ONONDAGA COUNTY – When the Baldwinsville baseball team went into its two-game series against Liverpool early last week, it did so with wins in all three of its local games and a chance to further establish itself atop the Class AAA ladder.
Then, helped by Ben Leaton’s pitching and his bat, the Bees made it four in a row when it roared past Liverpool 9-1 in last Monday’s series opener at Onondaga Community College.
Over his six innings on the mound Leaton did not allow a run and limited the Warriors to two hits, striking out seven. Not until the seventh did Liverpool get on the board against reliever Luke Revette.
By then, the game was well in hand, B’ville scoring in four straight innings starting in the third and netting three runs in both the fourth and sixth innings.
Leaton doubled and drove in a pair of runs, with Joey Gennario also getting two RBIs. Nate Marier, Tyler Hawthorne and Hudson Dziadula had one RBI apiece. Jacob Penafeather walked three times as he and Joey Warner both scored twice.
Then B’ville went to Liverpool less than 24 hours later and broke out even more in a 15-2 victory, notching 13 hits on the way to a six-run third inning, three-run fifth and five-run outburst in the top of the seventh.
Genarrio brought the power with the game’s only home run plus a double, finishing with three RBIs. Gavin Seeber and Enzo Falso drove in two runs apiece, while Dziadula and Jace Albero scored three runs apiece.
All of this provided quite a cushion for Warner, who didn’t allow a run until the top of the fifth and went six innings overall, only allowing two hits while striking out six.
B’ville’s third straight win came April 18 against Fulton at OCC, one where the bats broke out in a big way in the third inning of a 14-2 romp over the Red Dragons.
Already up 2-0 thanks to a pair of first-inning runs, the Bees batted around in the bottom of the third and didn’t let up until it had plated nine runs, adding three more runs an inning later.
Hawthorne and Jace Albero both tripled and combined for five RBIs. Penafeather added a double and Dziadula went three-for-three with two doubles and two runs scored.
Gavin Seeber drove in a pair of runs as single RBIs went to Gennario and Ezno Falso. Five different pitchers saw action, with Jack Rider going three innings for the longest stint.
Two big games Monday and Tuesday against Cicero-North Syracuse would determine who takes the lead in the SCAC Metro division before the Bees travel to Auburn and Central Square later this week.