All that the Baldwinsville baseball team had built up by winning seven consecutive games led to its first-place series showdown with West Genesee that bridged April and May.
Even before the first pitch, though, the series was special. B’ville tabbed last Monday’s opener as Military Appreciation Day, a joint effort with the varsity softball Bees.
Prior to the game, veterans from World War II, Korea, Vietnam, Afghanistan, the Gulf War and Iraq were honored, as they all threw out the ceremonial first pitch.
Then it was players’ turn, and B’ville delighted the home fans by handing West Genesee its first defeat of the season in a 5-2 decision.
All of the damage was done in the bottom of the second inning. The Bees got to Wildcats starter Brian Hartnett for four runs, chasing him from the mound, and tacked on another run in the fourth against reliever Jack Gordon.
Meanwhile, Jason Savocool again pitched well, striking out nine and limiting WG to six hits and one walk. Frank Levanti drove in two of B”ville’s runs, with Jack Andres and Matt Mercurio each getting a hit, run scored and RBI. Jacob Marshall, Lucas Robinson and Pat May also scored runs.
The second game 24 hours later in Camillus produced a different result, B’ville absorbing its first defeat of the season as a sixth-inning rally helped WG prevail by a score of 4-1.
Left-hander Jack Andres did all that he could, not only pitching well, but twice picking off WG’s Chris Bonacci as the Bees threw out Wildcats runners in the basepaths in every single inning.
Yet B’ville could only muster a single run, manufactured in the top of the second when Cam Williams legged out an infield hit (the Bees’ only hit of the game), stole second, stole third with two outs and scored on Dylan Steinman’s wild pitch.
It stayed 1-1 until the bottom of the sixth, when Bonacci, atoning for his earlier baserunning gaffes, legged out a triple and scored on Nick Chemotti’s single. Run-scoring hits by Timmy Winn and Joe Comins followed.
Steinman pitched 4 2/3 innings, exiting in the fifth following a pair of walks, but reliever Ryan Paige got out of that jam and blanked B’ville the rest of the way.
The Bees knew that, for the third game on Thursday, it would have to face WG ace Liam Barry, who proved quite good, though he got lots of help as he handed the Bees a 9-0 defeat.
Marshall got the start on the mound for B’ville and somehow escaped bases-loaded jams in the first two innings, but didn’t make it out of the third, where the Wildcats scored three runs.
Matt Starczewski relieved Marshall and kept things in check until the sixth, when WG broke out for five runs, four of them driven home on two-run singles by Dan Purcell and Joe Comins.
Meanwhile, Barry, who had come within one out of a no-hitter against Utica Proctor on April 27, limited the Bees to five hits and three walks, striking out seven in six innings.
Leading up to the West Genesee series, B’ville had faced Rome Free Academy on April 28 and were stretched to 10 innings, but still beat the Black Knights 4-2.
Casey Collins picked up his second win of the week, tossing three innings of scoreless relief after stints by Savacool, Andres and Marshall. B’ville got 10 hits, two each by Pat May and Frank Levanti as Nate Ray earned an RBI. Lucas Robinson, Levanti, Jeb Farneth and Trey Blasi each scored a run.
And after the West Genesee series, B’ville got right back in the win column Saturday, beating St. Joseph’s (Buffalo) 5-3. After scoring twice in the first inning, the Bees saw the Marauders get three runs in the third and fourth innings to go in front.
Just in time, though, B’ville responded, with three runs in the bottom of the sixth to win it. Ray got three RBIs from his pair of hits as Andres added three hits, with Levanti driving in a single run. Andres also earned the win in relief after stints by Savacool, Nate Johns and Zach Monica.
So the Bees would take a 9-2 record into its three-game series with Liverpool, who this season has struggled plenty after losing 16 seniors from its 2017 state Class AA championship squad.
