What was already evident in mid-April was that the Cicero-North Syracuse softball team was a well-established and lethal unit, while its rivals from Liverpool still had ground to make up.
Having already made its tournament trip south earlier in the month (going 5-0 in Tennessee), the Northstars stayed close to home most of last week while the Warriors again traveled to Myrtle Beach, South Carolina.
C-NS had its home opener at the Gillette Road complex last Tuesday against Webster Schroeder, from Section V, and fell behind early before a big fifth inning, plus the strong pitching of Ariana Corasaniti, produced a 4-2 victory.
Webster Schroeder produced a pair of runs in the top of the first, but Corasaniti shut out the Warriors from there, overcoming six hits with solid defense plus a trio of strikeouts.
Still, the Northstars had to wait until the bottom of the fifth to produce all of its runs. Alayna Harbaugh, Brooke Nicolaos, Jordyn Maldonado and Francesca LaRobardiere each had RBIs, with Harbaugh, Nicolaos, Brandi Feeney and Giana Wameling each getting two hits.
Then a much-improved Fayetteville-Manlius team visited Gillette on Wednesday afternoon, and while it did contain C-NS for long stretches, two big mid-game rallies helped the Northstars handle the Hornets 8-0 for its eighth win in a row.
It was still 0-0 when, in the top of the third, C-NS struck for four runs off F-M pitcher Sophie Woodridge, followed by a four-run fourth inning. Nicolaos, Harbaugh and Ally Ciafratta each got two RBIs, with Feeney also driving in a run.
Given that kind of support, Corasaniti tossed a complete-game shutout, only surrendering three hits and one walk while earning seven strikeouts.
Liverpool split its first two games last Monday at Myrtle Beach, falling 5-2 to Moore Catholic (Staten Island) as it got a first-inning run, only to see Moore score twice in the third and fifth innings to move ahead for good.
The Warriors only had a sixth-inning run the rest of the way as Cassie Wiggins pitched and took the loss. Alicia Nash and Helen Nash both got two hits and scored a run, with Sarah Myles, Olivia Hayden and Makayla Sweeting also getting hits.
Later that day, Liverpool bounced back, defeating Butler (Ohio) 5-4, using a run in the first inning and three runs in the third to build a 4-0 advantage.
Still, it took a run in the bottom of the sixth for the Warriors to withstand Butler’s late comeback. Alicia Nash singled, tripled and drove in two runs, with Wiggins (who struck out nine in a complete-game pitching effort) and Olivia Peta each getting one RBI. Sweeting and Hayden had two hits apiece.
A day later, Liverpool defeated Wilson Hall (South Carolina) 5-2, using a trio of third-inning runs to overcome an early 1-0 deficit and adding two runs two innings later.
Wiggins did not allow a walk as she limited Wilson Hall to six hits. Helen Nash had two hits and scored twice, with Sweeting and Hayden also notching two hits. Peta, Alicia Nash and Emma Terzini each had one RBI.
In a 5-4, eight-inning defeat to Moore Catholic (Staten Island), Liverpool twice fell behind and twice tied it, setting up extra frames where the Warriors scored in the top of the eighth to go ahead 4-3, only to give up two runs in the bottom of the eighth.
Sweeting had three of Liverpool’s 11 hits, scoring twice and earning an RBI. Alicia Nash drove in two runs, with Hayden getting two hits and one RBI.
