CENTRAL NEW YORK – In a single Tuesday afternoon and evening, the path for the Liverpool and Cicero-North Syracuse baseball teams through the Section III Class AA playoffs cleared – mostly by their own doing, but with some help along the way.
By the time Liverpool, the no. 5 seed, had emerged from its 6-4, eight-inning battle with no. 4 seed Auburn at Falcon Park, it already knew that top seed West Genesee was out, beaten 7-6 by no. 8 seed Baldwinsville.
Still, the turn of events wouldn’t mean much if Liverpool got beat, and for six innings that looked quite possible, Auburn getting a pitching gem from Cooper Polcovich and taking a 2-0 lead in the bottom of the fifth.
It remained that way until the top of the seventh, when Liverpool loaded the bases, put across a couple of runs and, after Lucas West relieved Polkovich, used a wild pitch to bring home the go-ahead run.
Attempting to close it out in the bottom of the seventh, Liverpool could not do so, Auburn tying it 3-3, but in the top of the eighth the visitors got to West for three more runs.
Now protecting a 6-3 lead, Aidan Blincoe, who had taken after two relief innings from Tyler Vivacqua, gave up a run in the bottom of the eighth, but was able to earn the final outs.
Jack Hoppe got the start and went six innings, striking out eight and giving up just four hits. Nate Benjamin’s pair of RBIs was part of an attack where Chris Baker, Austin Burch and Jameson Stevens also drove in runs and Alex Evans got a pair of hits.
Far wilder was what happened at Murnane Field as C-NS, the no. 6 seed, jumped out to a big early lead on no. 3 seed Utica Proctor and withstood a mid-game rally to prevail by a score of 12-7 and advance to the semifinals against Christian Brothers Academy Thursday at Onondaga Community College, which precedes the game between Liverpool and B’ville.
The Northstars wasted little time, scratching across three runs in the top of the first before Proctor answered with two runs of its own.
However, a five-run second seemed to break the game open for the Northstars, Bryce Zicaro helping his own pitching cause with a two-run double, and C-NS tacked on a run in the third.
Proctor wasn’t done, though, chasing Zicaro in the bottom of the fourth and ultimately putting up five runs to make it 9-7, leaving Battista Wood to pitch in relief.
But Wood was brilliant, blanking Proctor the rest of the way and only allowing one hit as the Northstars got single runs in the fifth, sixth and seventh innings for extra cushion.
Lucas Crystal singled, doubled and drove in four runs to pace a 13-hit attack. Mason Mingle matched Zicaro’s pair of RBIs as Carter King and Shacory Williams also had two-hit outings and Hayden Staab scored three times thanks to a single, walk and hit batsman.
