It only took two games for the Cazenovia baseball team to find the win column in 2017, the effort in last Monday’s game against visiting Phoenix marked by superb pitching from Matt and Burk Regan that resulted in a 4-1 victory over the Firebirds.
Matt Regan held Phoenix to four hits in a complete-game effort, piling up 10 strikeouts while only surrendering one walk and a fifth-inning run. By then, the Lakers had all the offense it needed thanks to a run in the third inning and two more runs in the fourth.
An insurance run in the sixth provided more of a cushion as Burk Regan notched two hits, as did Anthony Vecchiarelli, who earned an RBI as Evan Begley also drove in a run. Ian Marshall scored twice as Dan Hammond and Ben Nichols also crossed the plate for the Lakers.
Two days later, the Lakers faced Westhill and lost, 7-3. Down 2-0 through one inning, Cazenovia tied it, 2-2, in the top of the second, only to have the Warriors answer with two in the bottom of the second and put it away with three runs in the fifth. Ben Coates, C.J. Walsh and John Geer led Westhill with two RBIs apiece, and Geer pitched a complete game, too, limiting the Lakers to four hits.
Defense made a difference as the Lakers made four errors to Westhill’s none. Begley, Eric Ketcham and Judson Spaulding each drove in a run as Anders Hansen had a hit and run scored, with Anthony Vecchiarelli also getting a hit. Regan pitched five innings before Begley took over in relief.
Playing its OHSL Liberty division opener last Monday afternoon, Chittenango went to Skaneateles and got run over early in a 17-1 defeat to those other Lakers.
Skaneateles jumping all over the Bears in the bottom of the first inning, nearly going twice around the order and not letting up until 10 runs were on the board.
Seven more runs followed in the third and fourth innings, Skaneateles led by Kenny Peterson, who earned three hits, two of them doubles, and set a career mark by recording six RBIs.
Jake Reed had two hits and two RBIs. Adam Lupo and Josh McCabe also drove in two runs as single RBIs went to Tommy Reed, Michael Murphy and Matt Neumann. Murphy scored three runs as four pitchers – Lupo, Tommy Scherrer, Tyler Schneider and Jacob Nesbitt – combined to hold Chittenango to two hits and a lone run scored by Tom Valentine in the seventh inning.
Just before going to Skaneateles, Chittenango had a game on April 9 against Oneida, but struggled there, too, in an 8-1 defeat. James Dick led the Indians with three hits, two runs scored and two RBIs as Jorden Barlow also drove in a pair of runs. Casey Rich and Tanner Williams both got two hits and two runs scored.
Right after Cazenovia took its loss to Westhill, the Bears met the Warriors and lost, 5-1, For five innings Devon Spaulding stymied Westhill, but Tom Cunningham nearly matched him, only giving up Mike Culkin’s third-inning single that scored Noah Schnauffer.
Staying patient, the Warriors got to Spaulding for a run in the sixth, and then broke through with four runs in the top of the seventh off Spaulding and reliever Tim Ryder. Philip Zollo led the comeback with a pair of RBIs.
Chittenango did prevail, 3-2, over Indian River in a game where single runs in the first two innings put the Bears in front, but it still needed a run in the sixth to win it.
Spaulding tossed two innings of relief following Valentine’s five-inning stint. Schnauffer and Spaulding each drove in runs as Tom Rooney, Zach Jasmin and Mike Culkin scored those runs.
But the opening week ended on a rough note, Chittenango falling 16-2 to Central Square, who scored at least twice in each of the first five innings, including a six-run rally in the bottom of the fourth after Schnauffer and Joe Mosack drove in runs for the Bears earlier that inning.
