CENTRAL NEW YORK – Regardless of what happens in the Section III Class B playoffs, it’s already proven a memorable spring for the Cazenovia baseball team.
And those memories continued to get built last week, partially due to the Lakers dominating its neighbors from Chittenango and cruising to a 12-2 victory over the Bears.
Steadily, Cazenovia got away, scoring twice in the first inning and three times each of the next three innings while accumulating 12 hits, three of them by Jack Byrnes, who doubled, walked and got two RBIs.
Jacob Szalach singled and drove in three runs, with Dan Bliss getting two RBIs. Jack Donlin, Sully Clarke and Taven Reilley had one RBI apiece.
Donlin only gave up a pair of Chittenango runs in the bottom of the third driven home by Andrew Kielbasa’s single. That was one of just four hits the Bears managed, Donlin accumulating 10 strikeouts in his five innings of work.
A day earlier, in its Lakers duel with Skaneateles, Cazenovia got the best of it with yet another spectacular all-around performance by Byrnes in an 8-3 victory.
Skaneateles entered the game having won five in a row, but Byrnes, pitching for the first time since his May 9 no-hitter against CBA, only allowed three hits this time while striking out 12.
Even bigger was what Byrnes did at the plate, hitting his third home run of the season, adding a single and finishing with four RBIs. Clarke also had a pair of hits and scored three times as Jacob Grevelding managed three hits and an RBI.
The drama returned on Friday when Cazenovia staged a stirring late-game comeback to beat Solvay 10-7 for its seventh straight win and third consecutive 15-win season.
The Bearcats jumped out 5-0 in the first two innings and were still up 7-4 through five, but Cy Abbott settled down and, in 4 1/3 innings of relief, only allowed two hits to keep the game close.
Cazenovia then netted a run in the sixth and, trailing 7-5, broke through for five runs in the top of the seventh to go in front, Donlin earning three hits as Dan Bliss and Nico Seagall each scored twice. Byrnes not only got two hits, but pitched a scoreless seventh inning of relief to end it.
Right after the defeat to Cazenovia, Chittenango unloaded on a chilly Wednesday at Hannibal, winning 22-8 as it netted five runs in the first inning and eight runs in the second.
Ty Kelly hit a home run, doubled and finished with three RBIs, but teammate Zailor Caras topped Kelly by going three-for-five and driving in five runs. Andrew Kielbasa scored four runs and Ben Kelly got a pair of RBIs.
Chittenango also reached double-digit runs in last Thursday’s game against Marcellus, yet still found itself on the wrong end of a 12-10 defeat to the Mustangs to fall to 10-8 overall.
Drawing the no. 11 playoff seed, the Bears had to get through a first-round game Monday against no. 22 seed Vernon-Verona-Sherrill to get a shot at no. 6 seed Clinton, while Cazenovia is just above them in the bracket as the no. 3 seed, awaiting the winner of Monday’s game between Central Valley Academy and Canastota.
