When it returned from its spring break activity, the Cazenovia baseball team faced an immediate challenge from a neighbor off to a strong start in 2019.
Canastota, undefeated and holding the no. 4 spot in the state Class C rankings, hosted the Lakers last Monday afternoon and would keep them off the board in a 4-0 shutout.
Dan Hammond and Patrick Linck managed hits, but Cazenovia was mostly kept quiet by Raiders pitcher Ken Coe, who in 6 2/3 innings amassed 14 strikeouts before Jacob Malouf got the last out.
Aeden Berson pitched for the Lakers, surrendering two runs in the first inning and two more in the sixth as Malouf and Sam DeBrucque both earned RBIs for Canastota.
A day later, Cazenovia visited Westhill, coming off its own shutout loss the day before (8-0 to CBA), but this time it was the Warriors who were able to limit the opposition as it beat the Lakers 5-1.
Dylan McCrink got the start and, though he avoided the big inning, still saw Westhill peck away at him for single runs in each of the first five frames, Nick Bistrovich leading the way with two hits and two runs scored.
Not until the top of the seventh did Cazenovia’s shutout streak end, having not solved Warriors starter Philip Zollo, who in six innings struck out 10. Linck had three of the Lakers’ five hits and drove in Drew Johnson with that lone run.
Two days later, facing Homer at the Sean Googin Sports Complex, Cazenovia lost, 10-1, seeing the Trojans score five times in the top of the second to gain control.
Dominic Paglia, Jack Byrnes and Dylan Anderson combined to pitch for the Lakers, who only got on the board in the bottom of the fourth when Hammond’s single scored Paglia.
Chittenango entered the week with a 2-4 record and would face Mexico last Wednesday afternoon, less than a week after the Bears prevailed 13-5 in their first encounter April 20.
The rematch wasn’t much different, except that Chittenango won by a bigger margin, bashing the Tigers 15-3 as it netted multiple runs in every inning except the fourth and finished with 14 hits overall in support of Nick Callahan, who pitched five innings and struck out seven.
Noah Schnauffer and Maddox Garvey both produced three hits, Schnauffer scoring four times and earning three RBIs as Devon Spaulding drove in four runs. Ronnie Ince had a double and two RBIs. Sean Rooney, Seth Kimball and Bryce Bishop had one RBI apiece.
Hosting Cortland a day later, Chittenango took a 9-1 defeat, the Purple Tigers getting four runs in the first inning and building a 7-0 margin before Kimball drove in Schnauffer with the Bears’ lone run in the bottom of the fourth. Garvey pitched five innings in the loss, surrendering 11 hits.
