Well-rested, and eager to add to its considerable championship legacy, the Jamesville-DeWitt softball team knew it would only have to win twice to earn another Section III Class A championship.
But since the sectional bracket had just five teams, East Syracuse Minoa had that same scenario in front of them, too, though it would mean having to topple no. 2 seed Whitesboro in Saturday’s semifinals at the Gillette Road complex in Cicero.
The Spartans almost pulled this off, but were instead victimized by its own mistakes and inability to get the one hit it needed when runners were on base in a 4-3 defeat to the Warriors.
ESM went ahead in the first inning as Aubrie Williams walked, stole second and raced home on pitcher Shaina Brilbeck’s single, yet it nearly had more when it loaded the bases in the top of the third but were unable to score.
That proved more costly when Whitesboro scored three times in the bottom of the third, all unearned due to Spartans errors. Brilbeck then kept things quiet until the sixth, when the Warriors added a run that would prove quite vital.
Down to three outs, ESM rallied in the seventh, getting two on base and then bringing them home with Gillianne McCarthy’s double. With the tying and go-ahead runs on, though, the Spartans could not tie it. Whitesboro pitcher Caitlin Reilly amassed 18 strikeouts
J-D, meanwhile, dealt with no. 4 seed Oswego, and refreshed from a week’s rest, the Red Rams’ bats broke out in a big way as it bashed the Buccaneers 13-2 to earn a sectional finals berth against Whitesboro.
Already with a 1-0 edge, J-D broke out with five runs in the bottom of the third and kept on going, with a run in the fourth and three-run rallies in the fifth and sixth innings on the way to 16 hits as pitcher Amanda Sumida held Oswego to four hits and struck out 10.
Katie White went three-for-four with two triples, a double, three runs scored and three RBIs. Andrea Sumida also drove in three runs as Sara Gow, Taylor Roadarmel and Mary Austin had one RBI apiece.
While all this was going on, Christian Brothers Academy was making a serious push for the sectional Class B championship, having already pulled off two big comebacks in the early rounds and seeing the bracket open up in front of them.
Late runs saved the Brothers’ 3-2 win over Jordan-Elbridge in the round of 16. One day later, against defending state champion Solvay, the no. 4 seed Brothers again turned to its bats to overcome a five-run deficit and beat the Bearcats 13-8.
Solvay jumped all over the Brothers with four runs in each of the first two innings, yet only led 8-7 because CBA answered with big rallies of its own, keyed by Bridget O’Hern’s home run.
Julia Boule relieved Maddy Tallman and, over the remaining 5 2/3 innings, held the Bearcats without a run, and got the help she needed when the Brothers scored twice in the fourth to go in front, adding a run in the fifth and three runs in the sixth to draw clear.
As if her pitching wasn’t enough, Boule also went four-for-five at the plate, scoring three runs and driving in three others to match O’Hern’s three RBIs. Catherine Burns and Emily Hall each had two RBIs as Victoria Hall scored three times, joining Julia Griffith with one RBI apiece.
That same day, top seed Adirondack got knocked off by no. 9 seed Westhill 7-3, so CBA would have to face the Warriors in Saturday’s sectional semifinal at Kost Field in Rome, a rematch of a wild 16-14 win in mid-April where the Brothers overcame a 12-6 deficit to prevail.
The rematch proved tamer, but a big third inning allowed CBA to withstand a late Warriors charge to prevail 5-3 and reach the sectional final.
To get on the board in the bottom of the second, the Brothers needed Burns to walk, steal second and score on Abby Benware’s single, but that proved a warm-up for the big push an inning later.
There, CBA tagged Westhill starter Ariel Cassidy for four runs, with the big blow Burns’ two-run single as Boule and Benware also drove in runs during that rally.
Even then, it didn’t prove easy. Westhill got a run in the fourth and, after Boule relieved Tallman, cut its 5-1 deficit in half in the top of the seventh before Boule was able to record the final outs.
On Monday at Carrier Park, after J-D battles Whitesboro at 11:30 a.m., the Class B final at 1:30 pits CBA against Oneida, who is ranked no. 2 in the state in Class B, but needed two runs in the bottom of the seventh to rally past Camden 6-5 in its semifinal.
