CENTRAL NEW YORK – Four wins in four games played in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina had only increased the confidence the Baldwinsville softball team felt about itself as it returned to Central New York.
Then, just before an early-week snowstorm caused more scheduling havoc, the Bees faced Central Square last Monday and tore into the Redhawks, prevailing 18-0 for its fifth in a row.
Taylor Tripodi pulled off a rare feat when, in six innings of work, she recorded all 18 of her outs by striking out Central Square batters, only allowing one hit and two walks.
A four-run second inning was quickly followed by B’ville batting around in the third, netting six runs, and then scoring six more runs in the sixth following single tallies in the fourth and fifth.
Bella Nazdan went three-for-four with a triple, two singles and three RBIs. Ayla Fleming and Isabella Hotchkiss both had four hits and three runs scored as Hotchkiss, Grace Branshaw, Bianca DeSellems, Hannah Caughey and Leah VerSchneider had two RBIs apiece.
Very little changed for B’ville when it had its SCAC Metro division opener Thursday against Fayetteville-Manlius, Tripodi again proving tough to solve in a 6-1 victory over the Hornets.
In another complete-game effort, Tripodi amassed 15 strikeouts while holding F-M to two hits. It helped, of course, that B’ville gave her early support with a four-run second inning, plus runs in the fourth and sixth.
Nazdan singled, doubled and drove in a pair of runs, while Fleming had a triple and two RBIs. Isabella Hotchkiss drove in a run and scored twice.
Going to Oneida on Friday afternoon, it looked for a long while that the win streak would end – but a stirring late comeback allowed the Bees to stun the Indians 6-5 to make it seven in a row.
B’ville’s early 2-0 lead disappeared when Oneida struck for five runs off Hotchkiss in the bottom of the second, two of them coming home on Julianna Carroll’s single.
Hotchkiss settled down, though, and as she pitched five shutout innings B’ville moved within 5-3 with a run in the fifth. Then, in the top of the seventh, it got to Indians pitcher Kerrigan Crysler for three runs to move out in front.
Tripodi was the only Bees player to earn a pair of hits. Tripodi, Hotchkiss, DeSellems and Branshaw earned one RBI apiece.
And there wasn’t a letdown Saturday as B’ville won a 12-2 rematch with F-M, scoring all of its runs in five and seven-run outbursts in the first two innings to support DeSellens’ complete-game pitching effort.
Leading the way, Hotchkiss was four-for-four, driving in a run as Nazdan, DeSellens and VerSchneider had three hits apiece. Haidei Parnell joined DeSellens and Nazdan getting two RBIs.
B’ville would now go up against the two sides that have dominated area Class AA softball in recent years, Cicero-North Syracuse and Liverpool, in its only games this week.
