CICERO – While many aspects of the 2021 high school softball season in Central New York differed from seasons past, one constant was seeing Cicero-North Syracuse and Liverpool battle it out for local supremacy.
And once more, these rivals gathered Saturday at the Gillette Road complex with the Section III Class AA championship on the line, not as a stepping-stone to a state tournament, but as the resolution of a campaign everyone was welcome to see.
Also different was that a perfect record was on the line for the Northstars – which it managed to earn, but only after going through a whole lot of stress before it put away the Warriors 7-4.
Three times, these teams had met early in the regular season, C-NS handling Liverpool by a combined 27-4 margin, but since them the Warriors had rattled off nine consecutive victories.
Add to it the fact that six of the Northstars’ players had attended the senior ball the night before, and it figured to be a far greater challenge, which Liverpool would amply provide.
C-NS took an early 2-0 lead, but after Mackenzie Farni replaced Cassie Wiggins, the Warriors settled down and, more importantly, began to find success at the plate against Northstars ace Cassidy Ormond.
Sarah Miles scored twice and drove in a run as Liverpool moved within one, 3-2, and then in the top of the sixth moved out in front when Farni belted a two-run single.
Rarely in its first 16 games had C-NS dealt with a late-inning deficit, but in the bottom of the sixth it stared at the possibility of a defeat and did not blink.
Four straight hits off Farni restored the Northstars’ lead, with Sydney Harbaugh driving in two runs thanks to her third hit of the afternoon and two more runs crossing the plate, too.
When Ormond recorded the final three outs, C-NS’s 17-0 record was secure, having seen Harbaugh go three-for-three with a triple and two singles as Nicolette Kasch, Giana Wameling and Riley Barrett earned two hits apiece and Hannah Mingle scored twice.
Despite C-NS’s dominance all season, it was the Northstars who had the far tougher semifinal game last Thursday afternoon, having to battle past no. 4 seed Baldwinsville 4-2 as Liverpool rolled past no. 3 seed Fayetteville-Manlius 15-0.
The Northstars jumped out quickly on the Bees as Kasch bashed a three-run home run in the bottom of the first inning to get a 3-0 advantage.
From there, though, B’ville pitcher Taylor Tripodi mostly kept C-NS off the board, only giving up a run-scoring hit from Danielle Filapello in the bottom of the fifth.
Meanwhile, Ormond was dinged for single runs in the second and sixth innings, including one on Alyssa Dabacz’s triple, but prevented further damage as she struck out 10 without a walk and only gave up three hits overall.
Liverpool did not score in the first inning against F-M, but more than made up for it with five runs in the second and third before a six-run fourth and four-run fifth inning extended the margin further.
Amassing 15 hits, the Warriors got three hits and four RBIs from Emma Terzini, with Wiggins and Lily Stevens each driving in two runs. Julia Wike scored four times and Joelle Wike scored three runs as they, along with Wiggins, Haley Miles and Sophia D’Arcangelis, had two hits apiece.
