In order to climb to the top of the Salt City Athletic Conference standings, the Baldwinsville boys golf team knew it would have to play well against the likes of Fayetteville-Manlius.
So when those two powers met Sept. 1 at Timber Banks, the Bees didn’t waste that opportunity as Maxwell Dec, Ben Donohue and Matt Shipman led a 201-207 victory over the Hornets.
Dec shot the low nine-hole score of 38, with Donohue and Shipman both matching F-M’s Kyle Gilroy as they all shot 39. Then Ryan Fecco and Dan Reiser put together rounds of 44 that helped B’ville clinch the win and negate the Hornets getting a 39 from Adam Butch, a 42 from Mike Millimaci and a 43 from Sam DiChristina.
B’ville used that as a springboard to more success in the week that followed, showing tremendous depth in its lineup during last Wednesday’s 181-222 rout of Cicero-North Syracuse’s Green team.
Four Bees shot par or better as Dec and Donohue both posted 35, with Fecco and Reiser also in great form, each of them shooting 36. Trevor Tooke added a 39 as just one Northstars golfer, Pat Cuddy, broke 40, also finishing at 39.
But the far tougher C-NS Blue team awaited in a Friday-afternoon showdown at Timber Banks. With early control of the Salt City Athletic Conference Metro division race up for grabs among four teams, this match was crucial – and B’ville seized the moment, defeating the Northstars 203-206.
Again, Dec led the Bees, his 39 one shot behind C-NS Blue’s Brendan Villnave. Donohue had a 40, but B’ville didn’t go in front until Shipman and Tooke both posted 41 to match the total of the Northstars’ Justin Pellegrino.
Then Reiser clinched the victory with his solid 42, which equaled the scores of two C-NS Blue golfers, Jake Nardozza and Chase Hurley. Fecco wasn’t far behind, either, finishing his day with a 44.
Now it was B’ville and F-M (who beat West Genesee last Friday) sharing first place with 4-1 league marks. The Bees-Hornets rematch is Sept. 19 at Woodcrest, but before that, B’ville would take on West Genesee Tuesday and Syracuse Wednesday, plus a Sept. 18 match with Liverpool.
