A string of games early last week marked the last opportunity for area high school softball teams to make an impact before they headed into the Section III playoffs.
Jamesville-DeWitt, holding the no. 7 state Class A ranking and a 15-1 record, nearly got upended last Monday against Syracuse, working hard to earn a 5-4 victory.
Twice, the Red Rams went in front, 1-0 in the first inning and 3-1 in the third inning. Both times, Syracuse, who was 10-2 going into the game, caught up, scoring twice in the top of the fifth to pull even again, 3-3.
Only when J-D answered that rally with two runs of its own in the bottom of the fifth did it move ahead for good, and even here Syracuse fought back with a run in the sixth before Shayna Myshrall was able to earn the final outs.
Katie White hit a home run and got two RBIs, with Kate Dorazio also driving in two runs. Mysrhall and Paige Keeler each scored twice as Carmela Vigliotti-Martinez (three hits, two runs scored) and Adonia Wade (two RBIs) led Syracuse’s efforts.
The second game against Syracuse was also quite competitive, but again J-D prevailed, this time 5-2 as Keeler scored a pair of runs and, while Myshrall rested, Dorazio and Sydney Linkiewicz combined for pitching duties, holding Syracuse to two hits.
East Syracuse Minoa had a four-game win streak going into last Monday’s game at Cicero-North Syracuse, but got humbled by the state Class AA no. 6-ranked Northstars in a 13-0 defeat.
An eight-run first inning and a five-run second inning was all the Northstars needed, with the Spartans held to two hits, one each by Shaina Brilbeck and Franchesca Polcaro. Brooke Nicolaos (three RBIs) and Francesca LoRobardiere (two RBIs) paced C-NS.
But ESM roared back to life on Wednesday with a doubleheader sweep of Oswego, the first game a 10-9 decision where Polcaro drove home Rachel Brefka with the winning run. In the second game, the Spartans topped the Buccaneers 9-5.
As that went on, Fayetteville-Manlius beat West Genesee 12-7, largely on the strength of Sophie Woodridge’s bat as she belted a home run, added two doubles and got six RBIs overall.
The Hornets scored in every inning as Lily Fish got three hits and scored three runs, with Patricia Boltman adding a pair of RBIs.
That was the first of two games F-M played that day, later taking on Christian Brothers Academy and, once again, finishing on top as the Hornets staged a furious comeback to beat the Brothers 8-5.
A run in the first inning, plus four in the second inning, had CBA up 5-0 early as Victoria Hall drove in two of those runs, with RBIs also going to Abby Benware and Maddy Tallman.
From there, though, F-M relief pitcher Paige Murphy blanked the Brothers through 5 1/3 innings, striking out nine while only surrendering two hits, giving her teammates time to rally.
After a run in the fourth, the Hornets scored five times in the fifth inning to take a 6-5 lead, adding a pair of insurance runs in the seventh. Murphy doubled twice as she and Fish both got two RBIs, with Woodridge adding three hits as she and Gracie Bishop had one RBI apiece.
Before all this, CBA took a setback in last Monday’s 6-0 defeat to Baldwinsville. All that the Brothers could manage was four hits off Bees pitcher Kayla Young, one each by Benware, Victoria Hall, Makenzie Witz and Maya Geiss.
Tallman returned to the pitcher’s circle for the Brothers and did well late, but only after B’ville struck for two runs in the second inning and three more in the third as Alyssa Dybacz led them with three hits and two RBIs.
Two more games followed on Wednesday, CBA shut out by Cicero-north Syracuse 5-0 and then the F-M defeat, but the Brothers still earned the no. 2 seed in the sectional Class A bracket as J-D got the top seed and ESM the no. 5 seed.
In quarterfinal games next Thursday, J-D faces Central Square or Indian River, with ESM going to no. 4 seed Carthage and CBA hosting no. 7 seed Fulton as, in Class AA, F-M has an opening-round clash with Rome Free Academy, the winner to get C-NS in the semifinals, where Class A semifinals will also take place.
