Do not tell the Solvay baseball team that Monday’s game against Westhill was not a league game and, as a result, didn’t count as much in the standings.
This was, after all, Solvay against Westhill, and the Bearcats like nothing more than taking the Warriors down, regardless of the venue or circumstances.
And that’s what went down, Solvay sprinting to an early four-run lead and then withstanding all of Westhill’s attempts to catch up in a 6-3 victory that completed a regular-season sweep for the Bearcats.
Jake Dippold’s no-hitter had helped Solvay prevail 8-1 at Westhill on April 18. The Warriors hadn’t lost since, and this time knew it wouldn’t have to worry about Dippold on the mound since he had started three days earlier in a 9-0 shutout of Jordan-Elbridge.
Instead, Jake Kyanka got the nod, and he got immediate help – first from a defense that picked off two Westhill runners in the top of the first inning. Bryan O’Mara was thrown out trying to score, and Ryan Roland was caught off second base moments later.
Energized by that escape, the Bearcats scored twice in the bottom of the first, helped by a pair of Warriors errors, including a potential inning-ending grounder that went through Roland’s legs at shortstop.
No help was required in the bottom of the second, when Mike Yaizzo crushed Joe Sweeny’s offering over the left-field fence for a two-run home run and a 4-0 Solvay lead.
Sweeny soon exited, and reliever Brad Canavan blanked the Bearcats until the fourth inning, by which point Westhill had cut its deficit to one, 4-3, but had also missed chances at more runs, stranding the bases loaded in the top of the third.
Kyanka escaped more trouble in the top of the fifth thanks to a 4-6-3 double play, and Blake Bagozzi’s RBI single in the bottom of the fifth made it 5-3 before Dippold doubled in the sixth and later scored on a fielder’ choice.
Back-to-back walks in the top of the sixth ended Kyanka’s stint, and Brett Peterson took over, getting out of that jam and then loading in the bases of the top of the seventh. With the tying runs on base, Peterson struck out Canavan, and Jesse Chester hit into a game-ending 6-4-3 double play, Chester beaten out by a hair at first base.
