CENTRAL NEW YORK – With the snow melted, the only question was whether it would dry up enough for area high school baseball teams to start their 2022 seasons before the rains returned.
Still in search of its first sectional title since 1977, West Genesee, who lost in the Class AA final to Baldwinsville last June, was impressive last Friday in defeating Syracuse City 10-0.
Ryan Klementowski only allowed one hit in five innings, striking out eight. The Wildcats struck for three runs in the first inning and added seven more runs in the fifth and sixth as Jake DePalma had a single, double and three RBIs, with Talon Elkins getting three hits and driving in a pair of runs.
Skaneateles, last year’s Section III B-2 champions, opened against one of its main rivals, Marcellus, and it proved quite a good game, with the Lakers defeating the Mustangs 4-2.
Marcellus was up 1-0 when, in the bottom of the third, Skaneateles scored three times off Mustangs pitcher John Francesconi.
That was enough as Nate Shattuck pitch four innings and James Musso three innings, the pair combining for seven strikeouts while holding Marcellus to four hits. Emil Sander had two hits and scored twice for Skaneateles. Chad Lowe, Trey Michel and Leonard Anna got credit for RBIs.
Westhill, a team with high ambitions of its own every spring, had a tough opening assignment last Tuesday against Cicero-North Syracuse and lost, 6-2, to the Northstars.
A quick 1-0 edge disappeared when C-NS scored single runs in the third and fourth innings, but it was a four-run rally by the Northstars in the fifth that proved decisive.
Nick LaFex earned two hits, with Aiden Kerr scoring both of Westhill’s runs. Tyler Campbell pitched 3 2/3 innings and took the loss as Logan Karwowski led the Northstars with a pair of RBIs.
Bishop Ludden and Jordan-Elbridge got the jump on April 2 by venturing to the all-weather turf at Gutchess Field in Cortland, where the Gaelic Knights rolled to an 11-1 victory over the Eagles.
After Dom Rinaldo tripled home Emerson Derby to give J-E a 1-0 lead in the first inning, Ludden pitchers Joe Dunham, Peter Dunham and Mike Masterpole no-hit the Eagles the rest of the way, combining for 10 strikeouts.
Netting 10 total runs in the second through fourth innings, the Gaelic Knights saw Joe Dunham triple, single twice and get two RBIs, with Peter Dunham also driving in a pair of runs.
Ludden then faced Port Byron last Tuesday and, in a much closer game, rallied to beat the Panthers 4-3, using a run in the fifth and two runs in the sixth to erase a 3-1 deficit.
Peter Dunham, with two hits and two RBIs, led the comeback, with Joey Adamo scoring three times. Joe Dunham also had two hits as he drove in a run, and pitched a scoreless seventh inning of relief for the save after Peter went the first six frames, striking out eight.
As that went on, J-E lost, 12-0, to Hannibal, held to one hit (from Derby) by pitcher Jaeger Carter as the Warriors got all of its runs in the first and third innings
In Wednesday’s game against LaFayette, Ludden made it three wins in a row, topping the Lancers 7-2. Masterpole was masterful on the mound, amassing 12 strikeouts in six innings while holding the Lancers to four hits.
A pair of first-inning runs, plus three runs in the fourth, were sufficient as Joe Dunham’s pair of singles led to three RBIs and Masterpole drove in two runs. Peter Dunham scored twice as he and Andrew Pullano had one RBI apiece.
Solvay opened last Wednesday and claimed a 12-9, eight-inning victory over Central Square, breaking a 1-1 tie with six runs in the third, only to have the Redhawks get back in it with a five-run fourth.
Up 9-7 in the bottom of the seventh, the Bearcats surrendered two runs, but then had a three-run eighth to move ahead for good, Dan Mrowinski getting three RBIs as Justin Palimsano and Jonathan Gonzalez-Perez each drove in two runs and Jordan Dippold scored thee times. A 5-2 loss to Bishop Grimes followed on Friday afternoon.
