Only after it had won seven games in a row to start the 2015 season did the West Genesee baseball team finally take a blemish.
It came at home, during last Monday’s game against Cicero-North Syracuse, where early chances to get in front were squandered, and the Northstars took advantage with a late surge at the plate to defeat the Wildcats 10-2.
WG was going up against C-NS’s left-handed ace, Steven Theetge, with Ryan Greco pitching for the Wildcats. Theetge had thrown a pair of 1-0 shutouts over Syracuse and Baldwinsville in his first two starts of the season.
Though not as dominant here, Theetge showed his toughness. WG put two runners on base in the second, third and fourth innings, but did not get a run on any of those occasions, allowing Theetge t match Greco’s strong start and keep the game 0-0.
In the top of the fifth, C-NS broke through. A walk and sacrifice bunt led to no. 9 hitter Connor Stanton’s RBI single that brought home Dylan Frawley. Then, after a stolent base, A.J. Nesci’s single scored Stanton, and a botched pick-off attempt led to a third run.
The two sides then traded runs over the next inning and a half, Evan Reichel and Anthony Carrodeagus earning RBIs for the Wildcatrs, but with the score 4-2 in the top of the seventh, C-NS teed off on WG reliever Nick Davis, batting around and getting six runs to put the game away.
Now the Wildcats could see how it responded to a defeat – fairly well, as it turned out, with WG defeating Central Square 12-6 a day later. A four-run second inning erased the Redhawks’ early 2-0 advantage, and it then scored in every inning except the fifth to build a cushion.
This included a power surge as Greco, Reichel and Colin BeVard each smashed home runs. Greco finished with three RBIs, while BeVard got three hits and drove in two runs. Will Randall and Brian VanBeveren joined Reichel with single RBIs.
Then Baldwinsville, coming off its own loss (6-3 to Liverpool at NBT Bank Stadium), paid a visit to Camillus on Wednesday afternoon, and the Wildcats put together, arguably, its best all-around performance of the season, shutting out the Bees 11-0.
Randall drew the pitching assignment, and with relief help from Davis and Vince Mills, he held B’ville to four hits, the trio combining to record 11 strikeouts.
Meanwhile, WG’s bats pecked away at Bees pitchers Ben Webb, Keenan Nellis and Billy Clifford, getting a run in the second inning before three consecutive three-run rallies in the third, fourth and fifth innings broke the game open.
Reichel doubled, singled and earned three RBIs. Kyle Korzeniewski got two hits and drove in two runs, with BeVard adding a double and two RBIs and Greco also driving in a run. Randall reached base four times and scored four runs, with BeVard and Joey Vetter scoring two runs apiece.
This busy week concluded with WG hosting Liverpool on Friday, and this time it was the Wildcats authoring the late-game comeback in a 6-2 victory over the Warriors.
Liverpool scored first, and while WG countered in the second inning, the Warriors did have a 2-1 lead going to the bottom of the fourth. But then WG moved in front, scoring twice, and added two more runs in the fifth to chase Liverpool starter Ryan Stott.
After some early trouble, Reichel settled down and, in his complete-game effort, held the Warriors to seven hits. Reichel and BeVard each contributed a pair of hits at the plate, with Greco earning two RBIs as Randall and VanBeveren also drove in runs.
Perhaps more impressive than all of these league wins was Saturday’s 13-8 victory over Christian Brothers Academy, in large part because the Brothers scored five first-inning runs, appearing to take control of the proceedings.
But WG chipped away with two runs in the third inning and then exploded with six runs in the fifth inning to go in front, and the five runs that followed in the sixth provided the eventual winning margin.
Three relief pitchers – Davis, John Schad and Matt VanAllen – guided the Wildcats after Korzeniewski’s rough start. VanAllen also had two RBIs, with BeVard driving in three runs and Carrodeagus adding two RBIs. Greco, Randall and Vetter each added one RBI.
