Though the Jamesville-DeWitt softball team holds the Section III Class A crown, it knows full well that Oneida wants it back.
And when the two sides went head-to-head last Monday afternoon, the Indians went out in front early, answered the Red Rams’ rally with a big hit of its own and then hung on late to hand J-D a 4-2 defeat.
Easy wins in its first three games had given the Rams plenty of momentum, but Oneida was also 3-0, and would waste little time getting in front against J-D pitcher Amanda Sumida as Natalie Marshall’s single scored Briana Laureti.
At the plate, the Rams could not capitalize on scoring chances, putting five runners on base in the second and third innings without plating a run as Indians pitcher Kyra Sholtzhauer kept escaping. Then Oneida made it 2-0 in the fourth when Marshall smashed an RBI double.
Finally, J-D got to Holtzhauer in the top of the fifth, helped by an error that scored one run and led to Sumida singling home Makenzie Keeler to tie it, 2-2. That tie didn’t last, though, as Sholtzhauer drilled a two-run double in the bottom of the fifth to put Oneida back in front.
Still down by two in the top of the seventh, the Rams went up against Indians reliver Kylie Chesebro. Paige Keeler and Makenzie Keeler both singled, and then, after two strikeouts, a walk loaded the bases – but Chesebro recorded one more strikeout to end it.
J-D would recover to beat Homer 7-3 a day later, sprinting to an early 3-0 lead and, after the Trojans pulled within 4-3, adding three more runs in the fifth and sixth innings to get a cushion.
Shayna Myshrall, Sara Gow and Makenzie Keeler led the Rams with two hits apiece. Gow also scored a pair of runs as Sumida, Myshrall, Keeler, Alexis LaClair, Mary Austin and Sarina Alexander each earned one RBI. Myshrall pitched all seven innings and struck out five, holding Homer to six hits.
East Syracuse Minoa would prove strong in last Monday’s game at Oswego, bashing the Buccaneers 10-3. Two-run rallies in the first and third innings were followed by the Spartans using three runs in the fourth inning and three more runs in the sixth to put Oswego away.
Sam Short augmented her complete-game, 10-strikeout pitching effort with two doubles and two RBIs at the plate. Julia Jackson’s pair of hits led to three RBIs as Aubrie Williams reached base four times with a walk and three singles, leading to three runs scored. Short, Jackson and Franchesca Polcaro each scored twice.
The rematch between ESM and Oswego was even more lopsided, the Spartans handling the Bucs 13-3 as it scored seven runs in the first inning to seize control and give pitcher Shaina Brilbeck a cushion that she carried to a complete-game, five-strikeout effort.
Polcaro finished with three hits, as did Gilliane McCarthy. Brilbeck helped her own cause with a pair of RBIs as Jackson also drove in two runs. Short scored two runs as she, along with Polcaro, McCarthy and Bella Pickard, had one RBI apiece.
Just when it looked like ESM was rolling, though, it ran into Fulton slugger Aryelle Barbagallo, who with her bat carried the Red Raiders past the Spartans 7-6 on Thursday afternoon.
As Fulton built a 4-0 lead, in the first five innings, Barbagallo doubled twice and singled, driving in all four of her team’s runs. ESM countered with two runs in the bottom of the fifth and a four-run rally in the sixth to go up, 6-4, keyed by McCarthy’s double, triple and two RBIs as Williams, Tori Malbone and Jenna Cerlanek also drove in runs.
Protecting that two-run margin in the seventh, Brilbeck, who had relieved Short in the fifth, loaded the bases, again bringing up Barbagallo, who cleared those bases with a three-run, go-ahead double to push her RBI total to seven. Stunned, the Spartans could not score in the bottom of the seventh.
Fayetteville-Manlius dropped a 13-10 decision to Whitesboro last Monday afternoon, and things didn’t improve much in Wednesday’s 6-1 loss to Syracuse, shortened to five innings by rain.
Isabella Bastian drove Lily Fish home with the Hornets’ lone run in the top of the first inning. Syracuse countered with three runs in the bottom of the first and further added to the lead as Haleigh Michaud hit a home run and got two RBIs, with Adonia Wade doubling twice and driving in a run.
However, F-M did win, 9-1, over Christian Brothers Academy on Thursday afternoon, gaining a 2-0 edge through three innings and then taking over with five runs in the bottom of the fourth.
Emily Gryczka led the Hornets with three hits and two runs scored. Fish added two hits as she matched Gryczka, Sarah Vaccaro and Alex Monasefsky in scoring twice. Catherine Burns drove in CBA’s lone run in the sixth inning.
