ONONDAGA COUNTY – Heading into the last full week of April the Jamesville-DeWitt baseball team was on a four-game win streak, ideal for its series against its neighbors from East Syracuse Minoa.
And the Red Rams kept it going, giving the ball to pitching ace Luke VanMarter and watching him again shut down the opposition in the course of a 4-0 win over the Spartans.
In his five innings of work VanMarter only allowed one hit, to Luke Liedka, while recording eight strikeouts. Jack Pole then worked two no-hit innings of relief.
It helped to have an immediate cushion. Spartans pitcher Troy Borkowski was tagged for three runs in the bottom of the first inning, the Rams adding a run in the third as Cole Jordan went three-for-three with a double and RBI and Sam Ashe also drove in a run. Eamon Giblin got two hits and scored twice.
A day later at ESM, a mid-game surge pushed J-D past the Spartans 8-1 as it struck for three runs in the top of the third and four runs an inning later off Liedka, more than enough for Giblin, who in six shutout innings struck out seven and allowed just four hits.
VanMarter doubled twice and drove in three runs. Filighera added a pair of RBIs, with Jordan and Anthony Ricciardello also driving in runs. Ryan Dablock’s seventh-inning single scored Chase Fredericks with ESM’s lone run in the seventh.
J-D’s fourth straight win had come April 17 when it topped Whitesboro 7-5, a tense game where it led 3-0 through one inning, gave up that advantage and trailed 4-3 before tying it in the third and scoring three times in the bottom of the fourth to lead for good.
Arjun Viswanathan singled and drove in two runs with Jordan, Ashe and Jack Saya getting one RBI apiece. Griffon Filighera scored twice and also paired with Viswanathan on the mound, the two allowing just six hits overall.
About the only thing that could slow J-D down was weather as rain postponed both games it scheduled against Syracuse City, one of them rescheduled to May 19.
ESM did play on Friday on the turf at Falcon Park against Auburn, where it lost a 13-5 decision to the Maroons.
The Spartans did take a 3-2 lead in the top of the third, but it could not contain an Auburn side which scored in every inning except the second and broke it open with three runs in the fifth and four more runs in the sixth.
Fredericks did get a double and two RBIs, with Liedka adding two hits and driving in a run and Borkowski getting an RBI but taking the loss as he pitched four innings. ESM’s overall record fell to 2-5.
Bishop Grimes dominated last Tuesday’s game against Onondaga, trouncing the Tigers 19-2 as it put across seven runs in the second inning and six runs an inning later.
Helped by six OCS errors, the Cobras still had four RBIs apiece from Avery Pankow, Tyce Haskins and Owen Tierney. Liam Allen and Tyler Mierek each drove in two runs, with Gary Brisson joining Haskins in scoring three times.
Grimes romped again on Thursday 24-1 over LaFayette, peaking with a 13-run third inning when it already led 9-1 on its way to 21 hits overall. Evan Zaccheo went four-for-five with a career-best six RBIs as Mierek added three RBIs. Tierney, Haskins, Brisson and Allen each drove in a pair of runs.
