had three hits and two RBIs, while Porter and Burnett also drove in runs. Bright, Lunderman, Makayla Madill and Sam Guillaume each finished with a pair of hits.
CBA, off a wild week that included a 22-21 loss to Fulton, took another narrow defeat last Monday afternoon, also met Syracuse East, but lost to them 6-5.
All looked fine when the Brothers led 5-1 after four innings, as Annie Carhart earned a pair of RBIs, with Hannah Morris, Gabby Damico and Catherine Burns also driving in runs.
But East East scored twice in the fifth to make it 5-3 and added three runs in the sixth off Brothers pitcher Monica Hanson (two of them on Erica Phillips’ double) to inch out in front. Jadda Phillips, who scored three runs, kept CBA off the board in the last two innings to earn the win.
Bishop Grimes ran into Port Byron last Monday and lost, 14-5, unable to overcome five-run rallies by the Panthers in the second and fourth innings.
Madison Douglas still managed a double and two RBIs, while Alissa Warner drove in a run. Warner also pitched and took the loss as Amanda Lupo led Port Byron with two hits and five RBIs.
Back in action on Thursday, the Cobras rode Danielle Erwin’s strong pitching effort to earn a 2-0 shutout over Bishop Ludden, Erwin holding the Gaelic Knights to five hits in her complete-game effort that included three strikeouts.
Even though Ludden pitcher Cazzandra Griglock amassed 13 strikeouts and only gave up three hits, Grimes still poked across single runs in the second and third innings that proved enough.
In a tough 9-7 defeat to Fabius-Pompey on Saturday, Grimes used a six-run second inning to erase a 5-1 deficit, but could not hang on as the Falcons regained the lead with three runs in the third and added an insurance run in the fourth. Erwin and Kaylee Steiner each had two RBIs, with Katrina Fandrich also driving in a run.
