Though it was coming off back-to-back defeats, the Jamesville-DeWitt baseball team pulled out of that slide at a very opportune time.
The Red Rams would defeat Christian Brothers Academy 8-1 last Tuesday afternoon with a combination of strong pitching from Josh Kowalczyk and an attack that, at just the right moment, left the Brothers far behind them.
Kowalczyk nearly went the distance, pitching 6 2/3 innings and limiting CBA to six hits and a single run in the fifth inning. By that point, J-D was well out in front thanks to a five-run rally in the bottom of the second that chased Brothers starter A.J. Pankowski, though David Gross and M.P. Geiss would pitch well in relief.
J-D was aided, too, by CBA committing six errors. Thus, the Rams got eight runs despite just six hits, two of them by Gavin French as he and Andrew LeClair drove in two runs apiece. Scottie O’Bryan added an RBI as Parker Wing scored twice. Jason Boule drove in Tanner Coleman for the Brothers’ lone run.
Before all this, J-D was roughly handled by Class B power Vernon-Verona-Sherrill last Monday in a 20-4 defeat. Already trailing 3-0, the Red Rams saw the Red Devils score eight runs in the top of the third and seven more runs in the fourth to break it open.
LeClair still managed two hits and two RBIs, with Casey Kretsch adding an RBI. Matt Cappelletti had two hits and scored a run. VVS accumulated 19 hits, three of them by A.J. Farina, who doubled twice and got four RBIs as Davey Moffett also drove in three runs.
A busy Saturday on the diamonds saw J-D prevail 4-2 over Auburn at Falcon Park, but the real drama unfolded later that day at Onondaga Community College, where CBA pushed West Genesee far beyond regulation before taking a 4-3, 11-inning loss to the Wildcats.
Trailing 3-1 going to the top of the seventh, the Brothers tied it, scoring twice after WG removed starting pitcher Marshall Winn. A long standoff followed until, in the bottom o the 11th, the Wildcats’ Dan Purcell singled home Tyler Gould with the winning run.
Bryce Moore got credit for an RBI, but none of CBA’s batters managed more than one it. Also, the Brothers used five different pitchers, with Geiss going 4 2/3 innings in relief after stints from Pankowski, Gross, Mike McCully and Dom Spinoso.
East Syracuse Minoa started its week by hosting Oswego last Monday afternoon and getting a fine pitching effort from Tanner Waldman in a 4-1 victory over the Buccaneers.
It helped Waldman that the Spartans got to Oswego pitcher Mike Bruce for two runs in the second inning and two more runs in the fourth. Nolan Penoyer and Jimmy Griffin were credited with RBIs as Sam Jenkins had two hits and scored a run. Penoyer, Colin Williams and Zach Grevelding also scored runs.
Meanwhile, Waldman maintained a shutout until the sixth inning, when the Bucs earned its lone run as Matt See drove home Bruce. Still, Waldman had a complete game, limiting Oswego to five hits while earning six strikeouts to overcome three walks.
The return match with Oswego was even more lopsided, ESM bashing the Bucs 13-1 as it scored four runs in the third inning to get on the board and kept adding to that lead, peaking with a six-run rally in the top of the sixth.
Ryan Seburn pitched five innings, amassed 10 strikeouts and got plenty of run support. Jeff Loder went three-for-three, walked, scored twice and drove in a pair of runs as Jenkins added two hits and three RBIs. Penoyer and Colin WIlilams also had two RBIs as Griffin, James DePaul and Jack Silmeser each had on RBI.
Fayetteville-Manlius, like Bishop Grimes, took the route south to Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, with the Hornets starting its week with a 2-1 defeat to Andrews (South Carolina).
Both Andrews runs came in the fifth inning, and though F-M cut the margin to one on Isaac Blanford’s solo home run, it could not catch up. Only Blanford, Colin Sommers and Steve Laurie recorded hits as Sommers struck out nine in five innings before relief stints from Kyle Walters and Chris Maloney.
Turning around on Tuesday, F-M routed Holley (Section V) 16-1, a game lasting just five innings as the Hornets scored in every frame, aided by six Holley errors. Sommers, Laurie and Elliot Baker each had two RBIs, with Jack Grifo and John Egnaczyk scoring three runs apiece. Peter Miller pitched 4 1/3 innings and earned six strikeouts.
As for Bishop Grimes, it beat Princeton (Ohio) 11-2 for its first win of the season, scoring in every inning except the third and watching pitcher Matt Tarby hold the opposition to three hits and earn six strikeouts.
Shawn Gashi earned three of the Cobras’ 12 hits, including a double, and piled up four RBIs. Tarby and Joe Wike both finished with two hits and two RBIs as Todd Belton and Matt Vonden Steinen earned one RBI apiece.
