With one more series to get through, the West Genesee baseball team wanted everything in top gear as its quest to end a 39-year Section III Class AA championship drought starts up again.
Thus, it only figured that the Wildcats’ series with Fayetteville-Manlius began last Monday night at Onondaga Community College’s turf field, since OCC would host this year’s title game and, one year ago, WG beat F-M in the sectional semifinals before dropping the final to Cicero-North Syracuse.
Little drama was found in this Wildcats-Hornets game, though. WG won big, 15-3, using a three-run third inning to break out of a 1-1 tie and then piling up seven runs in the top of the fourth, plus four more runs in the two innings that followed.
Against five different F-M pitchers, the Wildcats managed only 10 hits, but drew eight walks, three of them by Mike Bonacci, who also had a hit, scored twice and earned three RBIs. Marshall Winn, Matt Kot and Matt Frazee drove in two runs apiece as Brian VanBeveren scored twice.
Of course, WG pitcher Kyle Korzeniewski didn’t need all of those runs, giving up just five hits in six innings while striking out two.
Back home in Camillus for the second game of the series, WG honored its seniors – Frazee, Korzeniewski, Colin BeVard, Chris Petosa and Nick Graham – and then those seniors, especially Frazee, helped deliver a dramatic 8-7 victory over F-M.
The Hornets erased WG’s early 3-0 lead by scoring four runs in the top of the third, chasing BeVard, the starting pitcher, which made Kevin Donohue go into a long relief stint before Liam Barry worked a scoreless seventh inning.
Though the Wildcats went back in front, 6-4, with three runs in the bottom of the third, F-M scored twice in the fourth to tie it, 6-6, and then inched ahead with another run two innings later.
Entering the bottom of the sixth, WG still trailed 7-6, but then tied it in that frame and, an inning later, won it off Hornets reliever Anthony Nucerino, who took over on the mound after a six-inning starting stint from Colin Green.
Winn singled, moved to third on a throwing error and then dashed home with the tie-breaking run when Matt Frazee singled through the drawn-in infield, capping off a day where he had three hits and four RBIs.
Winn, BeVard, VanBeveren and Bonacci each drove in one run as Winn and VanBeveren got two hits apiece. Colin Sommers and Jackson Delmarsh both doubled and drove in two runs to pace F-M’s attack.
Going for the sweep Thursday afternoon at F-M, the Wildcats attained it, 12-5, in a game where it scored five runs in the first inning, yet saw the Hornets tie it, 5-5, in the bottom of the third, mostly due to two-run hits from Sean Putnam and Kyle Walters.
Not fazed by this, WG regained the lead with two runs in the fourth inning and then put it away with another five-run outburst in the top of the seventh. VanBeveren singled, doubled and triple, joining Winn as they both drove in three runs and scored five combined runs. Bonacci scored three runs as he got a pair of RBIs.
For the West Genesee softball team, 11-7 going into the last week of the regular season, it did not start in a smooth manner.
The Wildcats welcomed the challenge of traditional Class A power Jamesville-DeWitt last Monday at the OCC complex, could not get on the board in a 4-0 defeat to the Red Rams, who were no. 21 in the latest state Class A rankings.
J-D pitcher Amanda Sumida held the Wildcats to three hits, one each by Mallory Kovacs, Katie Drogo and Emily Winton, and overcame four walks (two to Drogo) as she recorded six strikeouts.
Sumida She also had a double and RBI as J-D grabbed a 2-0 first-inning lead, adding single runs in the fourth and sixth. Carly O’Hern drove in two of the Rams’ runs as Wildcats pitcher Deanna Shackleton took the loss.
WG did turn around, though, and beat Westhill 8-6 on Wednesday afternoon, seeing Winton and Amanda Prell both earn three RBIs as Elle Lazore and Grace Schnorr also drove in runs as Shackleton earned 14 strikeouts in the pitcher’s circle.
For Westhill, Melissa Newcomb tripled and singled as she and Katie Lobello both drove in two runs, with Nicole Moriarty and Leah Diefendorf adding one RBi apiece. DoriKlein contributed a pair of hits as she scored twice.
Given the no. 6 seed for the sectional Class AA tournament, WG’s softball team would face no. 3 seed Rome Free Academy in Wednesday’s quarterfinal, with the winner to get no. 2 seed Liverpool or no. 7 seed Syracuse in Saturday’s semifinals.
Meanwhile, the baseball Wildcats drew the no. 4 seed and would stay home for Thursday’s quarterfinal against no. 5 seed Baldwinsville. The winner goes to OCC Sunday for the semifinals, with Liverpool, the top seed, waiting if the Warriors get past Central Square.
