ONONDAGA COUNTY – When they encountered each other for the third time in 10 days, the Liverpool and Cicero-North Syracuse baseball teams were both filled with confidence, for good reason.
Twice, Liverpool had done what no one else had this season – beat SCAC Metro division regular-season champion West Genesee, while the Northstars were coming off an impressive season sweep of Baldwinsville.
Yet this game between these rivals went just like the first two did, a wild first inning ultimately proving the difference as Liverpool prevailed by a 9-6 margin.
C-NS appeared to get the edge with six runs off Liverpool pitcher Aiden Blincoe in the top of the first inning, two coming home on Lucas Crystal’s single as Jaden Zimmer and Joe Seliger also had RBIs.
However, Liverpool countered by chasing Northstars pitcher Battista Wood with eight runs in the bottom of the first and then made it stick thanks to four innings of scoreless relief from Jameson Stevens before Tyler Vivacqua worked the last two innings.
At the plate, Jack Hoppe drove in a pair of runs, with Vivacaqua, Chris Baker, Nate Benjamin and Alex Evans earning one RBI apiece to overcome three hits from Crystal and two from Mason Mingle.
All of this was overshadowed, a bit, by what happened last Tuesday at Onondaga Community College, Liverpool again getting the best of West Genesee in a 7-3 decision.
Against a freshman pitcher (Colin Crinnin) who was 6-0 on the season, Liverpool scored twice in the second inning and once in the third for a 3-0, only to have WG tie it in the bottom of the fourth.
Unfazed by this, Liverpool went back in front 4-3 in the fifth and added a trio of insurance runs in the next two innings led by Baker’s three hits and Hoppe and Michael Henderson earning two hits apiece.
Vivacqua scored twice as Hoppe, overcoming his third-inning struggles, blanked the Wildcats the rest of the way, only allowing three hits and four walks.
In the series opener at WG, Liverpool fell behind 5-0, only to fight back with three runs in the fourth, a run in the fifth and, after the Wildcats made it 7-4 in the bottom of the fifth, putting up three runs in the top of the seventh as Hoppe’s three RBIs led the comeback.. Baker, Chaz Anthony and Austin Burch also drove in runs.
That 7-7 tie did not last, though, WG winning on Talon Ellkins’ run-scoring single in the bottom of the seventh off Baker, who joined Anthony Testone and Ryan Desimone in relief duty after Benjamin got the start.
Meanwhile, C-NS was getting a gem from Bryce Zicaro in a 6-0 shutout of B’ville, where the Northstars struck for four run in the top of the first, adding single runs in the first and third as Zicaro netted a pair of RBIs, with single runs driven home by Andrew Davis, Carter King, Shacory Williams and Jaden Zimmer.
Yet it was Zicaro’s performance on the mound that dazzled. He threw a one-hitter, only allowing a single to Reid Rachwal and two walks while amassing eight strikeouts.
Far different was its 12-8 victory over B’ville at the Gillette Road Complex where the Bees roared to an 8-4 lead led Rachwal’s two doubles and a single, along with two RBIs apiece from Gavin Mille and Braden Seeber.
All of this turned around when C-NS put across five runs in the fifth for a 9-8 advantage and tacked on three insurance runs in the sixth.
King and Mingle had three RBIs apiece as Shacory Williams drove in two runs. Davis and Sean Lawler also drove in runs, with Hunter Corkran pitching two scoreless innings of relief to preserve the lead after rough mound outings by Casey Gunnip and Justin Coyne.
C-NS then had its own game with West Genesee on Friday and took a 4-2 loss to the Wildcats, who grabbed a 3-0 lead by the end of the second inning and never got caught.
Both Northstars runs came in the fourth, Williams and Davis scoring them as Lawler was credited with an RBI. Zicaro, Gunnip and Wood each pitched two innings as C-NS fell to 9-10 but got ready for the sectional tournament.
Liverpool closed the regular season with a 7-4 loss to unbeaten South Jefferson on Saturday, but still had done enough to secure the no. 5 seed for the Section III Class AA playoffs, where it faces no. 4 seed Auburn in Tuesday night’s quarterfinal at Falcon Park.
C-NS landed the no. 6 seed and the Northstars will take on no. 3 seed Utica Proctor at Murnane Field in its quarterfinal and, like Liverpool, hopes to advance to Thursday’s semifinals at Onondaga Community College, where the title game will also take place Sunday at 6 p.m.
