What was already a terrific start for the Cazenovia softball team turned even better on a cold, damp Monday afternoon at Solvay.
Against a Bearcats side that was 5-1 and won the state Class B championship two seasons ago, the Lakers made two different comebacks and, by a 10-9 margin, claimed its sixth consecutive victory.
It marked the third time this spring Cazenovia won a game by a single run, but what made this more impressive was the way it responded when Solvay twice appeared to grab control.
A four-run rally, all with two outs, in the bottom of the second inning pushed the Bearcats in front. but the Lakers countered with three two-out runs of its own in the top of the third, two of them brought home on Samantha Morgan’s double.
An inning later, Cazenovia loaded the bases with nobody out. Morgan and Elora Wilmot drew bases-loaded walks, while Hannah Matteson’s sacrifice fly produced a 6-4 advantage.
Now it was Solvay’s turn to rally, with five runs in the bottom of the fifth, three of them racing home on Caitlin McCann’s double, the other two on Jordan Bamba’s single.
Again, though, the Lakers had an answer. With two out int he top of the sixth and the bases loaded, Kylie Fenton drilled a two-run single, and a throwing error brought home the tying and go-ahead runs.
By now, Morgan had relieved Wilmot, and after giving up a triple to Izzy Lambert in the bottom of the sixth, Morgan set down the heart of the Bearcats’ order, going on to record a scoreless seventh inning to win it.
Now the trick was for Cazenovia to avoid a letdown in Thursday’s game at Jordan-Elbridge, and it did so, the Lakers blanking the Eagles 5-0 behind superb pitching from Morgan, who had a complete-game shutout.
In order to take control, the Lakers put across three runs in the top of the second inning, adding single runs in the fourth and seventh innings.
