In its only game last week, the Bishop Grimes baseball team started its push down the regular-season homestretch with a breakout effort at the plate in last Tuesday’s game against Altmar-Parish-Williamstown.
Ignoring the cold, windy conditions, the Cobras, improving its record to 10-7, bashed the Rebels 18-2, though the game was tied 1-1 until Grimes put together an eight-run outburst in the fourth inning, later tacking on two runs in the sixth and seven runs in the top of the seventh.
Aided by 11 APW errors, the Cobras saw Jim Perra go four-for-four with a double and two RBIs. Adam Dominic added three hits and also drove in two runs, while James Belton and Trevor Pokines both had a double and two RBIs. Johnny Wike, Ian Enderle and Skyler Gashi drove in one run apiece as Jack Rotondo, pitching a complete game, held the Rebels to five hits and struck out five.
East Syracuse Minoa began its play last week with a 2-1 victory over Oswego, a game with terrific pitching on both sides.
The Spartans notched single runs in the first and third innings, one of them Jimmy Griffin’s solo home run, but overall ESM had just six hits against Buccaneers hurlers Josh Carney, who went six innings, and Trevor Bradshaw.
Brandon Breen had two of those hits and spun his own pitching gem, giving up six hits, but striking out six and blanking Oswego until the bottom of the sixth. Shane Krawec relieved Breen and tossed a scoreless seventh inning for the save.
Then ESM topped Fulton 5-2 on Thursday afternoon. The Spartans got all of the runs it needed in a three-run second inning, and then added single runs in the third and fourth in support of pitcher Trevor Ghika, who tossed a complete game, holding the Red Raiders to seven hits.
Jeff Loder, Danny Williams and Jake Temple each got a pair of hits, with Williams joining Brandon Breen and Jason Sweredoski in the RBI column. Nick Pullano and Matt Hunter scored runs.
ESM made it three in a row on Friday, roaring past Mexico 10-2 on the strength of three-run rallies in the first, second and sixth innings. Hunter and Nick Castrello each doubled and drove in four runs, with Castrello scoring three times. Loder added an RBI as Shane Krawec limited the Tigers to six hits in a complete-game pitching effort.
Fayetteville-Manlius had the misfortune of meeting the combined Syracuse city squad while its highly-touted left-handed ace, Jeff Belge, was on the mound last Tuesday afternoon. Belge would shut out the Hornets 2-0, giving up just three hits and overcoming six walks to record 12 strikeouts.
Meanwhile, the quartet of Colin Sommers, Jared Shaw, Mitch Hoalcraft and Kyle Walters pitched quite well, only slipping in the bottom of the fifth inning, when Syracuse notched both of its runs, scored by Ben Atkinson and Conner Collins as Collin Thompson got credit for an RBI.
A day later, the Hornets could not get on the board again in a 7-0 defeat to defending Section III Class AA champion Auburn, who notched all of its runs in the second and third innings as Kevin DiCola led the Maroons with three RBIs.
From the fourth inning onward, F-M managed to blank Auburn, and did earn eight hits, two of them by Loeffler. But Maroons starter Stephen Bennett, who went five innings, and reliever Justin Valentino kept getting out of trouble – and also kept the Hornets off the board.
Two days later, the Hornets lost, 6-4, to Cicero-North Syracuse, a game F-M led, 3-2, before the host Northstars used two runs in the third inning, and single runs in the fourth and fifth, to inch in front for good.
Sean Putnam doubled and drove in a run, while Taylor Smach and Anthony Nucerino also had RBIs. Hoalcraft scored a pair of runs as C-NS got three hits from Jake McArdell and two RBIs from Michael Krick to overcome the pitching efforts of Nucerino and Hoalcraft.
