CENTRAL NEW YORK – Entering the week sporting a four-game win streak, the Cazenovia baseball team had to work hard to keep that momentum going, but reveled in the summer-like heat with four wins in as many days.
Specifically, it took a combination of clutch hits and clutch relief pitching for the Lakers to rally past Solvay 8-7 in last Monday’s OHSL Liberty division clash.
Trailing 3-1 through four innings, Cazenovia turned it around in the fifth with four runs to go in front. Then it added three runs in the sixth, two racing home on Aiden Berson’s single.
When Jack Byrnes scored on A.J. Rothfeld’s grounder, it extended the Lakers’ lead to 8-3, and that cushion was needed since Solvay roared back with three runs in the sixth and another run in the bottom of the seventh.
Despite his struggles, Jack Donlin was able to get the final out for the save after Byrnes had pitched 5 2/3 innings, striking out seven. Patrick Linck had two hits and scored twice as Taven Reilley added an RBI.
Two games against Hannibal followed, with the Lakers rolling through the first of these encounters 12-2 in no small part thanks to an eight-run second inning that quickly broke the game open.
Eight different Cazenovia players combined for 12 hits, including Byrnes going deep for the team’s first home run of the season, while Donlin, Berson, Linck and Taven Reilley each picked up a pair of hits as Max Fischer got two RBIs.
Not only did Linck score three runs, he also pitched all five innings, overcoming three hits and four walks by recording eight strikeouts.
Cazenovia kept it up in Thursday’s rematch with Hannibal, roaring to a 13-1 victory by scoring four times in the second inning, adding five runs in the third and putting together another four-run rally in the fourth.
All of this was quite a boost to sophomore pitcher Max DiGiacomo, who allowed six hits but limited the Warriors to a single fourth-inning tally. Not only that, but DiGiacomo walked, singled and got three RBIs at the plate.
Every Lakers player got at least one hit, with Berson going four-for-four with a double, three singles and three runs scored. Linck drove in two runs, as did Reilley, with with Rothfeld and Fischer getting one RBI apiece.
This continued into Friday’s game at Phoenix, where Donlin again dazzled on the mound and many of his teammate helped out during a 10-0 shutout of the Firebirds.
Donlin’s six shutout innings involved eight strikeouts to overcome three hits and three walks, and the Lakers broke out with six runs in the top of the third, adding four more runs three innings later.
Reilley went three-for-four with three RBIs as Byrnes singled twice, doubled and drove in two runs. Smithers also got an RBI as Peter McCole, in his return to the lineup, walked, singled and scored twice.
Chittenango had played on May 16 against Bishop Grimes and dropped an 8-7 decision to the Cobras, who overcame the Bears’ early 4-1 lead with three runs in the fourth and fifth innings.
Down 7-5, Chittenango tied it in the top of the sixth, only to have Grimes win it in the bottom of the seventh. Will Simmons led the Bears with two hits and two runs scored.
Nearly a week later, Chittenango used six-run rallies in the second and fourth innings to put away Hannibal 14-0, with Sean Rooney getting four RBIs and Aiden Cavotta three RBIs as Carlos Torres-Carman drove in a pair of runs.
In the second game of the doubleheader against Hannibal, the Bears completed the sweep 6-2, keyed by a three-run second inning as Rooney and Tyrus Kelly both got two RBIs and Torres-Carman pitched a complete game.
