As in some seasons past, the Baldwinsville baseball team would mix work and fun during its week spent at the Disney Wide World of Sports complex near Orlando, Florida during the school break.
Things started out well for the Bees on April 15 with a 14-0 romp over St. Joseph’s Villa (Virginia). Two days later, against Summit Country Day School from Cincinnati, Ohio, B’ville looked to be in trouble, but a massive sixth-inning rally helped it beat the Silver Knights 14-5.
Up 3-0 through two innings, the Bees could not maintain that edge as Summit tied it, 3-3, by the fourth inning and then scored twice in the top of the fifth. But then Josh Savocool, pitching in relief of Cameron Morrissey, shut out the Silver Knights in the top of the sixth.
Then B’ville went to work in the bottom of the sixth. By the time Summit got three outs, the Bees had nearly batted around twice, plating 11 runs in a continual parade as it eventually accumulated 17 hits overall.
Anthony May, Jarrod Williams and Cam Williams had three hits apiece, with Cam Williams getting four RBIs as Jarrod Williams drove in three runs. Tom McKee added two hits and two RBIs as May scored three times, joining Zach Bush, Carson Hayes and David Cerqua driving in single runs.
When it returned home from the Disney trip, B’ville went right back into Class AA competition on Saturday, hosting Rome Free Academy and taking a 5-4 defeat to the Black Knights.
A pair of second-inning runs got RFA in front 2-0, but B’ville countered with single runs in the second and fourth frames. Just as quickly, the Black Knights reclaimed the lead with a two-run rally in the top of the fifth.
B’ville closed within 4-3 in the bottom of the fifth, only to have RFA notch a run in the top of the seventh. With one more comeback attempt, the Bees got within one in the bottom of the seventh, but Black Knights pitcher Tyler Schoff got the final out in his complete-game effort.
Though B’ville managed eight hits, only Hayes had more than one, finishing with two RBIs. Dan Coogan also drove in a run as Hayes, Bush, Cam Williams and Alex Robinson each scored once. Left-hander Nate Valentine pitched 4 2/3 innings before Jason Savocool relieved him in the fifth.
While all that was going on, the Baldwinsville softball team was in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, once again, and won a series of games there.
Perhaps inspired by meeting with U.S. softball legend Jennie Finch, the Bees swept through its first three games, starting with a 6-3 victory over Georgetown, a local opponent from South Carolina.
Then it continued with the Bees facing Paul VI (Virginia) and prevailing 6-2, with B’ville not stopping there, taking on Gatlinburg-Pittman (Tennessee) and continuing to produce enough at the plate to defeat the Highlanders 9-5.
Making it three wins in a row, B’ville defeated St. John Jesuit, from Toledo, Ohio, by an 11-1 margin on Wednesday afternoon, and the good play was something B’ville hoped to continue when it resumed CNY Counties League action Tuesday at Cicero-North Syracuse, followed by a Thursday game against Jamesville-DeWitt and a return to the Gillette Road complex on Saturday for the Northstar Elite Tournament.
