Though other area softball teams dropped out of their respective Section III playoff brackets, Solvay continued to drive toward a third consecutive Class B championship.
Following a first-round bye, the Bearcats hosted no. 8 seed South Jefferson in last Tuesday’s quarterfinal round and unloaded on the Spartans in a 20-0 blowout where Jackie Gardner pitched another no-hitter, surrendering just one walk and striking out four.
An eight-run second inning broke things open, from Leah Yiazzo’s two-run single to back-to-back home runs from Chelsie Delperuto and Molly McGuire, and another round-tripper from Lauren Nichols that helped make it 9-0.
Adding to the power surge was Nicole Antonacci’s fourth-inning grand slam, which capped a day where Delperuto, McGuire, Nichols and Jordyn Everett each got three RBIs.
In Thursday’s Class B semifinal at Rome, the Bearcats met no. 4 seed Adirondack, the team it beat 11-3 in last year’s sectional final, and would get again this time, by a similar margin and nearly the same score, too, Solvay prevailing 10-2.
Power was the story in this game. Delperuto got it going by drilling a two-run home run in the bottom of the first after Antonacci drew a leadoff walk, and Gardner went deep two innings later, a three-run blast.
Jordan Micheletti’s two-run double keyed a four-run fifth inning that put the game away, with McGuire adding an RBI. Gardner, who drove in four runs, saw her shutout disappear in the sixth inning, but still cruised to the victory, striking out nine and limiting Adirondack to five hits.
And this leads Solvay to the Class B sectional final against no. 2 seed Altmar-Parish-Williamstown at the Gillette Road complex in Cicero. A year ago, at that same venue, the Rebels nearly knocked out the Bearcats in the sectional semifinals. Now, after two tight regular-season battles with APW, they meet again, with even bigger stakes.
Back in the first round on May 22, Westhill, holding the no. 6 seed, hosted no. 11 seed Christian Brothers Academy, but saw its season end with an 11-2 defeat to the Brothers.
West Genesee, who had to scramble to the last game of the season to reach the Class AA sectional tournament, took full advantage of that opportunity, the no. 9 seed Wildcats winning its opening-round game over no. 8 seed Syracuse 7-4.
Falling behind 3-0 in the bottom of the first, WG settled down with two runs of its own in the top of the second. It stayed 3-2 until the sixth inning, when the Wildcats put together a three-run rally to go in front, tacking on an insurance run in the seventh.
Shannon Churchill’s pair of doubles led to three RBIs. Marisa Joyce also had two hits, while Elle Lazore and Amanda Prell each drove in one run. Following her rough start, Allie Nave pitched quite well, amassing 10 strikeouts.
Yet the “reward” for WG was running right into top seed and defending champion Liverpool in Tuesday’s AA quarterfinal. Having lost twice to the Warriors in the regular season, the Wildcats looked to be more competitive here, but lost again, this time by an 11-2 margin.
Nave avoided a big inning on Liverpool’s part, but the Warriors pecked away by scoring in every inning other than the first, getting two RBIs apiece from Katie Yudin and Jordan Wheeler.
WG managed 11 hits against Liverpool ace Peyton Bellrose, but couldn’t take advantage of those run-scoring opportunities, only getting single tallies in the fourth and fifth innings. Joyce, Mya Case, Grace Schnorr and Lexy White had two hits apiece as White and Case drove in the Wildcats’ runs.
Marcellus, the no. 11 seed in Class A, won its opening-round game over no. 6 seed East Syracuse Minoa 8-6 on May 21 to earn a quarterfinal date with no. 3 seed and defending champion New Hartford, and nearly stunned the Spartans before taking a tough 2-1 defeat that ended its season.
Laura Finn had one of her best pitching performances of the season, matching zeroes with New Hartford’s Alysa Keady until the bottom of the fifth. Then the Spartans’ most dangerous hitter, Emily Acquaviva, sent Finn’s only mistake of the day over the fence for a two-run home run.
Trailing 2-0, the Mustangs pulled back within a run in the sixth as Jennie Delia doubled and Rylie Spicer drove her home. Keady quelled that rally, though, and pitched a scoreless seventh to help her team hang on. Marcellus finished the season with an 8-11 record.
