Now it was important for the Cazenovia baseball team to start gathering some victories if it wanted to make its way into the Section III Class B playoffs later this month.
The Lakers returned to action last Wednesday afternoon, at Mexico, where with 17 hits it pounded away at the plate until it had produced a 16-6 victory over the Tigers.
Mexico led, 3-0, through one inning, when Cazenovia answered with four runs in the top of the second. A two-run third inning followed, and the Lakers got away with five runs in both the fourth and fifth innings.
Along the way, Ryan Wozniak produced a single, two doubles and three RBIs, while Dylan Anderson drove in four runs. Tripp Clarke, Dominic Paglia and Dan Hammond had two RBIs apiece.
Aeden Berson scored three runs as Patrick Linck got three hits and Dylan McCrink two hits, each of them earning an RBI. Jack Byrnes pitched and got the win, striking out four.
Chittenango was coming off a 9-8 victory over Cazenovia on May 4 when it challenged Christian Brothers Academy last Monday afternoon and was in position to win again, only to take a tough 2-1 defeat to the Brothers.
Devon Spaulding started and blanked CBA over his first five innings of work, and he scored Chittenango’s only run in the bottom of the fourth inning after getting one of his two hits.
It was still 1-0 when, in the top of the sixth, the Brothers got to Spaulding for both of its runs, driven in by Derek Jann and M.P. Geiss. Jann also pitched for CBA, going 6 2/3 innings and striking out 12 before Anthony Marsallo got the final out in relief.
On Thursday, Chittenango lost another 2-1 decision, this one to Bishop Grimes, who scored in the first inning, only to have the Bears tie it in the top of the fourth as Ronnie Ince earned a pair of hits.
Between them, Maddox Garvey and Nick Callahan blanked the Cobras until the bottom of the seventh, when Grimes pushed across the winning run. Seth Murphy pitched two scoreless innings of relief for Grimes after MattTarby started.
A scheduled game between Chittenango and Cazenovia last Friday got rained out, and the lingering poor field conditions also pushed back the Lakers’ game Saturday with state Class B no. 6-ranked Canastota.
