If the Baldwinsville baseball team needed any kind of motivation before its series against its neighbors from Liverpool, the first state Class AA rankings of the spring provided them.
Despite its great start, and despite reaching the state Class AA finals a season ago, the Bees, at no. 11, found itself three spots behind the no. 8-ranked Warriors.
To be fair, those rankings were released before Liverpool lost twice in games at Myrtle Beach and Jason Savacool no-hit Auburn on April 20, but once the series started between the Bees and Warriors, it was clear who still had the upper hand – at least at first.
B’ville blanked Liverpool 2-0 in the series opener, getting another fine effort from Jake Marshall. An ace on any other staff, Marshall works, to a degree, in Savacool’s shadow, but not on this day.
Over six innings, Marshall limited the Warriors to three hits (two of them by Luke Harder), and overcame four walks by striking out eight before Mike Carr worked a scoreless seventh inning for the save.
Single runs in the second and third innings off Harder were all B’ville needed. Pat Anson’s double drove in one of those runs, with Nate Ray getting the other RBI as he and Michael Carni scored.
The second game at B’ville on Tuesday was completed just before the rains fell, but by then it was too late to save Liverpool as, again, B’ville finished out in front, topping the Warriors 6-1.
A pair of first-inning runs was all that B’ville needed, but it tacked on a run in the third and, crucially, a three-run rally in the fourth to provide an extra cushion to pitcher Matt Starczewski, who in six innings held Liverpool to three hits before Chris AuClair worked the last inning in relief.
Anthony Lapine took the loss, going 3 2/3 innings before Matt Pare relieved him. B’ville got two hits apiece from Ray, Marshall, Anson, Jeb Farneth and Kenny Svitak, with Ray getting a pair of RBIs. Kobe Stenson drove in Jake Wheeler with the Warriors’ lone run in the top of the sixth.
On Thursday, Liverpool was back home, trying to avoid a B’ville sweep with Savacool on the mound. It seemed a daunting task, but somehow the Warriors outlasted Savacool and pulled out a dramatic 5-4, eight-inning victory over the Bees.
When B’ville grabbed a 3-0 advantage in the top of the third, Savacool had an early cushion, but it vanished in the bottom of the third. Two runners got on base, and during Harder’s long at-bat, both scored on wild pitches, and then Harder reached base, racing home on Adam Marsh’s RBI single.
They stayed 3-3 until an exchange of fifth-inning runs, Liverpool tying it again when Shane Hazelmyer produced an RBI single. Now Savacool exited, having struck out nine but walked six and gave up four hits, with AuClair taking over in relief.
They stayed 4-4 until the bottom of the eighth, the Warriors getting 3 1/3 innings of scoreless relief from Nyhim Green, who took over after Wheeler was injured in the top of the fifth fielding a bunt.
Then the Warriors won it with a combination of luck and hustle. Bo Nicholson, relieving AuClair, hit Hazelmyer with a pitch. Moments later, pinch-hitter Zach Lapine bunted, and when the throw went wild, Hazelmyer dashed all the way home to end it.
