CENTRAL NEW YORK – Most of the area’s high school baseball teams aimed to start their respective 2022 seasons as conditions proved ideal to do so, at least in the first few days of April.
Bishop Grimes went out first, going to Cortland’s Gutchess Field on April 2 and putting together a 6-2 victory over the Central Valley Academy Thunder.
In the top of the third inning, the Cobras scored four times to go in front for good, adding insurance runs in the fourth and seventh after CVA cut the margin to 4-2 in the bottom of the third.
R.J. Benedetto doubled, tripled and scored a run, with Dominic Rossi scoring twice. Jon Farstler, Nick Colagiovanni and Brett Helmer had one RBI apiece.
On the mound, Benedetto pitched five solid innings, holding the Thunder to two hits while amassing 11 strikeouts. Will Markwood added four K’s in two scoreless innings of relief.
Grimes followed it up nearly a week later with a 5-2 victory over Solvay where it limited the Bearcats to a single hit while improving to 2-0 overall.
East Syracuse Minoa played in that same April 2 event in Cortland against reigning sectional Class B-1 champion Camden and put up plenty of runs, yet still lost 13-11 to the Blue Devils.
Each side scored in each of the first three innings, leaving it 7-7. The Spartans went ahead with a run in the top of the fifth, but Camden countered with four in the bottom of the fifth.
Then ESM got even 11-11 in the top of the sixth before a pair of Blue Devils runs in the bottom of the sixth finally proved decisive, Derek Holmes leading Camden with two singles, a double and five RBIs.
