Plenty more games remained for the Solvay and Westhill baseball teams following the Bearcats’ second regular-season win over the Warriors on May 16.
And none was bigger than Solvay’s visit to Skaneateles, where, with Jake Dippold pitching another gem, the Bearcats avenged its April 19 defeat to the Lakers in a 3-0 shutout that still featured plenty of tension.
Immediately, Solvay went in front against Lakers pitcher Jim Drancsak, scoring twice in the top of the first inning. With the bases loaded, Brett Peterson singled, scoring Dippold and also Sammy Kippen, who just beat the throw home.
Dippold mowed down the Lakers in the first four innings, only allowing one hit, not getting into trouble until the fifth, when an error and hit batsman put two men on with two out before Joe Pitman hit it deep – but flew out.
Already two-for-two with a walk, Dippold added a sacrifice fly in the top of the seventh following Mike Yaizzo’s one-out triple. Then he had to endure a tense bottom of the seventh where pinch-hitter Tommy Scherrer doubled, Marc Pietropaoli walked on four pitches and Pitman beat out an infield hit to load the bases.
With the tying runs on base, the Lakers’ Pete Knupp had a chance to pull his team even with an extra-base hit, or even win it with a home run – but on the first pitch, he flew out, and the Bearcats had escaped with both the win and the OHSL Liberty National division regular-season title, having gone 12-0 in league games and 18-2 overall.
In between the bigger games, Solvay did not overlook Wednesday’s visit to Marcellus, prevailing 11-3 by jumping all over Mustangs starter Matt Spicer and chasing him with nine runs in the first two innings, tacking on two more in the fourth off reliever A.J. Tone.
Sammy Kippen had three hits and scored three runs, with Dippold also scoring three times. Yaizzo and Mike Cimino both scored twice as Bagozzi overcame the Mustangs’ three-run first inning by combining with Josh Posnick to blank Marcellus the rest of the way.
Westhill, meanwhile, met Bishop Ludden Wednesday and had little trouble here, defeating the Gaelic Knights 12-5. It went from there to Thursday’s game at Marcellus, where the Warriors unloaded again in a 14-2 romp over the Mustangs.
Scoring in every inning except the third against Marcellus, Westhill finished with 20 hits, three of them by Chris Coates, who produced four RBIs. Canavan went deep for a home run as he, along with Roland, Chester, Alex Kiley and Dante Furco, got two hits apiece. Ace John Geer only needed to work five innings, striking out five and holding the Mustangs to three hits.
Back home Friday, Westhill handled Altmar-Parish-Williamstown 10-0 on Senior Day. Connor Tackley pitched four innings, striking out seven, before Corey DeMauro worked the rest of the way and managed five strikeouts while maintaining the shutout.
When the sectional playoff brackets were revealed on Sunday, Solvay had the top seed and Westhill the no. 2 seed. Both have first-round byes and will play quarterfinals on Thursday against opening-round survivors – the Bearcats against Clinton or Bishop Grimes, the Warriors against Skaneateles or Canastota.
