The Solvay baseball team, badly needing a win, got one in a 10-6, eight-inning decision over Marcellus last Tuesday afternoon where it led early, only to have the Mustangs score four runs in the fifth to erase its 4-1 deficit. But the Bearcats tied it, 5-5 in the sixth, and then plated five runs in the top of the eighth to pull through.
Jake Dippold scored four times as Zach Chrysler got three hits. Owen Lansing and Joey Guadagnolo joined Dippold and Cimino with two-hit efforts. For Marcellus, Matt Spicer tripled as he, along with Jake Schettine, John Houser and Ryan Pierce, each drove in a run.
This led to Senior Day on Wednesday as Solvay took on Cazenovia and defeated the Lakers 4-1, getting a great outing on the mound from Josh Posnick, who in 6 1/3 innings limited the Lakers to three hits while earning 10 strikeouts.
Solvay didn’t waste time, scoring all of its runs in the first two innings off Cazenovia starter Matt Regan. Cimino and Alex Britoon drove in those runs, two apiece, with Britton hitting the game’s only home run.
Posnick would pitch 4 1/3 innings, with 2 2/3 innings of help from Dippold, as Solvay edged Hannibal 2-1, matching runs with the Warriors in the fourth inning after scoring in the bottom o f the first.
Then, on Sunday, the Bearcats found out it had the no. 9 seed in the Section III Class B playoffs and would play no. 8 seed Oneida in the first round, just as Westhill found out it had the no. 3 seed and would await Chittenango or Lowville in its opening-round game.
Westhill was back in action on Wednesday by going to Altmar-Parish-Williamstown won 7-1 behind the pitching of John Geer, who held the Rebels to two hits and amassed 12 strikeouts in his last start of the regular season.
A three-run second inning got the Warriors in front, but it still needed four total runs in the sixth and seventh innings to get clear as Andrew O’Connor produced the only two-hit outing. Geer hit a solo home run as Dante Furco earned two RBIs. Ben Mrozek and Ben Coates joined O’Connor with one RBI apiece.
Two days later, Westhill prevailed again, fighting past Pulaski 4-3 to improve its overall record to 15-3, and it wasn’t easy. The Blue Devils led, 2-0, before the Warriors tied it in the bottom of the sixth.
Then, in the seventh, Pulaski regained a 3-2 edge, only to have Westhill put in the tying and winning runs in the bottom of the seventh, Geer, Coates, O’Connor and Corey Frassica each had RBIs in the comeback as Luke Bennett and Jordan Marcano got two hits apiece.
Westhill would not be as fortunate on Saturday, taking a 5-2 loss to Syracuse.
Jordan-Elbridge made it four wins in a row by edging APW 3-2 last Tuesday afternoon, the Eagles scoring a run in the bottom of the seventh to pull it out after scoring twice in the third inning, only to have the Rebels tie it in the top of the fifth.
Dan Kuenhle pitched a complete game for J-E, surrendering seven hits but striking out six without walking a batter. He also had two hits and two runs scored as Jordan Osborn added two hits and earned two RBIs. Carson Ashby drove in a run and Brenden Rohmer had a hit and run scored.
But the win streak ended Wednesday with an 8-2 loss to Pulaski as the Blue Devils bolted to a 7-0 lead through three innings. Osborn took the loss, and though Zach Fabrize pitched four strong innings of relief, the Eagles couldn’t solve Pulaski starter Jacob Mosher. Only Dylan Groom managed two hits, with Ashby earning an RBI.
Still, with a 12-1 romp over Hannibal on Friday, the Eagles would have five wins in six games heading into the sectional tournament, where, with a no. 16 seed, it would need to beat Cazenovia on Monday to get a shot at top seed Watertown IHC in the next round.
Marcellus faced rival Skaneateles, last Wednesday, and took a 6-3 defeat to the Lakers, though the Mustangs didn’t let Tommy Scherrer match the no-hitter he threw in his previous start against Altmar-Parish-Williamstown.
For five innings, Marcellus could not get much, but that changed when it struck for two runs in the bottom of the sixth to cut the margin to 4-3, requiring the Lakers to answer with two runs in the top of the seventh to restore its eventual winning margin.
In 6 2/3 innings before Lupo recorded the final out, Scherrer gave up eight hits and earned eight strikeouts. Ethan Molinari took the loss with his own 6 2/3 inning stint as he earned an RBI at the plate, with Matt Shoemaker and Matt Spicer each earning a pair of hits.
On Saturday, Marcellus took a 6-5 defeat to East Syracuse Minoa, and would find out that it got the no. 20 seed in the sectional Class B tournament, proceeding to a game Monday against no. 13 seed Genera l Brown to see who would get no. 4 seed South Jefferson a day later.
Bishop Ludden put together a 9-0 shutout of Weedsport last Tuesday afternoon, moving above the .500 mark (8-7) overall in the process. The game mostly belonged to Gaelic Knights pitcher Kevin Hawk, who held the Warriors to a single hit and allowed just one walk while striking out seven.
It helped, too, that Ludden scored five runs in the first inning to get control. Nick Reppi led the way, earning four RBIs overall as Hawk and John Duffy got three hits apiece and Duffy scored four times. Jason Hoffman doubled and joined Duffy and Tom Westers, each of them driving in one run.
A day earlier, the Gaelic Knights lost, 7-3, to Homer, unable to hold on to early 2-0 and 3-2 leads as the Trojans used three runs in the bottom of the third to go in front for good. David House, Ed Walser and Zach Cadden had one RBI apiece as Westers and Duffy each got two hits. Walser and Cadden each pitched three innings.
Then Ludden beat Tully 3-1 on Friday afternoon, hoping that the strong pitching it showed down the stretch would carry over into this week’s sectional games. As the no. 3 seed in Class C, the Gaelic Knights have a first-round bye and will face no. 6 seed Westmoreland or no. 11 seed Frankfort-Schuyler in the quarterfinals.
