An extra 24 hours of rest could only help Baldwinsville baseball pitching ace Cody Kaestle.
And Kaestle used that extra rest to full advantage in last Tuesday’s series opener at Liverpool, where the Bees, combining timely hits with Kaestle’s one-hit gem, upended the Warriors 3-1 for its fifth win in six games.
Liverpool came into the game with an 8-1 record and took a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the third inning without the benefit of a hit, Jake Evans driving home Jonah Harder, but from there, Kaestle slammed the door.
In fact, the only hit Kaestle allowed was Michael Wright’s single. And though he also gave up three walks, Kaestle kept inducing grounders and fly balls that B’ville handled well, only committing a single error.
Meanwhile, the Bees got to Liverpool left-hander Jeff DeStefano for two runs in the top of the fifth and added an insurance run in the seventh. Billy Clifford doubled and drove in a run, while Carson Hayes and Tom McKee notched one RBI apiece. Cam Williams, David Cerqua and Elija Borja scored those runs.
Great as this was, the Bees’ 9-8, eight-inning victory over Liverpool on Wednesday afternoon proved even more thrilling because the Bees trailed most of the way before making a pair of late comebacks.
Liverpool seized a 2-1 lead in the second inning. It stayed that way until the fifth, when the Warriors netted three runs off Nick Borek – only to see the Bees answer with three runs of its own in the bottom of the fifth, chasing starter Joel Ciccarelli.
That set the stage for a wild seventh inning. Scoring twice, Liverpool extended its lead to 7-4, but three outs from victory, the Warriors squandered that edge as B’ville again staged a three-run rally and tied it, 7-7.
And even when Liverpool gained an 8-7 lead in the top of the eighth, it couldn’t hold on there, either, since the Bees tied it again in the bottom of the eighth and then brought home the winning run, too. Williams led the way at the plate, earning a season-best four RBIs. Cerqua also drove in a run
Now B’ville went for a sweep at Liverpool on Thursday afternoon – but never got close to it.
The Warriors unloaded on the Bees in a 17-2 romp, scoring four times in the first inning and then amassing eight runs in the top of the fourth, gathering up 18 hits by game’s end and helped in no small way by B’ville committing seven errors.
All that B’ville could manage was six hits and a pair of fifth-inning runs, off Liverpool starter Dillan Wilkknson one of them driven in by Williams’ double. Five pitchers – Cameron Morrissey, Keenan Nellis, Dan Rabe, Nate Valentine and Eljia Borja – saw mound time as Jake Evans led the Warriors with three hits and three RBIs.
Another big week awaits the Bees, who will play its series against West Genesee on three consecutive days, starting on Tuesday, and then host Fayetteville-Manlius Saturday.
