CENTRAL NEW YORK – Through all of its starts and stops, the Christian Brothers Academy baseball team remained undefeated, one of the few sides in Central New York to make that claim.
At 7-0 going into last Tuesday’s game at Phoenix, the Brothers trailed for a while, but used two big rallies to take charge and defeat the Firebirds 7-1.
Phoenix put across a first-inning run, and it was still 1-0 when, in the top of the fourth, CBA got to Phoenix pitcher Ty Corey for four runs, then tacked on three insurance runs in the seventh.
Tom Leskoske (4 2/3 innings) and Ryan Petrie (2 1/3 innings) combined for 15 strikeouts while only surrendering five hits. Zach Mulhern doubled and drove in two runs, while Petrie had an RBI and Mike Giamartino banged out two hits.
From there, CBA took on Marcellus Friday and handled the Mustangs 11-0, with Ryan Petrie and Teddy Meade combining on a one-hitter where they got eight strikeouts between them.
Already up 3-0, the Brothers used an eight-run third inning to put the game away. Giamartino continued to tear it up with a home run, single and two RBIs, while Luke Boule also drove in a pair of runs. Will Harrigan, Luke Becker and Mike Menar each scored twice.
Fayetteville-Manlius got its first win over an SCAC Metro division foe last Tuesday when, facing Cicero-North Syracuse, the Hornets pulled out a 7-6 decision over the Northstars.
A three-run second inning erased an early 2-0 deficit. Then F-M led 4-3 when C-NS put up three runs in the top of the fifth to grab a 6-4 edge.
Absorbing all of this, the Hornets put across a run in the fifth and, in the bottom of the seventh, got the tying and winning runs off Bryce Zicaro, who had relieved Battista Wood.
Seth Albert drove in a pair of runs. Gavin Nichols and Michael Dutch had two hits apiece, Dutch joining Max Danaher, Steve Wratney, Harrison Schwab and Ryan Kleinhans in the RBI column as Albert and Sam Kuss both pitched well in relief of Dan Swift.
It was just as close in Thursday’s game against Liverpool, but the Hornets found itself on the wrong end of a 4-3 defeat as LHS got the winning run in the bottom of the seventh when a Danaher wild pitch scored Chaz Anthony.
Prior to that, Danaher pitched five innings and, though he only gave up two hits, surrendered six walks.. Wratney and Dutch each drove in a run as the Hornets were limited to three hits, one each by Albert, Dutch and Nolan Merrow.
F-M then lost 8-1 to Whitesboro on Friday, the Class A favorites shutting out the Hornets until the seventh inning and holding it to just five hits overall. Three-run rallies in the second and fifth innings accounted for most of the margin.
But the Hornets turned around and beat C-NS again 3-1 on Saturday, exchanging third-inning runs before scoring twice in the top of the fifth, which proved decisive.
Gavin Nichols scored twice, with Tom Woodridge earning an RBI, but it was Albert and Kuss pulling it out as they pitched three scoreless innings of relief after Max Werde started. Combined, the trio limited the Northstars to three hits.
