In many different respects, this was the most important week of the season for the Liverpool softball team.
Though it already owned a 9-0 record and was placed at no. 4 in the first state Class AA rankings of the season, the Warriors knew it would get tested by it most noted rival, Cicero-North Syracuse, in the middle of the week and then in a bigger way by state no. 1-ranked Shenendehowa Saturday afternoon.
Both games took place at the Gillette Road complex, and Liverpool faced C-NS first, engaging in a tense, scoreless duel before a late breakthrough, and a bit of power, helped the Warriors get past the Northstars 6-0.
All through the first four innings, Liverpool pounded out hits against C-NS pitcher Gabby Corasaniti, but could not put a run across the plate. But the Warriors stayed patient and, in the top of the fifth, broke through, scoring four times before adding single runs in the sixth and seventh.
What made it more encouraging for Liverpool was the way Erika Sadowski and Joelle Nesci stepped up. Sadowski pounded out four of the Warriors’ 14 hits, including a double, and drove in a run, while Nesci hit her first home run of the season and earned three RBIs. Jenna Wike and Dana Egan each had two hits and one RBI.
Somehow, Peyton Bellrose got held without a hit at the plate, but again was superb in the pitcher’s circle, limiting C-NS to three hits, one each by Corasaniti, Janelle Walters and Victoria Dunn, and striking out four while giving up two walks and getting error-free defense behind her.
Three days later, and back at Gillette, Liverpool met up with Shenendehowa, who was coming off a loss to Columbia the day before, but was still quite motivated, given that the Warriors beat the Plainsmen in the regional Class AA finals a season ago.
The result was different here, with Liverpool taking its first loss of the season, 3-0, to Shen. A pair of passed balls led to a third-inning run, and the Plainsmen added to it with Kelly Baskevich’s solo home run in the fourth and another run in the seventh driven in by pitcher Abby Shields.
Using a variety of fastballs and off-speed pitches, Shields held the Warriors to three hits. More importantly, her teammates preserved the shutout with tremendous defensive plays, from Sadie Evans’ diving catch with two on in the fourth inning to throwing out Nicole Cerrone at home plate on Sadowski’s double an inning later.
Against another Section II power, Averill Park, a few hours later, Liverpool nearly got upended again, but dragged the contest to extra innings, where it put together a timely rally to prevail by a 6-2 margin.
A pair of first-inning runs nearly held up, but Averill Park tied it, 2-2, in the sixth inning. It stayed that way until the top of the ninth, when Liverpool struck for four decisive runs.
Bellrose not only struck out 11 and held Averill Park to three hits in her complete-game effort, she went five-for-five at the plate, scoring twice and earning an RBI, while Katie Yudin had three hits, including a double, and three RBIs. Wike and Sadowski each got two hits.
While Liverpool awaited its weekend gauntlet, C-NS rebounded Thursday to shut out Rome Free Academy 3-0, Corasaniti able to keep the Black Knights off the board despite giving up seven hits and two walks.
Throughout that game, the Northstars used strong defense to thwart RFA, and while it only managed eight hits of its own, C-NS did get a 1-0 first-inning lead and tacked on single runs in the sixth and seventh innings, Beth Bonin scoring twice and Sam Shalcross getting the other run as Brandi Feeney earned an RBI.
A day later, meeting Central Square, the Northstars cooled down a Redhawks team that had just won all four of its games at a tournament in Oswego, prevailing 7-1 by scoring twice in the first and second innings and adding a run in the third for a 5-0 lead,
Amid a 16-hit barrage, C-NS saw Walters earn three hits, while Julianna Vassallo and Beth Bonin each got two hits and two RBIs. Brandi Feeney scored twice as she and Shallcross both drove in runs. Corasaniti only surrendered a single run, in the third inning, but held Central Square to seven hits and only walked one.
As the hosts for the weekend tournament, C-NS would also take the field twice, against Bethlehem (Section II) and Pittsford Mendon (Section V) and, and would win neither of those games.
C-NS fell to Bethlehem 9-5 in a game where the Eagles scored five runs in the second inning, but still needed a three-run rally in the sixth to fend off the Northstars’ late comeback. Feeney still had two doubles and two RBIs, with Bonin scoring twice. Janelle Walters and Jessica Callisto had one RBI apiece.
Against Mendon, the Northstars could not get on the board, falling to the Vikings 4-0 as it managed just four hits, one each by Bonin, Callisto, Shalcross and Victoria Dunn. Corasaniti gave up eight hits as Mendon netted single runs in the second and fifth innings, and two more in the seventh to get away.
