One big aspect of the Solvay softball team’s success in 2016 was that, despite its extreme youth (no seniors and only a handful of juniors), it had shown plenty of character by the way it dealt with adversity.
Beaten 5-1 at home by Altmar-Parish-Williamstown on May 14, the Bearcats, who fell from no. 12 to no. 17 in the latest state Class B rankings, rebounded two days later by going to Baldwinsville and, getting another pitching gem from ace Lauren Nichols, shutting out the Bees by a 4-0 margin.
Nichols threw a one-hitter, only surrendering a single to Haley Parker while recording 12 strikeouts as she outdueled Bees ace Keeanna Wolcik, who managed 12 strikeouts of her own, but only lasted until the fifth inning, when Emma Bernet took over.
Solvay struck for two runs off Wolcik in the top of the first inning to go in front for good. It later added a pair of insurance runs in the seventh as Delana Thomas doubled, singled and earned two RBIs. Sam Farruggio and Ashley Bosco drove in the other runs.
In the Section III Class B playoffs, Solvay has the no. 2 seed and a first-round bye. The Bearcats could meet no. 7 seed Westhill in the quarterfinals if the Warriors beat no. 10 seed Holland Patent on Tuesday as Marcellus, the no. 8 seed, would host no. 9 seed Canastota, with a quarterfinal berth against top seed Adirondack on the line.
Marcellus began its pre-playoff push by going to Jordan-Elbridge last Monday and delivering a 7-1 victory over the Eagles. Having netted single runs in three of the first four innings, the Mustangs, up 3-1, broke it open with three runs in the top of the sixth on Emily Welch’s home run, plus a run in the seventh.
Alyssa Cook and McKenna Donegan each got four hits, Donegan contributing a triple and three runs scored. Emily Durand added three hits as J-E only got six hits, two each by Mia Arms, Gabriella Bard and Bailey Van Gordon, with Van Gorden scoring the Eagles’ lone run in the bottom of the third on Arms’ single.
On Friday, Marcellus would take on Westhill, and the Warriors would prevail, 5-4, in eight innings to secure the OHSL Liberty National division regular-season title and avenge an earlier 13-12 defeat to the Mustangs on April 13.
To get it, the Warriors needed to rally from a 4-1 deficit with three runs in the top of the sixth before pushing across the go-ahead run in extra frames when Melissa Newcomb singled, moved to third on a passed ball and single and scored on Nicole Moriarty’s sacrifice fly.
Newcomb got three hits and scored three runs, aside pitching a complete game that included six strikeouts. Katie Lobello’s pair of doubles led to two RBIs. On the Marcellus side, it had 10 hits to Westhill’s six, yet still lost as Evelyn Webster got two doubles and three RBIs, with Welch, Jayme Lema and Sydney Lewis also getting two hits and Laura Finn scoring twice.
In between those two games, Marcellus faced Fayetteville-Manlius last Tuesday afternoon and took a narrow 10-9 defeat. The Mustangs led, 7-3, before the Hornets scored a run in the fourth inning and erupted for six runs in the fifth.
Though Marcellus scored twice in the top of the sixth, it could not quite pull back even. Alyssa Cook had three hits, with Webster’s pair of hits leading to two RBIs. Finn, Lema and McKenna Donegan had two hits apiece.
Westhil routed Skaneateles 16-1 on Thursday, doing most of the damage in a five-run fourth inning and seven-run sixth inning. Bella Lavigne and Dori Klein each had three hits, three runs scored and two RBIs, while Tess Hogan drove in four runs. Lobello had two hits and three RBIs as Newcomb added three hits.
J-E began its last week of the season with a 15-1 defeat to the same APW side that had conquered Solvay, the first game of a doubleheader that also saw the Rebels win the second game by a comfortable 15-4 margin.
A 5-4 victory over Hannibal followed on Friday afternoon, the Eagles getting two hits apiece from McKayla Rohmer and Megan Bard as Brittany Sherman and Morgan Schneider joined Rohmer in the RBI column. Catherine Delaney walked three times and scored a pair of runs.
Playing its own twin bill last Tuesday against Pulaski, Bishop Ludden nearly got a sweep. The Gaelic Knights won the opener 16-9 because it responded quite well to the Blue Devils taking a 5-3 lead in the bottom of the fifth inning.
Ludden unloaded in the top of the sixth and stunned Pulaski with 11 runs in that frame. By game’s end, Bridget Brogan had two doubles and three RBIs, with Ally Weigand, Rachel Martens and Abby Bombard earning three hits apiece. Weigand and Emma Greenfield each drove in two runs, Greenfield scoring three times, as did Olivia Martens. Bomard, Taylor Fink and Sara Hayes had one RBI apiece.
In a close second game that lasted five innings, Ludden lost, 12-11, to Pulaski, scoring six runs in the first inning and four runs in the third to build an 11-3 lead, only to have the Blue Devils make a miraculous comeback with four runs in the third and then a five-run rally in the bottom of the fifth to pull it out.
Before it all fell apart, Hayes tripled, doubled and drove in three runs, with Rachel Martens adding a double and three RBIs. Weigand scored three runs. Abby Ward, with a double and four RBIs, and Julianna Finnerty, with two doubles and three RBIs, led the Pulaski comeback.
Another defeat followed on Thursday, Ludden falling to Fabius-Pompey 12-10 despite roaring out to a 10-3 lead through three innings as Hayes drove in four runs, with Meghan Wilkinson adding two RBIs as Fink went three-for-three. Brogan and Bombard drove in one run apiece.
Despite this seven-run advantage, the Gaelic Knights could not hold on. The Falcons chipped away with four runs to make it 10-7 before netting five runs in the top of the sixth to take the lead for good. Carly Powell (three RBIs), Kelsey White and Audrey McConnell (two RBIs apiece) led the comeback.
Ludden fell to 6-10 on the season, but qualified for the sectional Class C tournament as the no. 13 seed and would face no. 4 seed Herkimer in Tuesday’s opening round.
