ONONDAGA COUNTY – As it has sought success, the Fayetteville-Manlius softball program has gone through several coaching changes, but the one that took place last summer was more notable than usual.
That was because the Hornets tapped Mike Curro, the long-time coach at Oneida, to take over. All Curro did at Oneida was in 22 seasons see his teams with 349 games and claim six Section III titles.
Now bringing his experience and teaching acumen to F-M, Curro and the Hornets began its season last Monday before cold, wet weather set in for the rest of the week.
The opener against Whitesboro proved an exciting one. Two-run rallies in the first and third innings had the Hornets in front 4-3, but Whitesboro answered with three runs in the top of the fourth.
Down 6-4, F-M did get single runs in the fifth and sixth inning, but a two-run Whitesboro rally in the top of the sixth ultimately made the difference as the Hornets lost 8-6.
Megan Woodridge went three-for-three at the plate, with two singles and a double. Six different players – Avery Howe, Anna Egan, Katie Knapp, Samantha Monroe, Malea Coates and Keelin Coates – had one RBI apiece.
The combined team from Bishop Grimes/Manlius Pebble Hill also debuted last Monday and nearly made a miraculous comeback against Bishop Ludden before falling 18-16 to the Gaelic Knights.
With runs in each of the five innings launched by a six-run first, Ludden overcame a quick 3-0 Cobras advantage and went up 15-3 through four, then extended the margin to 18-4 with a three-run fifth.
GrimesMPH would not give up, though, netting three runs in the sixth and batting around in the top of the seventh, accumulating eight runs before the Gaelic Knights were able to get the final out.
Rainbow Butler went three-for-four, those three hits leading to four RBIs as Ruby Butler also got four RBIs. Myla Pankow and Phoebe Carroll each drove in three runs, with Jenna Gardner adding a pair of RBIs and Elizabeth Corl driving in a single run.
