ONONDAGA COUNTY – Despite its 7-2 record nearing the end of April, the Baldiwnsville softball team remained placed outside the state Class AAA rankings, having to wait longer to garner respect outside Central New York circles.
In the meantime, the Bees took a three-game win streak into last week’s homestand and doubled it in the course of four days, starting with an impressive 5-0 shutout of West Genesee last Tuesday afternoon.
Most of the game was a tense pitcher’s duel, the Wildcats’ Maria Brandt matching Bella Hotchkiss for four innings at 0-0. However, the Bees scored four times in the bottom of the fifth and added a run in the sixth to go out in front.
Not content with throwing a complete-game shutout and holding WG to four hits while amassing 11 strikeouts, Hotchkiss also got two hits at the plate. Jenna Martin drove in a pair of runs, with single RBIs going to Frankie DeSantis and Mackenzie Southworth. Ella Amato had a hit and scored a B’ville run.
Fayetteville-Manlius was next on Thursday afternoon. Having won 10-6 overt the Hornets in April, the Bees wanted to avoid another close call – and did so, putting together two big innings on the way to a 17-3 victory.
Seven runs in the bottom of the second broke the game open, but the Bees weren’t done as it batted around again in the fourth and again scored seven times, all while Hotchkiss threw a complete game with seven strikeouts.
Julianna Gingrich went three-for-three with two doubles, driving in a pair of runs. Southworth and DeSantis also had two-RBI outings as Layla Trendowski and Marissa McCloud also drove in runs and Gulich scored three times.
Then, in Friday’s game against visiting Rome Free Aacdemy, B’ville would steadily pull away and earn an 8-1 victory over the Black Knights for its sixth win in a row.
A pair of first-inning runs was enough, but the Bees kept going, adding single tallies in the third and fourth before using a four-run fifth inning to put RFA away.
Amid a 12-hit attack, Leah VerSchneider singled twice and drove in two runs. McCloud tripled and singled, with Hotchkiss and Gulich also getting two hits apiece. Trendowski, Gingrich and DeSantis added RBIs.
Just as important was the way senior Jenna DiLberto pitched. Proving there was depth in the circle, DiLiberto overcame eight hits and two walks by striking out six and constantly working out of trouble, only surrendering her shutout in the top of the seventh.
All this leads to a tough week where B’ville goes to Cicero-North Syracuse and Liverpool in consecutive games before hosting reigning sectional Class B champion Chittenango on Saturday afternoon.
