When two of the top Section III Class A baseball contenders get together, and it just happens to be a local rivalry, the stakes only grow.
Such was the case when Jamesville-DeWitt hosted East Syracuse Minoa last Tuesday afternoon, both sides returning from weather-enforced layoffs and the Red Rams getting the best of it, defeating the Spartans 6-3.
Following an early exchange of runs, J-D seized control in the bottom of the third inning, scoring twice to take a 3-1 lead. It then tacked on three runs in the bottom of the fifth off ESM starter Ryan Seburn as Scottie O’Bryan got a pair of RBIs and Matt Cappelletti also drove in a run.
Meanwhile, J-D pitcher Josh Kowalczyk limited the Spartans to five hits and proved stingy until the sixth, when ESM scored twice, forcing the Rams to turn to reliever Casey Kretsch, who went the rest of the way to earn the save.
Before ESM could turn it around, it had to deal with Christian Brothers Academy ace Jack Sheridan, who pitched his best game of the season and helped the Brothers get a 2-0 victory over the Spartans.
For six innings, it proved quite a duel, Sheridan matched by ESM pitcher Zach Grevelding as neither of them allowed a run. Grevelding gave up just four hits, but bent in the top of the seventh when CBA struck for a pair of decisive runs. Sheridan completed his two-hitter from there, striking out seven overall.
Before all this, CBA took to the field last Monday, braving the cold conditions, but unable to warm up its bats during a 1-0 defeat to Fulton in its first head-to-head encounter with the Red Raiders since last season’s sectional Class A final.
Dom Spinoso pitched another gem for the Brothers, giving up just three hits and striking out 11. However, Fulton did push across a run in the top of the fourth as Nolan Bonnie’s double drove home Cole Cotton.
Meanwhile, CBA could not solve Red Raiders starter Bryce Guernsey, who in six innings overcame six walks to limit the Brothers to three hits – one each by Jack Sheridan, Tanner Coleman and Jason Boule. Josh Vanhorn then pitched a scoreless seventh inning for the save.
A day later, in the rematch with Fulton, CBA could not turn it around, taking a 7-4 loss because the Red Raiders pecked away at three different Brothers pitchers (Mike McCully, M.P. Geiss and David Gross), scoring in every inning except the second as Nolan Bonnie, with a home run and RBIs, led the charge.
Down 6-0, CBA did make it interesting with four runs in the top of the sixth off Fulton starter Will Caster, but got no closer as Josh Vanhorn relieved Castor and managed to earn the final outs.
ESM quickly recovered from the CBA defeat on Thursday – ironically, beating Fulton, the same side the Brothers los t to twice earlier in the week.
In this 6-4 victory, the Spartans could not hold an early 2-0 lead as the Red Raiders scored three runs in the top of the third and a run in the fifth. But in the bottom of the fifth, ESM broke through with four decisive runs.
Seburn, with two RBIs, and Nolan Penoyer, with two hits, paced a well-balanced Spartans lineup as Grevelding, Sam Jenkins, Colin Williams and Jimmy Griffin drove in one run apiece.
Then, on Friday, ESM swept a doubleheader from Mexico, prevailing 3-0 in the opener behind Tanner Waldman’s complete-game shutout where he held the Tigers to five hits and struck out four. Penoyer proved unstoppable at the plate, going three-for-three and stealing four bases. Grevelding added two hits and two RBIs.
The second game saw the Spartans beat Mexico 6-2, all of the runs coming in a six-run second inning where Penoyer, Seburn, Jenkins, Colin Williams, Justin Cessani and Jeff Loder each drove in runs. Pitcher Ricky Neuser went five innings, only allowing three hits before Griffin worked the rest of the way in relief.
Bishop Grimes lost, 4-1, to Jordan-Elbridge in its return to action last Tuesday afternoon, shut out by Eagles pitcher Dan Kuehnle until the sixth inning, when Zen Lapointe drove home Matt Tarby to cut J-E’s lead to 2-1.
But the Eagles countered with two insurance runs in the bottom of the sixth off Grimes starter Jordan Newman and saw Carson Ashby close it out with 1 2/3 innings of scoreless relief, Ashby and Kuehnle also earning RBIs at the plate.
