Now it’s abundantly clear that anyone seeking the Section III Class A boys lacrosse championship will have to topple Baldwinsville from its favorite’s perch.
If there were doubts about this notion, the state no. 15-ranked Bees erased them first by avenging its only two SCAC Metro division defeats of the season to Fayetteville-Manlius and Liverpool, and then sweeping past its other league foes.
And none was bigger than West Genesee, whom the Bees defeated 14-10 last Thursday night at Mike Messere Field, adding to the 16-6 win it achieved over the Wildcats back on April 23.
The greatest significance of beating WG a second time was the way it all took place, B’ville getting off to an awful start and trailing most of the night before erupting on offense in a decisive fourth-quarter blitz.
The Wildcats shut out the Bees in the first quarter and, with two goals from Ryan Sheehan and another from Max Rosa, grabbed a 3-0 lead.
For the rest of the half, WG did a solid job maintaining that advantage, answering a brief B’ville charge with Sheehan netting his third goal and Nick Louise converting.
And when Sheehan converted a fourth time early in the third quarter and Alex Rosa scored, the Bees trailed 7-3, only to fight back as two goals from Spencer Wirtheim keyed a 4-0 run that tied it, 7-7.
Max Rosa and Anthony Dattellas answered with goals, and again WG was in front, 9-7, early in the final period, thinking it had weathered the Bees’ best surge – but it had not.
In an inspired display of skill and energy, B’ville erupted for seven unanswered goals down the stretch, three each by Wirtheim and Austin Bolton, and Jake Walsh capped it by finding the net off a face-off he won with 4:06 left, just eight seconds after Bolton completed his hat trick.
That won the game, as Sheehan’s fifth goal in the final minutes proved too late. Aside from Wirtheim and Bolton, Braden McCard had a goal and two assists, while Adam Davis, Brendan Wilcox and Connor Steria netted goals. Dan Stehle finished with 11 saves.
Two nights earlier, at Bragman Stadium, B’ville met a Cicero-North Syracuse team it had handled 15-7 in their first encounter, and did even better in the rematch.
The Bees pummeled the Northstars 21-5, equaling its season-best total for goals (it also got 21 in a win over Syracuse) as Austin Bolton scored five times to lead the charge.
In all, 12 different players found the net, with Noah Ravas getting three goals and one assist. Wilcox, Davis and Mike Tangredi each converted twice.
Wirtheim earned four assists, and McCard got two assists as they joined Steria, Matt Wodka, Quinn Peters, Sam Iven and Garrett Petrelli in the one-goal column.
Flush from the West Genesee win, B’ville played again Saturday, at Webster Thomas (Section V), and this time it was a showcase for the Bees’ defense as it turned back the Titans 7-4.
Braden Lynch received the team’s “Manley Cup” handed to the game’s top player, for good reason. Lynch, Carter Gates, Caleb Voorhees, and the rest of B’ville’s back line shut out Webster Thomas in the second half after the Bees fell behind 4-2 early, Stehle stopping every shot he faced late on the way to 10 saves overall.
Unable to play at the pace it wanted, B’ville remained patient, tied it at 4-4, and then scored three times in the fourth quarter to pull it Davis and Ravas each found the net twice, while Wirtheim had three assists and Bolton two assists as they joined McCard with single goals.
After the Bees took on Vestal in Monday night’s regular-season finale at Pelcher-Arcaro Stadium, it would find out on Wednesday where and when it would start the sectional playoffs.
