CENTRAL NEW YORK – Though it always knew it had the capability of winning big no matter what the opposition, the Christian Brothers Academy baseball team now knows it can fall way behind and still emerge victorious.
Hosting Cicero-North Syracuse last Tuesday afternoon, the Brothers got off to a rough start, but quickly made up all of it and went on to defeat the Northstars 11-7.
Two runs by C-NS in the first inning was followed by a five-run second that made it 7-0, Hector Gonzalez quickly chased from the mound and replaced by Ben Lovell, who settled things down.
What helped more was a seven-run outburst in the bottom of the seventh that tied it, 7-7, and CBA followed it up with a two-run fourth to go in front and single runs in the fifth and sixth innings.
Riley Clemons-Butenko smashed a home run to key the comeback and finish with four RBIs. Ryan Petrie and Ben Snyder each drove in a pair of runs, with Ethan Harris and Luke Becker adding RBIs. Cooper Marko scored twice as Lovell only allowed three hits in his 5 2/3 innings of work.
Good as this was, it was tempered a bit by Thursday’s 8-7 defeat to Camden where the Brothers were down 4-0 after one inning and 6-5 after four innings and came back to lead on both occasions.
Even with that, and with a 7-6 lead going to the bottom of the seventh, CBA could not hold on, Camden pushing across the tying and winning runs against Jack Landau, who had relived Petrie, the winning run getting home on Cayden Greigel’s double.
Clemons-Butenko continued his hitting tear, going three-for-four. Snyder added two hits as he, along with Petrie, Harris and Becker, were credited with RBIs.
Fayetteville-Manlius had a far different experience than CBA in its home opener against Auburn, relying not on its bats, but on the pitching of Max Werde and Harrison Schwab, which subdued the Maroons in a 2-0 shutout.
Werde went 5 1/3 innings, only giving up one hit and showing tremendous control as he struck out four without a walk before Schwab went the final 1 2/3 innings, not allowing a hit.
F-M’s only runs came in the second and fourth innings. Steve Wratney had two hits and a run scored, with Anthony Giuffrida also crossing the plate as Jeremy Albert got credit for an RBI.
Looking for more success Thursday in its own game against C-NS at the Gillette Road complex, the Hornets instead fell 7-1 to the Northstars.
It was tight most of the way. Down 2-0, F-M closed within a run when Brian Tonkevich drove home Giuffrida in the top of the fourth, but it got no closer.
C-NS used a two-run fifth inning and three-run sixth inning to draw clear, hitting both starting pitcher Danny Swift and reliever Jimmy Kuss. Chris Williams went four-for-four to lead the Northstars as Andrew Davis scored three times.
Turning it around again on Saturday afternoon, F-M fought past Rome Free Academy in a tense 3-2 battle.
A pair of first-inning runs had the Hornets in front, with the Black Knights using single tallies in the third and fourth innings to pull even, 2-2.
It stayed that way until the top of the seventh, when F-M pushed across the go-ahead run and Schwab, in his third no-hit inning of relief after Gavin Nicholls started, closed it out. Giuffrida had two RBIs, with Albert getting two hits and scoring twice.
