ONONDAGA COUNTY – Through four games and four victories, the Baldwinsville softball team discovered that it still had many of the same traits and characteristics of its 2023 Section III Class AA title team.
Now, though, the Bees will have to demonstrate that it can handle adversity and weather-enforced inactivity.
At home last Tuesday afternoon to face Cicero-North Syracuse, the Bees were heavily favored, yet found itself contained by the Northstars in a 3-0 defeat, it first loss of the spring.
Throughout the game, the Bees gave itself chances, netting seven hits to C-NS’s five. Layla Trendowski had two of those hits, with Julianna Gingrich, Frankie DeSantis, Bella Hotchkiss, Leah Verschneider and Mackenzie Southworth all getting hits, too.
None of it led to runs, though. Combined, Northstars pitchers Kiyara Bembry (four innings) and Lilian Hotaling (three innings) escaped possible jams and notched 11 strikeouts between them.
Hotchkiss earned 10 strikeouts, but five hits and five walks proved costly, C-NS getting single runs in the first, fourth and fifth innings as Sydney Rockwell led with a single, double and RBI.
Then the weather hit and three straight games were rained out, the Bees not able to host Christian Brothers Academy, travel to Camden or face Shenendehowa (Section II) last Saturday at the Gillette Road complex.
All those games could get made up, and the Bees hope it is dry late this week for a Thursday trip to Jordan-Elbridge and a Friday meeting with Section IV’s Windsor at Carrier Park.
Elsewhere in B’ville athletics, the boys tennis Bees were scheduled to offer up the challenge to Fayetteville-Manlius last Wednesday in the key match of the early-season slate.
Then it started raining and the match was postponed, as was another one Thursday against Cicero-North Syracuse, both to get made up later this spring.
Just a day before the F-M postponement, B’ville ripped West Genesee 7-0, almost getting a perfect result from the seven matches.
Eric Ventura and Nathan Smith won by 6-0, 6-0 margins over, respectively, Dan Alvaro and Ty’San Scott. Only Mason Doan gave up a couple of games, still routing Joe Paoli 6-2, 6-0.
More shutouts came from the doubles teams of Nick Helbig-Andrew Jung, Zach Pendergast-Ethon Haahr and Kai Wilson-Nick Fogu, while Greg Ramin and Connor Donovan surrendered a single game, yet still handled Jonah Harlon and Dhruv Sharma in two sets 6-1, 6-0.
Aside from all this was the continued strong play of B’ville’s girls flag football team in its first-ever varsity season. Whatever the opponent, the Bees are showing that it can handle it.
This was especially true against the Bees’ two biggest rivals, Cicero-North Syracuse and Liverpool, whom it handled in consecutive games to move its overall record to 4-0.
It started April 12 at Bragman Stadium where B’ville gave up a safety, but its defense shut out C-NS, eventually leading to a 13-2 victory over the Northstars.
Then it got better last Monday night when, at Pelcher-Arcaro Stadium, the Bees blanked Liverpool 27-0, its second shutout of the season as it has outscored its four opponents by a combined 107-16 margin.
About the only thing that could stop the Bees was weather, as a rain-soaked field at Oneida forced a postponement of last Friday’s game.
This means B’ville waits more than a week to take the field again, hosting Syracuse West on Tuesday in its only contest during the April school break and the second of what should be five straight home games.
