ONONDAGA COUNTY – Twice last week, the Cicero-North Syracuse baseball team got to find out if the six-game win streak it had built in early May could withstand the scrutiny of its closest rivals.
Before it took off, the Northstars had lost twice to Liverpool. With a chance to avenge those defeats last Wednesday afternoon, C-NS did so, its deep lineup wearing down the Warriors on the way to a 12-5 victory.
Poor defense plagued C-NS in the early stages and Liverpool jumped out to a 2-0 edge in the first two innings. Then, in the top of the third, the Northstars got to Warriors starter Adam Marsh for four runs, the key blow Mike Rockwell’s bases-clearing, three-run double.
An exchange of runs followed, Liverpool constantly threatening a big inning but not scoring more than once in any frame against Bryce Zicaro, with a line-drive double play thwarting a bases-loaded situation in the bottom of the third.
Up 5-4 in the fifth, C-NS extended the margin with Matt Klamm’s two-run single, and then broke it open by plating six runs in the top of the six, two of them racing home on Corey Cartier’s single.
Zicaro ultimately went five innings to earn the win, with Noah Wieczorek going the last two innings in relief. Ty King would match Rockwell’s three-RBI output as Matt Kasch and Brian Bonin both scored twice.
Liverpool did manage two hits apiece from Marsh, Andrew Contos and Alex House, with Marsh, Sam Michalak and Alex Vergara each earning an RBI.
Then, on Saturday, it was C-NS against Baldwinsville, whose lone defeat had come to the Northstars on May 12, and first place in the SCAC Empire division was at stake.
They would play an instant classic that lasted 12 innings before the Bees pulled it out, 5-4, in a game that had all kinds of twists and turns.
Early runs were exchanged and C-NS found itself trailing 4-2 going to the bottom of the sixth when it struck for a pair of runs, ultimately sending the game to extra innings.
Meanwhile, Chris D’Agostino was in the midst of an epochal relief pitching performance, having escaped a bases-loaded jam in the fifth after replacing Noah Wieczorek when his team was still behind.
Over the next seven-plus innings, D’Agostino mostly kept the Bees’ bats quiet and waited for a winning run that never arrived, though C-NS certainly had its chances.
In the eighth, Kevin Felasco led off with a triple. Two walks loaded the bases with no one out, but B’ville reliever Kai Girard struck out Matt Klamm and got Cartier to hit into a rare 5-2-3 double bplay.
Felasco’s double in the 10th was wasted, too, and D’Agostino was still pitching when, with two outs in the top of the 12th, B’ville’s Matt Carner doubled and Luke Arvantides singled Carner home. Aiden Milburn then struck out the side in the bottom of the 12th to end it.
Before all this, C-NS had blasted Christian Brothers Academy 16-0 last Monday as the Northstars collected 16 hits, with Cartier and Zicaro driving in three runs apiece. Bonin and Klamm each scored twice as Bonin got a pair of hits.
That same day, Liverpool rallied late to defeat Fayetteville-Manlius 5-4, winning it in the bottom of the seventh inning.
Dillon Crook and Anthony Lapine both got a pair of hits, with Mike Howell scoring twice. Nick Stevens earned an RBI as he and Michalak both scored runs.
C-NS made it seven wins in a row last Tuesday, ripping past Syracuse 22-0 as Rockwell homered and drove in four runs. King and Zicaro had three RBIs apiece, with Felasco driving in a pair of runs. Cartier, Karkowski and Jake Lukasiewicz each scored three times.
After the loss to C-NS, Liverpool fell again on Friday, a 3-1 defeat to West Genesee where Lapine pitched well and scored his team’s lone run, but Wildcats ace Eric Korzeniewski held the Warriors to four hits,
