A successful trip to Myrtle Beach, South Carolina for the Westhill baseball team was followed by far more uneven play once it returned to Central New York.
The Warriors shut out Bishop Grimes 10-0 last Monday afternoon and got a pitching gem from Andrew O’Connor, who only allowed one hit (a Joe Wike single) and two walks while striking out seven Cobras batters.
Westhill scored runs in each of the first five innings, with John Geer piling up five RBIs as he got three hits. Corey Frassica and Ben Coates had two hits apiece, with Coates scoring three runs as Dante Furco and Phillip Zollo had one RBI apiece.
This success did not carry over into the Warriors’ game with Christian Brothers Academy a day later as the Brothers took out the Warriors by an 11-4 margin.
Five-run rallies in the third and fourth innings by CBA proved too much for Westhill to overcome as pitcher John Geer got hit hard. O’Connor doubled and drove in a run, with Zollo getting three hits, including a double. Bryce Moore, who hit a home run, and Calvin Krueger led the Brothers with three RBIs apiece.
Westhill rebounded Thursday by beating Homer 3-1, all of the runs coming in the third inning as Geer and Ryan Bennett had run-scoring hits. Coates pitched six innings, holding the Trojans to three hits and overcoming five walks before Nate King got the save.
Against powerful Vernon-Verona-Sherrill on Saturday, the Warriors led 3-0 thanks to a pair of first-inning runs and a tally in the fourth, only to give up a run in the fifth inning and three runs in the sixth to fall 4-3 to the Red Devils.
Geer, in defeat, had two RBIs as O’Connor took the loss, going five strong innings before VVS got to him and King in the sixth.
On April 27, Solvay lost, 11-6, to CBA. When it looked to turn around last Monday against visiting Skaneateles, it got no chance against Lakers pitching ace Cregg Scherrer in a 7-0 defeat.
Owen Lansing singled twice against Scherrer, and that was the only hits Solvay could manage as Scherrer amassed 12 strikeouts. Mason Sands kept it 0-0 until Skaneateles scored four times in the top of the third. The Lakers added three runs in the sixth and seventh innings.
Back-to-back comeback wins followed for Solvay, who edged Bishop Grimes 7-6 in eight innings Wednesday by overcoming a 5-3 deficit, scoring three runs in the seventh and, after the Cobras tied it 6-6, getting a run in the eighth to pull ahead for good.
Franklin, with three hits and two runs scored, led the way as Antonio Gonzalez got a pair of hits and, in 4 2/3 innings of relief, got the win after Sands went the first 4 1/3 frames.
After a rainout of Friday’s game with Cazenovia, the Bearcats rallied again Saturday, topping Port Byron/Union Springs 5-2.
Trailing PB/US 2-1, Solvay grabbed the lead when it scored three times in the bottom of the fifth, then tacked on a run in the sixth. Sands and Robby Clark had two hits apiece as Gonzalez pitched five solid innings before Sands and Josh Florczyk did the rest in relief.
Marcellus handled Hannibal 12-1 on April 27, improving its record to 4-3 and knowing it would face those same Warriors last week after taking on Homer Monday.
The Mustangs lost to the Trojans 7-6, a result made more frustrating by the fact that it trailed 5-1 before scoring three times in the third inning to nearly catch up.
Then, after Homer got a run in the bottom of the third, Marcellus used single runs in the fifth and sixth innings to tie it, 6-6, before the Trojans won it in the bottom of the seventh. Aiden Shea and Jacob Walters both scored two runs for the Mustangs.
Once it faced Hannibal again, though, all was fine for the Mustangs, who prevailed 18-3 as Spicer singled, doubled, tripled and earned a career-best six RBIs while scoring four runs. Ben McFall added three RBIs.
Jordan-Elbridge rallied to beat Phoenix 10-8 last Tuesday afternoon. A six-run fourth inning put the Firebirds in control, but the Eagles got back in it with four runs in the top of the fourth.
Then, still trailing 8-4, J-E got a run in the sixth and erupted for five runs in the top of the seventh to pull it out. Zach Fabrize and Sean Dristle had three hits apiece to lead the comeback, with Dristle, Geoff Lippa and Keegan Ferris getting two RBIs apiece. Carson Ashby and C.J. Green also drove in runs as Alex Pond scored twice. Fabrize pitched three solid innings in relief of starter Jordan Osborne.
When J-E took its turn against CBA on Wednesday, it lost, 19-0, to the Brothers, managing just three hits, one each by Fabrize, Ryan Rivenburg and Jon Lakota. Among the 16 hits it surrendered were home runs by Jacob Swanson and Jake Maser.
