ONONDAGA COUNTY – It was a season of growth and learning for the Liverpool baseball team as it got an up-close look at what it would take to reclaim its place atop the area large-school ranks.
The final lesson was offered in Tuesday’s Section III Class AA quarterfinal, where the Warriors got a strong pitching performance from Noah Klasen, yet fell 3-0 to defending champion Baldwinsville.
Three losses to the no. 3 seed Bees in the regular season did not discourage no. 6 seed Liverpool, who sent Klasen to the mound against B’ville ace Kai Girard.
They were scoreless until the bottom of the second inning, when B’ville struck for all of its runs off Klasen, one each driven in by Logan McIntyre, Aidan Milburn and Dean Welch.
Klasen, who went five innings, and reliever Aidan Blincoe shut out the Bees the rest of the way and only allowed seven hits, three of them by Braden Seeber.
But the Warriors were silenced at the plate by Girard, who only surrendered singles to Sam Michalak and Jack Hoppe and amassed eight strikeouts without allowing a walk.
As Liverpool ended its season at 7-13, top seed Cicero-North Syracuse had little trouble in its sectional quarterfinal, shutting out no. 8 seed Rome Free Academy 10-0.
Not wasting any time, the Northstars struck for three runs in each of the first two innings, adding two runs in the third for a quick 8-0 advantage.
Carter King led the way, his single and four RBIs part of an effort where Grayson Giddings and Anthony Testa both drove in a pair of runs and Mason Mingle added an RBI.
All of those early runs were more than pitcher Sam Shaw needed as, tossing a complete game, he held the Black Knights to five hits and two walks, striking out 11.
The semifinal Thursday at Onondaga Community College gives C-NS a chance to avenge its lone two defeats of the season to Fayetteville-Manlius, with the winner getting B’ville or West Genesee in Sunday’s title game.
