ONONDAGA COUNTY – Thanks to its 5-1 start, the Marcellus softball team occupied the no. 5 spot in the first state Class B rankings of the season – and proved last week why it belonged there thanks largely to the pitching of Aubrey Fraher.
Fraher peaked in last Wednesday’s game against Christian Brothers Academy, putting together a seven-inning no-hitter in the course of a 5-0 victory over the Brothers.
Just one CBA batter reached base, on an error. Fraher faced the minimum on her way to her gem, striking out five and getting perfect defense behind her.
Meanwhile, the Mustangs scored twice in the third and fifth innings and added a run in the sixth. Katie MacLachlan had two hits and scored twice, with Carly Hopper adding a pair of hits as Madison Strait, Brook Finnarty and Emma MacLachlan each drove in a run.
Right before this, he Mustangs went through its most tense game of the spring last Monday against undefeated Chittenango, the battle lasting 10 innings before Marcellus edged the Bears 1-0.
Even with two potent lineups on the field, the game turned into a classic pitcher’s battle, with Chittenango’s Caroline Porter superb as she overcame three hits – one each to Fraher, Emma MacLachlan and Shnanon Kellar – and five walks to strike out eight.
Try as it could, though, the Bears could not solve Fraher, who gave up just three hits and amassed 16 strikeouts.
So in the bottom of the 10th, with the game still 0-0, the Mustangs loaded the bases and saw Porter throw a wild pitch that allowed Sam Wynne to score the game’s lone run.
The no-hitter by Fraher followed, and Marcellus found a way to dazzle again in Thursday’s rematch with CBA, this time with a first-inning barrage that led to a 20-2 victory.
Batting around twice, the Mustangs didn’t let up until it had amassed 13 runs. And it kept adding to that total as Fraher and MacLachlan both hit home runs as part of a 17-hit attack.
Elaine Grattan joined in the fun, picking up three hits and matching the three-RBI totals of Fraher, Katie MacLachlan and Emma MacLachlan. Strait doubled twice and drove in two runs, with Wynne, Hopper and Hannah Durand getting one RBI apiece.
Another tough game loomed on Saturday, Marcellus taking on West Genesee and doing just enough to earn an 8-7 victory over the Wildcats.
They traded runs early, Marcellus going in front 6-2 by the third inning and extending the margin to 7-2 before WG made a late push.
Only a run in the top of the seventh ended up saving the Mustangs as Annabella Mondello singled twice, tripled, scored three times and drove in two runs. Durand, Wynne and Grattan had one RBI apiece, with Fraher scoring two runs.
Skaneateles wasn’t far behind Marcellus in terms of its record, and improved upon it last Tuesday with a six-run third inning and five-run sixth inning during a 15-2 romp over Phoenix.
Lexi Cottrill’s single and double led to four RBIs. Tatum Pas’cal doubled three times and scored four runs as she and Chelsea Metz both got two RBIs. Laci Gadis, Carlee Pitman, Erin Guthrie and Kelly Goldberger also drove in runs.
The Lakers won again on Wednesday, outscoring Weedsport 10-6 as Jordan-Elbridge, taking on Cazenovia on Thursday, was kept quiet in a 7-0 defeat to those other Lakers, only to avenge that defeat 1-0 on Saturday.
Meanwhile, Skaneateles struggled in last Saturday’s 12-3 defeat to Onondaga, its overall record falling to 6-3 as the Tigers improved to 6-2 led by Lana Thousand’s home run, two doubles and four RBIs.
