Whether it was the first meeting, or the second meeting, or the third and most important meeting, it ended in the same manner – with the Jamesville-DeWitt softball team proving too potent for Cortland to handle.
It was that third encounter that helped the Red Rams earn yet another Section III Class A championship as it pulled away late to defeat the Purple Tigers 8-1 Thursday at Onondaga Community College.
In its three sectional games, J-D outscored its opponents by a combined 35-4 margin. Cortland provided the final obstacle, convinced it was a much better team than the one that lost 17-2 and 9-1 decisions to the Rams a month ago.
As it turned out, the biggest problem J-D faced was just getting on the field. Originally, the final was scheduled for Wednesday at the Gillette Road complex in Cicero, but heavy rains moved all of the title games to the Field Turf at OCC, but then it got postponed again when weather delays pushed back the start times of two other finals.
Things were finally clear on Thursday, and the delay didn’t bother Rams pitcher Shayna Myshrall too much. All Myshrall did was retire the first 10 batters she faced.
But J-D didn’t take full advantage, at least not in the early going. In the bottom of the second, the Rams loaded the bases with three singles off Cortland pitcher Cady Walts, but managed just one run on Taylor Rodarmel’s infield grounder.
This gave the Purple Tigers some optimism, and in the top of the fourth it got to Myshrall as Sarah Boyce doubled and, with two out, Kacie Hubbard produced a double of her own that scored Boyce to tie it, 1-1.
All that did, though, was make J-D focus again at the plate, and in the bottom of the fourth the Rams moved in front for good with a single, walk, sacrifice bunt and Paige Keeler’s RBI single that, thanks to an error, netted two runs.
Myshrall did not allow another hit the rest of the way. J-D added a run in that frame to make it 4-1, then put the title away by scoring four times in the bottom of the sixth, Keeler and Myshrall both with run-producing hits and two Purple Tigers errors leading to two other runs.
The May 27 sectional semifinal at Onondaga Community College against no. 4 seed Camden displayed, again, the potency of the Rams’ lineup, as it patiently waited out the Blue Devils until a sixth-inning eruption turned a close battle into a 12-3 victory.
After surrendering a first-inning run, J-D went in front on Andrea Sumida’s two-run single in the bottom of the first. Camden pulled even, 2-2, in the second, and then made Rams fans worry a bit when Lilly Sullivan’s RBI single in the fourth put the Blue Devils in front by a run.
That lead didn’t last long. Makenzie Keeler’s double and an error tied it, 3-3, in the bottom of the fourth, and with Myshrall on third, a groundout by Sumida allowed the go-ahead run to score.
Still, it wasn’t until the bottom of the sixth that things broke open. Myshrall’s RBI triple ignited an eight-run rally that included two more triples, by Amanda Sumida and Mary Austin, and Myshrall returning later in that same inning to single home another run.
A day before J-D’s semifinal win over Camden, Christian Brothers Academy and Bishop Grimes both exited the sectional playoffs, CBA falling 8-0 to top seed Solvay in the sectional Class B quarterfinal and Grimes taking a 6-2 defeat to no. 3 seed Cato-Meridian in the Class C quarterfinal.
In CBA’s case, it could not Solvay pitching ace Lauren Nichols, who had thrown a perfect game against Vernon-Verona-Sherrill and got a one-hitter here, only allowing Catherine Burns’ single while striking out 12.
Julie Boule, pitching for the Brothers, got tagged for four runs in the bottom of the first, and the Bearcats added four more runs in the next two innings. Maya Martineau had three hits, scoring twice, while Nadea Davis saw her pair of hits lead to three RBIs. Caitlin McCann doubled, singled and drove in two runs.
For Bishop Grimes, the quest for payback against a Cato-Meridian team that beat them 9-7 on April 12 nearly worked, with the Cobras taking a 2-1 lead by the third inning, with one of the blows a solo home run by Kenna Kelley.
Pitcher Brianna Squier maintained that lead until the bottom of the fifth, when the Blue Devils scored twice to go in front, and Cato tacked on three insurance runs in the sixth as Hanna Keysor and Jacey Phillips led with two RBIs apiece. Grimes would go on to a narrow 6-5 defeat to Tully in the semifinals.
