ONONDAGA COUNTY – Though it had gone through a fair share of mid-season struggles, the Jamesville-DeWitt baseball team still had the upper hand on its neighbors from East Syracuse Minoa.
Going head-to-head twice early last week, the Red Rams won both of them, starting with last Monday’s 4-2 decision where it scored twice in the first inning and again in the second to take an early 3-0 edge.
Jacob Pacheco’s RBI keyed a two-run fourth inning that pulled the Spartans within one, but a fifth-inning insurance run, plus 1 1/3 innings of scoreless relief from Nolan Giblin, helped J-D close it out.
A.J. Sumida, in 5 1/3 innings, overcame six hits (two of them by Nick Commisso) with six strikeouts. Carter King drove in a pair of runs, with Matt Sweeney adding an RBI and two-hit outings by Sumida, Aidan McGuire and Dante Santos.
The rematch at ESM wasn’t as close, J-D handling the Spartans 8-1 as it scored twice in the first two innings and twice more in the fifth and sixth innings to support freshman pitcher Luke VanMarter, who in 6 1/3 innings struck out five.
Jake Ogata led the Rams at the plate, driving in three runs. Single RBIs went to Giblin, Aaron Ko and Dan Rindfuss as Dylan Clark drove in ESM’s lone run in the bottom of the first.
Later in the week, J-D dropped a wild 12-11 decision to Utica Proctor, squandering an early lead 3-0 lead and then, leading again in the late stages, seeing the Raiders score four times in the sixth.
King tripled, singled twice and got two RBIs. Sumida and VanMarter also drove in two runs as Giblin walked twice and scored three times. Juan Manuel Baez Garcia led Proctor with four RBIs.
ESM had its own high-scoring game on Saturday against Rome Free Academy, falling 15-9 to the Black Knights as it could not hold early 3-1 or 8-6 leads, RFA netting four runs in the fourth and sixth to go in front.
Still, Dan Gilkey went three-for-four, driving in a pair of runs as Kevin Stewart also had two RBIs. Dylan Clark and Joe Federico also drove in runs.
Meanwhile, Christian Brothers Academy recovered from a 1-0 defeat to Liverpool May 7 with an impressive effort last Tuesday against reigning sectional Class B champion Sknaeateles, topping the Lakers 11-2.
Three first-inning runs set the tone and the Brothers got away with four runs in the fourth. Cooper Marko’s pair of hits led to two RBIs as Luke Boule, Ethan Harris, Matt Landau, Will Harrigan and Jack Landau drove in one run apiece.
Four pitchers – Harrigan, Tom Leskoske, Casey Vaughn and Ryan Petrie – combined to hold Skaneateles to four hits and got 11 strikeouts between them.
Then CBA lost again to Liverpool 3-2 last Wednesday, only managing single runs in the first and sixth innings and held to four hits by Warriors pitcher Jack Hoppe. Nate Smith and Jack Landau drove in those runs, with Smith pitching five innings before Boule took over in relief.
Another close game followed on Thursday afternoon, but the Brothers were able to beat Syracuse City 5-4.
Trailing 3-1 through two innings, CBA scored twice in the third and fourth, Boule going three-for-three with a double, two singles and three RBIs. Teck Nash and Jack Landau drove in the other runs.
Despite Syracuse scoring a run in the sixth, Jack Landau was able to pitch a scoreless seventh inning of relief after he replaced Harrigan. Leskoske started and went four innings, striking out six but walking seven.
In Saturday’s game against St. Joseph’s (Buffalo), CBA prevailed 10-5, exchanging three-run rallies in the first inning before scoring six runs in the bottom of the second to take control.
Boule went three-for-three and scored a run. Harris got a pair of RBIs, with Cooper Marko scoring twice as Smith, to earn the win, did not allow a hit in his two-inning pitching stint.
