Good news continues to arrive for the Solvay softball team, who was no. 12 in the latest edition of the state Class B rankings and, more importantly, continued to display an ability to pull out close decisions as it split two games against its toughest OHSL Liberty division foes.
In last Monday’s trip to Altmar-Parish-Williamstown, the Bearcats jumped to an early lead, but had to hold on to beat the Rebels 4-3.
All of Solvay’s runs came in the first two innings as Lauren Nichols doubled and got two RBIs, with Nadea Davis driving in the other two runs. From there, though, APW pitcher Amber Rice settled down and blanked the Bearcats the rest of the way.
Nichols did surrender a run in the bottom of the first, but nothing more. Despite nine hits from the Rebels, the Bearcats constantly got out of trouble with error-free defense as Nichols overcame two walks and two hit batsmen by recording 11 strikeouts.
A rematch with APW loomed on Saturday, and after years of close calls, the Rebels finally conquered Solvay, doing so in a 5-1 decision where DeShae Jones stole the show.
They were still 0-0 when, in the top of the third, Jones hit a two-run home run off Nichols. Not content with that, Jones went deep again for a two-run shot in the top of the fifth, APW tacking on a run in the sixth as it overcame 14 strikeouts from Nichols.
Meanwhile, Rice shut out Solvay until Thomas doubled and Nichols drove her home in the bottom of the sixth. All told, Solvay got just four hits against Rice, who accumulated 10 strikeouts and only walked a pair.
Before that, Solvay had a doubleheader against Cazenovia, which produced back-to-back shutouts. In the 13-0 opener, Nichols and Ashley Bosco each drove in three runs as Delana Thomas pitched two innings after Nichols struck out eight of the nine batters she faced.
In the second game, it went 21-0 in the Bearcats’ favor, the spark ignited by an 11-run first inning as Solvay eventually accumulated 15 hits and got helped by six Lakers errors.
Combined, Nichols and Thomas had 10 strikeouts and only allowed three hits. At the plate, Nichols went three-for-three, scored four runs and joined Bosco and Davis by earning three RBIs. Thomas and Aleah Yaizzo each drove in two runs as Thomas scored four times. Maya Martineau, Caitlin McCann and Hope Rivera had one RBI apiece.
Ironically, APW swept its own twin bill against Cazenovia on Friday, and hours later would get an even bigger win at Solvay, further adding drama as both sides head toward the Section III Class B playoffs.
Jordan-Elbridge, who was scheduled to face Solvay on Friday before it got postponed, was coming off last Monday’s tough 5-4 defeat to Syracuse, who scored all of its runs in the first two innings and held on despite the Eagles erasing most of its 5-2 deficit with two runs in the third inning.
From there, it turned into a standoff, but J-E couldn’t tie it. Mia Arms had an RBI, joining Annie Altwarg and Gabriella Bard in scoring runs. Shannon Reed led Syracuse with a double and two RBIs.
A day later, J-E met Skaneateles and lost, 9-6, a frustrating game where the Eagles erased a 6-1 deficit with five runs in the fifth and sixth innings, only to surrender three runs to the Lakers in the bottom of the sixth.
Libby Baker had led J-E’s comeback, hitting a home run, double and single and earning four RBIs. Emily Bard doubled and drove in a run as Altwarg had the other RBI. Morgan Schneider and Bailey Van Gorden scored two runs apiece.
Then the Eagles lost 11-0 to Hannibal on Wednesday, getting just four hits – one each by Altwarg, Baker, Emily Bard and Morgan Schneider – off Warriors pitcher Lexi Alfano. A four-run first inning gave Hannibal all it needed, though it added seven runs in the fifth and sixth frames as Megan Norris had four hits and two RBIs.
