In many respects, the most important event on the Baldwinsville softball calendar as April turned into May had little to do with the games or their results.
When the Bees hosted Liverpool last Monday afternoon, it was designated as Military Appreciation Day. The salute to veterans was highlighted by a ceremonial first pitch featuring veterans of World War II, plus the wars in Korea, Vietnam, Iraq and Afghanistan.
Next to that special moment, the fact that B’ville lost 11-3 to Liverpool didn’t carry as much weight, even if it contrasted the tense 6-5 battle the Bees dropped to the Warriors earlier this season.
It was close most of the way, though. B’ville scored the first run in the bottom of the third inning, but Liverpool tied it in the fourth and took the lead for good with three runs in the top of the fifth.
Even when the Bees closed the gap to 4-3 in the bottom of the fifth, the Warriors got away with two runs in the sixth and a five-run rally in the seventh inning as Ashley Teixeira led Liverpool with four RBIs.
Madison Ascioti and Kayla Young had two hits apiece for B’ville, with Young and Kaycee Hawk each driving in a run and Ascioti scoring twice.
Prior to this, B’ville faced Oneida on April 27, and here the bats could not do much in a 4-0 defeat to the Indians.
Young only gave up five hits, but Oneida earned a run in the fourth inning and three more in the sixth as pitcher Kyra Sholtzhauer held B’ville to three hits, one each by Young, Hawk and Ascioti.
And after the defeat to Liverpool, B’ville believed it could end its skid at Fayetteville-Manlius on Wednesday, but instead stumbled again as the Hornets beat them 6-5.
Trailing 1-0 in the top of the fourth, the Bees struck for five runs, with RBIs from Madelyn Shuler and Claire McAllister, but F-M answered with its own five-run rally in the bottom of the fourth, the key blow Sophie Woodridge’s bases-clearing double. From there, the Hornets kept B’ville off the board.
Now B’ville looked for a turnaround in Thursday’s doubleheader against West Genesee, and did win the first game, toppling the Wildcats 6-4, but lost the second game by a 12-3 margin as the Bees could only manage a split.
A third game between B’ville and WG took place Friday, and the Bees won again by a 6-4 margin, largely on the basis of Young’s work at the plate and in the pitcher’s circle.
Twice, Young connected for home runs, helping the Bees get leads of 3-0 and 5-3 that WG could not quite overcome, and she struck out nine while holding the Wildcats to five hits. Hawk was the other star, twice tripling and adding a double while scoring three runs.
