Again, the Baldwinsville baseball team found itself in extra-inning battles with West Genesee.
Granted, the stakes were not the same as in last May’s memorable Section III Class AA final, but twice last week the Bees and Wildcats went beyond regulation.
In fact, one day could not contain last Monday’s opener, the game halted in the 12th inning due to darkness with the two sides still tied 4-4 after B’ville raliled three different times in regulation.
Down 2-0 in the top of the third, the Bees pulled even by scoring twice. Then WG took advantage of a pair of errors to go back in front 3-2 in the fourth, only to have B’ville tie it again an inning later.
In the bottom of the sixth, the Wildcats’ Dan Davis hit a two-out pinch-hit RBI single. Now trailing 4-3, the Bees, in the seventh, got singles from Ray and Jason Savacool, who scored when Pat Anson’s possible game-ending double-play grounder was mishandled at first.
John AuClair relieved Jake Marshall in the sixth, and over the next five-plus innings he and other B’ville pitchers matched zeroes with WG until the sun set and the game was stopped.
Then rain postponed the second game, so the two teams did not see each other again until Thursday, where again it went to extra innings – and B’ville lost, 5-3.
Savacool got tagged for three early runs, but he settled down and, over 6 2/3 innings of work, amassed 13 strikeouts.
Single runs in the fourth and sixth innings pulled the Bees back even, 3-3, and again it found itself in extra frames with the Wildcats, who would get to reliever Mike Carr for two decisive runs in the top of the eighth.
Sam Gallager, pitching in relief of Ryan Paige, kept B’ville quiet in the bottom of the eighth. Before that, Lucas Robinson had scored twice, with Anson and Pat May each getting one RBI.
In between these two long battles, Liverpool had its own extra-inning duel with West Genesee, whom it beat on April 29 and 30. But the Warriors couldn’t get the sweep as the Wildcats beat them 4-3 in 10 innings.
Liverpool gained early 1-0 and 2-1 leads, but could not hold either of them, WG pulling in front, 3-2, in the bottom of the fifth before a seventh-inning run allowed the Warriors to extend the game beyond regulation.
Shane Hazelmyer had three hits and an RBI for Liverpool, while Mike DeStefano doubled and scored twice. Jake Wheeler pitched five innings before Nyhim Green took over the rest of the way in relief.
While all this was going on, Cicero-North Syracuse had a series with Fayetteville-Manlius, but still needed to rally late to beat the Hornets 5-2 in last Monday’s opener. Following a first-inning F-M run, Northstars ace Justin DelVechio settled down, and would only allow five hits.
Meanwhile, C-NS stayed patient and got to Hornets pitcher Max Parker, tying it in the fourth and scoring three decisive runs an inning later. Mike Wieczorek, with two RBIs, and Jacob Parker, with two hits, paced the Northstars at the plate.
The second C-NS-F-M game was rained out, but made up 24 hours later, with the Hornets getting even thanks to a 4-1 victory.
DelVecchio drove home Bristow in the top of the first, but from there F-M pitcher Tom Coleman blanked the Northstars, holding them to five hits.
Justin Persse, pitching for C-NS, kept his team up 1-0 until the Hornets notched single runs in the fourth and fifth innings, tacking on two insurance runs in the sixth.
To win the series on Thursday at the Gillette Road complex, C-NS needed runs in the sixth and seventh innings to overcome a slight deficit and beat F-M 6-5.
Three different times, the Northstars rallied, from deficits of 1-0, 3-1 and 5-4, with Bristow, Mike Wieczorek and Tim Taladay each producing a pair of hits as DelVecchio and Cole Rockwell drove in runs.
Noah Wieczorek pitched four innings of relief, holding the Hornets to two hits, after he replaced starter Carter Wisely.
C-NS would win again on Saturday, blanking Rome Free Academy 5-0 as it scored four times in the top of the first, all that DelVecchio would need as he pitched yet another gem, holding the Black Knights to two hits while striking out nine. Jared Stanton had three hits.
B’ville, recovering from the loss to West Genesee, swept two Section II sides on Saturday, beating Columbia 8-5 as it used three runs in the sixth inning to break out of a 4-4 tie, led by Anson’s three hits and two RBIs as Matt Starczewski pitched 6 2/3 innings to earn the win.
The Bees then claimed a 1-0 battle with Saratoga Springs, Marshall tossing a complete-game shutout as he struck out nine and only surrendered two hits. It was scoreless until the seventh, when Savacool drove home Robinson with the game’s lone run.
