For most of the season, the Jamesville-DeWitt and East Syracuse Minoa softball teams eyed each other and waited for a chance to resume their neighborhood rivalry on the diamond.
When it finally did take place on a chilly Monday afternoon, the state Class A no. 12-ranked Red Rams, especially Shayna Myshrall, were ready for its, as J-D’s steady effort produced an 8-2 victory over the Spartans.
Other than a fourth inning where Courtney Burgun and Shaina Brilbeck drove in ESM’s lone pair of runs, Myshrall kept the Spartans quiet, surrendering just five hits and one walk while striking out five.
Meanwhile, Myshrall had a lot to do with J-D going up 5-0 through three innings and scoring in every inning except the fourth, lacking only a home run for the cycle as she singled, doubled, tripled and earned an RBI. Amanda Sumida drove in two runs as Taylor Rodarmel got an RBI, joining Andrea Sumida in scoring twice.
The rematch came 24 hours later, and had the same result – only more lopsided in J-D’s favor as it went to ESM and prevailed 13-2, doing most of the damage in an eight-run second-inning eruption on the way to producing 16 hits.
Not only did Myshrall pitch her second complete game in as many days, she also went three-for-four and produced four RBIs with her bat, and Amanda Sumida wasn’t far behind, smashing a home run as one of her three hits and driving in three runs.
Mary Austin also got three hits as Sarina Alexander and Amanda LeClair both earned two hits and one RBI. Paige Keeler also drove in a run. Gilliane McCarthy had three of ESM’s five hits as she and Sam Short both drove in runs.
Yet another big game came on Wednesday, with J-D facing Cortland just nine days after the Red Rams handed the Purple Tigers its first defeat of the season on May 1 in a 17-2 blowout.
The rematch, while not as lopsided, would have the same result. J-D prevailed 8-1, wasting little time as it put across four runs in the first inning and two more in the second. Amanda Sumida tripled and finished with three RBIs as Alexander and Andrea Sumida each drove in two runs and Makenzie Keeler scored twice.
Myshrall wasn’t quiet, either, getting two singles, two runs scored and an RBI as she pitched her third strong game in as many days, giving up seven hits, but limiting Cortland to a single run in the second inning and striking out four while walking just two.
ESM, meanwhile, got back into gear on Wednesday with a doubleheader sweep of Mexico, both of them shutouts. The first game ended 9-0 as the Spartans, already with a solid lead, used five runs in the bottom of the fourth to break it open.
Short held the Tigers to three hits and earned eight strikeouts, while also getting two doubles and an RBI at the plate. Julia Jackson, Franchesca Polcaro and Aubrie Williams also had two-hit outings as Bella Pickard and Jenna Cerlanek joined Polcaro and Jackson in driving in runs.
The second ESM-Mexico game nearly matched the first, in terms of margin. The Spartans blanked the Tigers 8-0 as Shaina Brilbeck got her pitching turn and, like Short, threw a three-hit shutout, managing four strikeouts.
All nine ESM batters got at least one hit, and the Spartans finished with 17 as Williams and Short, with three hits apiece, led the charge. McCarthy, Brilbeck, Jackson and Mackenzie Rivers each got two hits as Rivers earned two RBIs. Pickard, Polcaro and Courtney Burgun each got one RBI.
On Thursday, ESM earned a third consecutive shutout, blanking Christian Brothers Academy 2-0 in a game where both sides had plenty of chances, with the Spartans earning eight hits and the Brothers seven hits, three of them by Abigail Benware.
The difference was that ESM converted two of those chances in the second and fourth innings, both times with Burgun getting on base and racing home on a single and double by McCarthy. Then Short did the rest, striking out seven in her complete-game effort to outpitch CBA’s Julia Boule, who took the loss.
Then the shutout streak reached four on Saturday as ESM claimed a 1-0 thriller over Marcellus. Evelyn Webster’s double was the only hit the Mustangs could manage. Otherwise, Short shut things down, recording 10 strikeouts.
Marcellus pitcher Isabel Rodolico matched those zeroes most of the way and gave up just four hits, but got dinged for a single in the fifth inning when McCarthy doubled home Pickard.
