CENTRAL NEW YORK – Warm, consistent weather and dry conditions meant that area high school softball teams would hit their peak in terms of number of games during the transition from April to May.
Having moved into the state Class A rankings at the no. 20 spot, Jamesville-DeWitt solidified that claim with pitcher Kaira McMahon’s no-hitter in last Wednesday’s 5-0 shutout of Auburn.
Other than two walks, no Maroons batter reached base. McMahon recorded six strikeouts and got error-free defense behind her, but for five innings Auburn’s Ella Noble matched her and kept the game 0-0.
Then J-D went ahead in the bottom of the sixth, the key blow Kayla McQuaid’s two-run single. McMahon, Emily Bulone and Celia Linkiewicz also had RBIs in that rally as Bulone finished with a pair of hits.
Going to Oswego two days later, the Rams had to work hard to pull out a 5-3 decision over the Buccaneers, who didn’t go away even after J-D built a 5-2 lead through three innings.
McMahon, aside from her pitching another complete game, also went three-for-three at the plate, driving in a run as Stella White added a pair of RBIs and Linkiewicz also got an RBI.
Fayetteville-Manlius had another chance at a signature victory last Monday at Liverpool but could not hold on to it in a 6-4 defeat to the Warriors.
F-M got to Liverpool ace Mackenzie Frani for all of its runs in the top of the first inning, with Megan Woodridge, Anna Egan and Avilene Terry all crossing the plate, Terry and Avery Howe finishing with two hits apiece.
Hornets pitcher Alexis Hamilton maintained her sides’ 4-0 edge for a while, but a run in the bottom of the fourth began the Liverpool comeback. Two more runs in the fifth made it 4-3, and then the Warriors seized the lead in the bottom of the sixth, a three-run rally as Joelle Wike (three-for-three, two RBIs) led the way.
A 17-3 defeat to Baldwinsville followed on Thursday, the Bees scoring seven runs in the second and fourth innings as Howe drove in two of F-M’s three runs and Egan added an RBI.
F-M did end the week with a win, blanking Indian River 8-0 on Saturday afternoon to improve its overall record to 4-9 as, that same day, Christian Brothers Academy took an 8-2 loss to Marcellus.
Christian Brothers Academy blanked Oswego 3-0 last Monday to move to 3-5 on the season. The Brothers saw pitcher Gracie Battles dazzle as she held the Buccaneers to two hits while striking out 10. Grace Bertone-Nicotra’s pair of hits led to an RBI as Maricatherine Giamartino also had two hits and Juliette Zimmerman scored.
On Wednesday afternoon, CBA lost, 13-3, to Chittenango, who amassed 19 hits, built a 9-0 lead by the third inning and never got caught. Zimmerman did earn an RBI, with Allison Boule and Avery Bowman getting two hits apiece.
The rematch with the Bears a day later was far closer, this despite Chittenango piling up 11 runs in the bottom of the first.
Somehow, the Brothers made up most of that ground, yet still lost 16-13, with Zimmerman getting four hits and Boule three hits as Bowman, Battles and Abby Benzinger earned two RBIs apiece.
East Syracuse Minoa fell 17-0 to West Genesee last Monday afternoon, but two days later rebounded in a big way with a 12-4 victory over Central Square.
Though it never trailed, the Spartans needed a seven-run rally in the sixth to thwart the Redhawks’ comeback. Maddy Marquart hit a home run as she and Sydney Gumiak both had three RBIs. Mya Quonce, Brooke Kirkpatrick and Hannah Decker also drove in runs as Julianna Orcutt added a pair of hits.
In Friday’s 10-7 win over Syracuse City, ESM got two hits and three RBIs from Orcutt, with Kirkpatrick driving in a pair of runs. Quonce, Gurniak, Marquart and Ava Burry got two hits apiece.
Bishop Grimes/MPH put up runs in the first game of last Tuesday’s doubleheader against Fabius-Pompey, but never went out in front during a 10-8 defeat to the Falcons.
Rainbow Butler drove in three runs, with Elizabeth Corl and Riley Messenger each scoring twice, all of which was missing in the second game, a 12-0 loss where F-P pitcher Paige Stroh only allowed two hits – one from June Hilton, the other by Myla Pankow.
Against Bishop Ludden a day later, Grimes looked to avenge an 18-16 defeat in its season opener and scored five times in the first inning to go in front, only to have the Gaelic Knights put up 10 runs in the top of the third.
The Cobras ultimately took a 14-7 defeat as Messenger delivered a pair of RBIs and Rainbow Butler got two hits. Corl, Ruby Butler and Jenna Gardner had one RBI apiece.
