No one, especially the forces of nature, was going to make it easy for the West Genesee baseball team.
When the Wildcats’ first two games against Fayetteville-Manlius were rained out, they were moved to later in the week as part of an immensely crowded stretch.
Among the games were the long-awaited conclusions to two extra-inning affairs – one against Cicero-North Syracuse that dated back to April 23, another with Baldwinsville on Sunday that resumed in the 12th inning, each of them 2-2 ties.
The C-NS game would end 3-2 in WG’s favor last Wednesday when it got to Northstars pitching ace Justin DelVecchio for a single run in the top of the eighth inning and have reliever Sam Gallager get the final three outs.
Gallager’s work redeemed that of long-ago starter Jack Gordon, who in his seven innings had allowed just six hits and four walks, striking out four. Chris Bonacci and Jake DePalma drove in runs.
Then the series with F-M finally got underway on Thursday, and Ryan Paige pitched quite well, only to get outdueled by Max Parker as the Wildcats lost another close decision, 1-0, to the Hornets.
Paige’s complete-game effort included seven strikeouts to help overcome six hits and six walks, but Parker matched Paige, and in the bottom of the sixth Ben Delmarsh scored the game’s only run for F-M.
The second game, played on Friday afternoon, was also troubling for a while before WG’s bats, dormant for a while, roared to life just in time to pull out an 8-5 victory to even the series.
Up 1-0, the Wildcats added two runs in the top of the fifth, only to have the Hornets strike for five runs in the bottom of the fifth, two of them racing home on Delmarsh’s single.
But WG had a quick answer, scoring four times in the top of the sixth, plus a run in the seventh. DePalma managed three RBIs, while Gordon drove in two runs. Bonacci had two hits and scored three times as he, along with Gallager and Nick Chemotti, got one RBI apiece.
Nick Jessen weathered his rough fifth inning and pitched the rest of the way, keeping F-M off the board and allowing five hits and four walks overall, striking out three.
For Saturday’s third game, WG had to, once more, resort to what’s become a season trademark – winning in extra frames, this time going nine innings to outlast the Hornets 5-4.
Twice, the Wildcats had to come back. F-M scored three times in the top of the third inning, but WG answered with a run in the fourth and two more in the fifth.
They stayed 3-3 until the top of the eighth, when again the Hornets went in front and, again, the Wildcats answered, pulling even, 4-4, in the bottom of the eighth and getting the clinching run an inning later.
Tyler Kensey got the win, going two innings in relief after stints from DePalma, Joe Comins and Mike Hebbard. Chemotti went three-for-four and scored twice, with Dan Davis getting a pair of RBIs as Bonacci and Kensey also drove in runs.
Jordan-Elbridge went to Chittenango last Thursday and edged the Bears 2-1, erasing a 1-0 deficit with a run in the fourth inning and a go-ahead tally in the top of the seventh.
Though the Eagles had just five hits, Carson Ashby and Sean Dristle drove in runs, with hits also going to Zach Fabrize, Ryan Rivenburg and Joe Lakota as Fabrize pitched and limited Chittenango to two hits.
