With their actions at the plate, Jenna Wike and Katie Yudin built the lead. With her poise in the pitcher’s circle, Peyton Bellrose protected it – and in the process, the Liverpool softball team gained a third consecutive Section III Class AA championship.
Against its neighbors from Cicero-North Syracuse in Wednesday’s title game at the Gillette Road complex, the state no. 2-ranked Warriors blanked the Northstars 4-0 thanks to two rallies centered around the clutch hitting of Wike and Yudin.
The key to it, said Wike, was to “believe in yourself and know that you can’t let down your team.”
For Yudin, confidence was the key. “I knew how to get the job done,” she said.”
In the bottom of the first inning, that involved Wike coming to the plate with two out after Bellrose’s single. Following a wild pitch, Wike singled home the run and moved to second on the throw home, and then Wike scored when Yudin singled.
It was still 2-0 in the bottom of the fifth when Lauren Cerrone led off with a single and Erika Sadowski reached base with a bunt single. With two out, Wike returned and, again, delivered a single that scored a run, quickly followed by Yudin singling home Sadowski.
Meanwhile, Bellrose spent the entire game fighting a C-NS lineup that had seen her twice during the regular season, but hadn’t scored a run on either occasion.
Beth Bonin led off the game with a double and was bunted over to second base, but was stranded when Bellrose retired the next two batters. Bonin singled again in the third, but struck out in the fifth with a runner on base.
Even down by four runs, the Northstars weren’t discouraged. After all, it had come from behind in all three of its sectional playoff games against Auburn, Central Square and Baldwinsville, and it nearly did so again.
In the top of the sixth, Janelle Walters led off with a double. Brandi Keeney drew a walk, and when Gabi Corasaniti’s infield fly fell untouched, the bases were loaded with nobody out.
“I just had to stay calm and know that my team had my back,” said Bellrose. “Nothing worth having comes without a fight.”
The fight started when Sam Shallcross grounded to Dana Egan at third, who threw home to Cerrone for the force play. Then Meghan Bocyck popped out, and when Jessica Gonzalski lined out to Egan, Bellrose maintained her shutout, which she finished off an inning later.
Now, having just missed state Class AA titles the previous two years, Liverpool went back into the state tournament, going to Malta, near Saratoga, on Friday to face Section II champion Ballston Spa in the regional final.
“This is our year,” said Wike. “We have a heart and desire to win.”
