For a couple of days early this week warmer, drier weather arrived and area high school softball teams which stayed in town during the April break got out on the field.
This included West Genesee, who before the snow returned was able to take on Christian Brothers Academy Tuesday afternoon and push its way past the Brothers 12-5 as Emma Dickerson’s home run highlighted a 14-hit attack where Dickerson finished with four RBIs.
Brynlee Elkins and Alanna Bowman had three hits apiece and Elkins scored four runs, with Bowman crossing the plate twice. Lorelai Leskoske pitched a complete game and, despite allowing 12 hits, escaped enough trouble to earn the win.
Then, in Thursday’s visit to Liverpool, WG looked to continues the early struggles of the 0-2 defending sectional Class AAA champions and were close to doing so before a late rally by the Warriors led to a 3-2 Wildcats defeat.
Leskoske blanked Liverpool over the first five innings, getting help when WG scored in the third and fifth innings. Kyra Lynch had two hits and scored a run as Elkins scored the other run and Bowman picked up an RBI.
However, in the bottom of the sixth Liverpool got on the board with Alivia Henty-Goldberg’s run-scoring single before Erica Ryan doubled home both the tying and go-ahead runs. Lexi Goodfellow, who struck out 12, got the final three outs.
At the Ripken Experience in Myrtle Beach Westhill lost a 14-10 battle with Edison where it nearly came back from an 11-3 mid-game deficit caused largely by committing six errors.
Sophia Johnson homered and finished with three RBIs. Samantha Snyder drove in a pair of runs, with single RBIs going to Sydney Medeiros, Lily Schmitz and Adrianna Kohanski. Sabine Napolitano singled, walked twice and scored three runs.
In an 11-0 loss to Station Camp (Tennessee) Westhill was held to three hits, one each by Snyder, Schmitz and Sophia Johnson. Station Camp used a seven-run second inning to seize control.
Marcellus also lost its first game in Myrtle Beach, an 11-3 decision to Oak Glen (South Carolina) where Aemlia Novitsky had three of the Mustangs’ five hits – a single, double and triple – adding an RBI to match that by Chloe Kuttruff.
A 14-1 defeat to Staten Island’s Moore Catholic followed on Wednesday, with the Mustangs’ lone run scored in the bottom of the second when Dahlia Schultz drove home Jordan O’Connor.
Solvay suffered its own setback in its first game in Myrtle Beach, taking a 16-0 loss to Wilson Hall, a local side who tagged Jenna Wing and Riley Gosha for all of its runs in the first two innings and didn’t allow a hit, either, though Wing and Rachel Willsey drew walks.
More struggles followed a day later in a 12-0 loss to LaSalle, only in this game the Bearcats did get hits from Janiya Walters and Mackenzie Dwyer. Wing and Jazmyne Darling both walked, while Annabelle Stewart pitched.
Yet it all turned on Wednesday with Solvay shutting out Section I’s John Jay by that exact same 12-0 margin as Stewart had her best pitching performance for the Bearcats striking out 10 and only allowing one hit.
A six-run second inning and five-run third inning included two hits by Stewart that led to three RBIs. Wing singled twice, walked and scored three runs as Bailey Beecher, Gianna D’Eredita and Riley Gosha each drove in a run.
Jordan-Elbridge endured its third consecutive close defeat last Monday falling 8-6 to Phoenix despite rallying from a 4-0 deficit in the fourth and fifth innings to go in front 5-4 before the Firebirds went ahead for good in the sixth.
Abby DelFavero went three-for-four, scoring a run, while Isabella Jay and Brooke Chiaramonte got two hits apiece. Grace Rusyniak doubled and drove in two runs as Bella D’Arrigo and Cam Fraher had one RBI apiece.
J-E then lost 12-1 to Port Byron on Thursday afternoon, the Panthers scoring in five straight innings led by Raelee McDowell, who had three hits and a walk and scored four runs.
