Throughout a busy regular-season homestretch, the Cazenovia softball team understood that gaining victories was important so that its Section III Class B playoff position would be a bit less perilous.

The Lakers traveled to Phoenix last Monday and got involved in a tense, low-scoring affair that dragged out to nine innings before Cazenovia pulled through and beat the Firebirds 3-2.

Despite a second-inning run, the Lakers fell behind when Phoenix scored twice in the bottom of the third. From there, though, Allie Hotchkiss shut out the Firebirds, surrendering eight hits overall, but earning six strikeouts and not walking anyone.

Now Hotchkiss needed some help – and got it when Cazenovia tied it, 2-2, in the top of the fifth. Then it went through three more scoreless frames before poking across a run in the ninth and seeing Hotchkiss earn the final outs.

All told, the Lakers managed seven hits, two of them by Hannah Matteson, who drove in two runs. Delaney Yorks had three hits and scored twice, with Samantha Morgan contributing two hits and scoring the other Cazenovia run.

Perhaps tired from that battle, the Lakers couldn’t repeat that success a day later in a 6-0 defeat to the combined Syracuse City team. Morgan pitched this time, and she kept it 0-0 until the fourth, when Syracuse scored twice, and then added a run in the fifth and three runs in the seventh.

Alyssa Mann led Syracuse with three RBIs, with Donyeasha Bacon driving in two runs. Meanwhile, Cazenovia got just three hits (one each by Hotchkiss, Yorks and Leah Gamlen) off Syracuse pitcher Adonia Wade, who struck out four.

Then, on Wednesday, Cazenovia ran right into state Class B no. 2-ranked Solvay and was unable to solve Bearcats pitching ace Lauren Nichols in a 6-0 defeat.

Nichols, who threw a no-hitter against Marcellus earlier in the week (her third of the season), did not quite match that gem here thanks to Danielle Tedesco’s single, but she struck out 14 Cazenovia batters.

Hotchkiss pitched well, too, but Solvay pecked away at her efforts with runs in five consecutive innings, starting in the bottom of the second, which included Caitlin McCann’s solo home run.

Chittenango played a tight one on Wednesday and lost, 4-3, to Phoenix. Cassidy Kelly and Shayla Muncy each had two hits and one RBI, with Morgan Shoemaker scoring a pair of runs and adding an RBI. Alexa Rossi pitched and took the loss, with the Firebirds getting 11 hits off her.

Amid the open-tournament format for the sectional Class B playoffs, Chittenango, as the no. 13 seed, would have to face no. 20 seed Jordan-Elbridge, with the winner advancing to face no. 4 seed Lowville.

Cazenovia found itself with the no. 18 seed, meaning that, if the Lakers beat no. 15 seed Pulaski, it would get a shot at no. 2 seed Oneida in the next round.