One thing some area softball teams had to worry about was whether it had to qualify for the Section III playoffs.
Then Section III ruled last Monday that, due to all the weather issues that caused postponements and the possibility that not all the games could get made up, all teams, regardless of record, would be eligible for the sectional tournament, and the rule of having a .400 record would get waived for 2017.
With that pressure off, Christian Brothers Academy reached the .500 mark (5-5) last Monday with a 6-2 victory over Phoenix, with Abigail Benware supplying the big bat for the Brothers as she tripled and drove in three runs. Julia Boule pitched well, too, limiting the Firebirds to four hits while amassing 10 strikeouts.
A day later, CBA handled Skaneateles 12-2, and moved above .500 on a temporary basis. Breaking up a 1-1 tie, the Brothers netted three runs in the third inning and two more in the fourth, tacking on two runs in the sixth and four runs in the seventh to pull away from the Lakers.
Boule struck out 10 and holding Skaneateles to four hits while Catherine Burns was a single away from the cycle as she homered, tripled, doubled and got three RBIs. Bridget O’Hern also had three hits as Julia Sullivan and Maria Oliva each drove in two runs. Boule added an RBI and scored twice to match O’Hern, Burns, Sullivan and Emily Hall.
Bishop Grimes, who started the week with a 5-2 record, blanked Onondaga 12-0 last Monday afternoon, aided by seven Tigers errors as the Cobras, already with a 3-0 lead, broke it open with five runs in the top of the fifth.
Brianna Squier tossed a complete-game, two-hit shutout, striking out 12. Though Squier didn’t need much help, Marissa Curtis and Kenna Kelley provided it with three hits apiece, Curtis doubling twice as she got two RBIs. Kendall Mancuso also drove in two runs as Squier earned an RBI. Sarah Falgiatano and Alyssa Cavallo each scored twice.
What followed, on Tuesday, was an 11-7, 10-inning defeat to Bishop Ludden where Grimes, down 4-1, had scored twice in the fifth and three times in the sixth to take a 6-4 lead, only to have the Gaelic Knights tie it in the top of the seventh and break that 6-6 deadlock with a four-run rally in the 10th.
Through it all, McKenna Squier managed a pair of RBIs, with Kelley and Becca Vinciquerra also driving in runs. Falgiatano and Brianna Squier (who pitched all 10 innings) had two hits apiece. Kaitlyn Kibling led Ludden with a triple, two doubles and four RBIs.
On Thursday, Grimes lost again, 13-3, to Homer, who used an eight-run second inning to take charge as Mackenzie Conklin led the Trojans with two doubles and four RBIs and Cameryn Austin added a home run. McKenna Squier drove in all of the Cobras’ runs with singles in the third and fifth innings that scored Mancuso, Kelley and Emma Purce.
