Most of the area’s high school softball teams did not have to wind their way south to see game action, instead finding favorable local weather and amassing victories against a variety of foes.
Jamesville-DeWitt claimed three wins in as many days, and none were as exciting, or satisfying, as last Thursday’s come-from-behind, 5-4 victory over its neighbors from East Syracuse Minoa.
Not intimidated one bit by confronting the defending Section III Class A champions, the Spartans struck for a run in the first inning and three more in the top of the third off J-D pitcher Shayna Myshrall.
Shaina Brilbeck’s three hits led to two RBIs, with Natalie Quonce getting a double and driving in the other two runs as Brilbeck kept the Rams’ bats quiet early.
That changed in the bottom of the fourth, though. J-D got to Brilbeck for three runs, and then waited until the seventh inning to produce the tying and winning runs.
Katie White’s home run was the big blow as Emma White added an RBI. Kate Dorazio scored twice as she and Paige Keeler both got a pair of hits. Myshrall overcame her rough start to blank ESM over the last four innings and earned nine strikeouts.
Before all this, J-D found itself at West Genesee last Tuesday afternoon, having to wait until the game’s latter stages to take control as it defeated the Wildcats 5-2.
For five innings, WG pitcher Rachel Shackleton matched Myshrall and kept it 0-0. But the Rams got to Shackleton for two runs in the top of the sixth and three more runs in the seventh to get away.
Walks and errors helped make up for the fact that J-D only had three hits, one each by Keeler, Katie White and Sydney Linkiewicz, with White and Madi Ancone scoring runs.
Back home on Wednesday to face Cortland, the Red Rams unloaded on the Purple Tigers in a 15-0 romp ended in five innings due to the mercy rule.
Six-run rallies in the first and fifth innings included Myshrall smashing a pair of home runs, finishing with five RBIs to go with her complete-game shutout where she fanned seven Cortland batters.
Emma White singled, doubled and drove in four runs, with Keller getting two hits and two RBIs, scoring three runs. Ancone, Linkiewicz and Dorazio each drove in a run.
Also on Wednesday, ESM had a tough SCAC Empire division test at Central Square, but passed it as the Spartans defeated the Redhawks 4-1 in eight innings.
ESM got a run in the third inning, but Central Square countered by tying it in the bottom of the sixth. They stayed 1-1 until the top of the eighth, when the Spartans got to Redhawks pitcher Maryann Sobel with a trio of decisive runs.
Gianna Quonce’s pair of RBIs keyed the win as Morgan Ransom singled, doubled and drove in a run. Brilbeck pitched quite well, striking out nine to overcome three hits and three walks.
On Saturday, ESM lost, 5-3, to the same West Genesee team J-D beat. Franchesca Polcaro, Bella Pickard and Rachel Brefka drove in runs, but WG’s four-run fifth inning made the difference. Ransom pitched and took the loss.
Back on Tuesday, Christian Brothers Academy continued its busy early slate by going to Westhill and fighting hard to earn a 5-3 vicory over the Warriors.
The Brothers got to Westhill pitcher Ariel Cassidy for three runs in the top of the third inning. But it required a two-run rally in the fifth for CBA to withstand Westhill’s comeback attempt.
Maddy Tallman amassed a season-best total of 13 strikeouts, overcoming five hits and three walks. Abby Benware scored twice and got a pair of RBIs, with Emily Hall also scoring two runs. Tallman, Maya Geiss and Julia DelPino had one RBI apiece.
CBA made it back-to-back wins on Wednesday by handling Mexico 11-2, getting all the runs it needed when it scored five times in the bottom of the first, adding two runs in third and four runs in the sixth.
Benware again was productive at the plate, producing four RBIs as Tallman and Makenzie Witz each drove in two runs. Julia Griffith added an RBI as Tallman struck out 10 and limited the Tigers to three hits.
Off to a strong start of its own, Fayetteville-Manlius saw that momentum halted by powerhouse Cicero-North Syracuse last Wednesday, the Hornets taking an 8-0 defeat to the Northstars.
Sophie Woodridge kept C-NS contained most of the way, but the Northstars got to her for four runs in the third and fourth inning as Alayna Harbaugh, Brooke Nicolaos and Ally Ciafratta each had two RBIs. F-M only got three hits off Ariana Corasaniti, one each by Patricia Boltman, Emily Gryczka and Gracie Bishop.
