CENTRAL NEW YORK – Each spring it’s traditional for the Jamesville-DeWitt softball team to bring out a potent lineup and high-quality pitching while contending for league and Section III championship honors.
But the Red Rams might take a longer path in 2025, evidenced by Monday’s season opener at Central Square where it took a 4-3 defeat to the Redhawks.
Central Square had not beat J-D since 2016, a span of nine years and 15 games. And it looked like the Rams might pull this one out, too, after it overcame a 2-0 deficit with single runs in the third, fifth and sixth innings.
However, the Redhawks got to pitcher Emily Qiao for the tying and go-ahead runs in the top of the seventh driven in by a Payton St. Clair double and Savannah Staats single, and pitcher Caytlin Redeye earned the final three outs.
Of J-D’s six hits, three were by Savannah Schnorr, who doubled, singled twice and scored twice. Madelyn Murphy and Kayla McQuaid drove in runs. Qiao allowed 11 hits overall.
A day later the Rams lost again, this time 9-2 to Fulton, who had two runs in each of the first three innings to gain control. Qiao’s single in the top of the sixth scored McQuaid and Lyla Commandeur with both of J-D’s runs. Rose Douglas led the Red Dragons with a single, triple and three runs scored.
This skid ended Thursday against Syracuse City in a big way, J-D breaking out with 15 runs in the first inning on the way to a 19-1 victory as it only got seven hits, but took advantage of 23 walks.
Commandeur had two hits and two walks, scoring four times. Qiao doubled and drove in four runs. Hannah Trevisani and Leah Peterson both got three RBIs, with Addison Bufis driving in two runs.
East Syracuse Minoa continued to show quick improvemen in Monday’s game at Cazenovia, pushing itself past the Lakers by a score of 12-4.
A five-run second inning off Lakers pitcher Irie Gallerani broke the game open, and more followed as Juliana Orcutt singled, doubled and tripled as part of an 11-hit attack.
Emily Clonan and Ava Meyer had two hits apiece, Meyer joining Maddie Marquart to earn two RBIs apiece. Mya Quonce scored four runs and Ava Burry scored three runs as Meyer, pitching a complete game, struck out 10 while allowing six hits.
Yet ESM fell back Thursday in a 13-6 loss to Fulton, with the Red Dragons scoring in five of the first six innings including home runs by Riley Trude and Ella Przychodzen.
In defeat, Burry went three-for-four, including a triple, scored twice and gained an RBI. Marquart doubled and drove in a pair of runs as Clonan and Addison Adames had one RBI apiece.
Christian Brothers Academy played West Genesee Tuesday and took a 12-5 defeat to the Wildcats, this despite 12 hits, three of them by Allison Boule, who scored a pair of runs.
Grace Bertone-Nicotra’s pair of hits drove in three runs. Juliette Zimmerman had two hits and scored twice as Aubrey Vincentini and Mary Catherine Giamartino also had two-hit outings.
At Oswego on Thursday afternoon CBA turned it around and earned a tough 3-2 victory over the Buccaneers, getting all of its runs in a single rally.
The Buccaneers led 2-0 through four innings as pitcher Maria Sweet was on her way to 15 strikeouts breaking the Oswego school record for career strikeouts once held at 591 by Abby Martin.
Yet CBA put together a comeback in the fifth, with run-scoring hits by Bertone-Nicotra and Zimmerman as they both eventually scored, Vincentini getting the other RBI. Gracie Battles pitched scoreless sixth and seventh innings and had seven strikeouts to overcome the Bucs’ eight hits.
