A rough spring for the Cazenovia baseball team continued in last Monday’s game against Mexico, where the Lakers took an 11-4 defeat to the Tigers.
For four innings, Cazenovia kept it close, earning all of its runs as Eric Ketcham picked up a pair of RBIs. Dan Hammond also had an RBI as Judson Spaulding doubled, joining Dylan McCrink and Dominic Paglia in the run-scoring column.
Mexico won it by getting runs in every inning except the third to overcome five errors. Spaulding pitched 3 2/3 innings and took the loss, with Ketcham, McCrink and Dylan Anderson also seeing mound stints. Connor Marks, Brandon Dutcher (two hits apiece) and Coltin Holliday (two RBIs) paced the Tigers.
Two days later, Cazenovia visited Hannibal, and while it was much closer, the Lakers fell 5-3 to the Warriors, and the particulars made the result even more frustrating.
The Lakers took a 3-1 lead through three innings as Spaulding earned two hits and scored a run, with Anderson getting an RBI as Tripp Clarke and Ryan Wozniak scored runs.
Meanwhile, Paglia, in five innings on the mound, gave up just one hit. Yet Hannibal tied it, 3-3, in the bottom of the third and went in front two innings later, helped by Paglia allowing six walks to go with seven strikeouts before Anderson relieved him in the sixth.
The regular season ended on Friday, with Cazenovia taking on Christian Brothers Academy and losing 14-3 to the Brothers.
Cazenovia actually led 2-1 through one inning, and were still tied before CBA notched four runs in the fourth and fifth innings. Ketcham’s pair of doubles led to two RBIs as Hammond scored twice, with Jason Boule and Leo Genecco each getting three RBIs for the Brothers.
Chittenango played on Wednesday and fell 13-2 to Skaneateles, who the previous Saturday had knocked off Cazenovia to cap a stretch of six wins in as many days.
Trailing 3-0 after one inning, the Bears scored twice in the second off Lakers starter Kenny Peterson as Noah Schnauffer and Nick Callahan scored the runs.
But Skaneateles put it away in the next three innings, eventually accumulating 13 hits off Chittenango’s pitching quartet of Schnauffer, Callahan, Jacob Burgan and Devon Spaulding. Cregg Scherrer scored three times and got two RBIs as Michael Murphy added three RBIs and three runs scored.
A 12-1 defeat to Solvay followed on Thursday as an eight-run fourth inning by the Bearcats broke the game open. Joe Mosack’s first-inning double scored Jacob Burgan with Chittenango’s lone run in the first inning.
Due to the open tournament format, 26 teams would enter the Section III Class B playoffs. Chittenango, as the no. 21 seed, met no.12 seed Canastota Monday as no. 25 seed Cazenovia visited no. 8 seed and defending champion Oneida.
