CENTRAL NEW YORK – An undefeated Westhill baseball team was set to put that perfect mark on the line last week in what was supposed to be back-to-back games against local OHSL Liberty division rivals.
Rain and cold weather forced a postponement of one of those games, against Marcellus, but Westhill did play against Solvay a day later and put together a 10-0, five-inning shutout of the Bearcats.
In a productive second inning, Westhill batted around and struck for six runs, adding four more runs in the fifth, though Mike Madigan didn’t need all of them.
Pitching quite well, Madigan held Solvay to two hits and struck out 10 without allowing a walk. He also singled and drove in two runs, with Aidan Kerr and Luke Pickett adding two RBIs apiece as Ryan Campbell, Brady Richardson and Aiden Ryan also drove in runs.
The Westhill-Marcellus game was made up Friday afternoon, and once again the unbeaten sectional champions got a pitching gem, this time from Campbell, as it blanked the Mustangs 5-0.
Going 6 1/3 innings, Campbell limited Marcellus to three hits and three walks while amassing nine strikeouts. His Marcellus counterpart, Ethan Dilmore, lasted four innings, surrendering single runs in the first and third.
It took a three-run sixth inning off reliever Gavin Foy for Westhill to get away, with Trey Dillobaugh hitting a home run as Taden Chester scored twice. Runs were also scored by Anthony Sampo and Anthony Pagano.
Solvay had played against Cazenovia the day before it met Westhill, and took an 11-1 defeat to the Lakers. All that the Bearcats could manage was a fourth-inning run, Jaylen King diving in Aaron Trendell.
Jordan Dippold got a pair of hits as Cazenovia’s Jack Byrnes not only pitched a complete game, he went three-for-four at the plate with a double and two RBIs.
A day before it was supposed to meet Westhill, Marcellus fought to a 7-5 victory over Watertown in a game shortened to six innings, the key a four-run second inning where the Mustangs fully erased an early 2-1 deficit.
John Francesconi went two-for-three with a pair of RBIs. Ethan Dilmore added two hits as he and Matt Thorpe also drove in runs. Nick Evans pitched 4 2/3 innings, striking out seven Cyclones batters.
As Solvay lost again 9-0 to Bishop Grimes on Thursday, Skaneateles took its own trip to Cazenovia and was shut out until the seventh inning in a 7-1 defeat.
Nate Shattuck pitched and lasted until the fourth, by which point Cazenovia had a 6-0 lead helped by Jack Donlin’s home run, single and three RBIs. Donlin also pitched and blanked the visitors until Carter Corbett triple homed Cal Anna in the seventh, Corbett and Hugh Carroll finished with two hits apiece.
However, the Lakers made a big recovery on Saturday by taking on undefeated Bishop Ludden and, helped by its bats, putting together a 10-9 victory over the Gaelic Knights.
Down 4-2 in the bottom of the fourth, Skaneateles turned the game around when Carroll, with the bases loaded, sent one over the fence for the first grand slam of his high school career, all part of a seven-run rally.
Ludden fought back and tied it, 9-9, only to have the Lakers’ Keelan Marlen bash a solo home run in the bottom of the sixth that, with Cade Lamphere’s scoreless seventh inning of relief, produced the victory.
Chad Lowe, Casey Kenan and Sean Olley each had two hits that helped Skaneateles overcome an uneven start from Scott Scherrer, who allowed five runs in five innings. Mike Masterpole hit a home run for Ludden as Parker Pichoske had two hits and two RBIs, with Joey Adamo scoring twice.
