In a single Monday morning, the West Genesee softball team announced itself as a title contender, and Solvay realized how difficult it would be to replicate the magic of its 2017 state Class B title run.
Going head-to-head at the start of a busy week during the April school break, the Wildcats took just six innings to put away the Bearcats 17-2, which for Solvay was a far cry from the 22 runs it scored when it beat Hannibal in its April 10 opener.
WG started out with modest totals in the first three innings, but it still amounted to a 6-2 lead, and in the bottom of the fourth the Wildcats broke it open by batting around and scoring eight runs.
Ultimately, WG got 17 hits, with Mya Case doubling twice, tripling and getting three RBIs. Katie Drogo also had two doubles as she and Abbey VanHorn both matched Case’s three-RBI output.
Emily Winton had two hits and scored four runs as she, along with Teagan Dow, Mia Bresadola, Kayla Hoovler, Maddy Tibbetts and Kaylee Shackleton, gained one RBI apiece. Olivia Pontello scored a pair of runs.
Shackleton pitched four innings for the Wildcats, giving up both Solvay runs (one driven in each by Caitlin McCann and Nadea Davis), before Hoovler tossed two shutout innings of relief.
When they went their separate ways on Tuesday, WG played twice and split those games, beating CBA 15-6, but taking a 10-0 defeat to defending Section III Class AA champion Cicero-North Syracuse.
Against CBA, the Wildcats used a six-run second inning and four-run third inning to build an 11-0 lead as Drogo belted a home run, doubled, singled twice and got four RBIs.
Case had three hits, scored four times and got two RBIs as Maddy Lux also drove in two runs. Winton scored three runs and Pontello scored twice as she and Dow both had one RBI.
WG then routed Fayetteville-Manlius 17-2 on Friday afternoon, improving its overall record to 6-1.
Solvay quickly resumed its winning ways against Jordan-Elbridge as the Bearcats prevailed 7-1, quickly recovering after the Eagles took a 1-0 lead in the first inning on Alexis Delfavero’s double and Gabriella Bard’s RBI single.
From there, Solvay pitcher Delana Thomas blanked J-E, holding them to four hits overall. Meanwhile, the Bearcats tied it in the bottom of the first, scored twice an inning later and broke it open with three runs in the fifth.
Thomas and Hannah Martineau both doubled twice and got two RBIs. Maya Martineau scored a pair of runs as McCann, Lauren Hurd and Sydney Chaffee got one RBI apiece.
Westhill had its long-awaited season debut last Tuesday and handled Chittenango 10-0, just as Marcellus took on Tully and also reached double digits in an 11-1 romp over the Black Knights.
Steadily, the Mustangs gained an 8-0 lead on Tully through three innings, eventually earning 13 hits. Evelyn Webster had four of those hits, including a double, and piled up five RBIs.
Caroline Trytek and Emma MacLachlan each had two hits as they joined Emily Durand and Hannah Durand in the RBI column. Pitchers Aubrey Fraher and Isabel Rodalico combined to hold the Black Knights to four hits.
Facing Mexico on a rainy Wednesday afternoon, Marcellus scored 15 runs in the first inning, batting around twice as it went on to crush the Tigers 19-3.
Amid the hit parade, Hannah Durand piled up five RBIs, while Emily Weeks drove in four runs. MacLachlan added a pair of RBIs as Trytek, Fraher, Shannon Kellar, Ellie Mahoney and Hannah Durand also drove in runs.
More offense was on display in Friday’s 15-2 win over Fulton, with the Mustangs scoring in every inning, capped by an eight-run outburst in the top of the fourth.
Mahoney singled, doubled, tripled and drove in four runs. Alyssa Cook also had three hits as she and MacLachlan each got two RBIs. Emily Durand scored three runs as she and Jessie Majo drove in one run apiece.
