CICERO – Sure they were playing in 2025, but the Cicero-North Syracuse and Liverpool softball teams seemed to step into a time machine when their rivalry resumed Thursday afternoon at the Gillette Road complex.
Instead of plenty of runs, this one featured pitching and defense, and the growing suspicion that a single pitch could make the difference.
When it did, the Northstars were able to ride it all the way home to a 1-0 victory, one far removed from the 8-7 battle they waged when they last meet in the 2024 Section III Class AAA title game.
C-NS sent freshman Mila Owens to the pitcher’s circle while Liverpool had Lexi Goodfellow. They went through the first 3 ½ innings without surrendering a run and rarely giving up hits, either.
Then in the bottom of the fourth Aubrey Coyle stepped up to the plate with the bases empty, caught a Goodfellow pitch and socked it over the fence for a solo home run.
This was all Owens needed. Only giving up three hits – two of them to Emily Nestor, the other to Maya Mill – Owens recorded 12 strikeouts, negating a fine effort by Goodfellow in which she struck out 11 and gave up just four hits, two by Erica Hibbard and one by Gabby Jaquin to go with Coyle’s round-tripper.
Clearly C-NS was ready to resume action after seeing two weekend games on April 25 and 26 get rained out.
Before it met Liverpool, the Northstars, in Monday’s 12-6 victory over Fayetteville-Manlius, saw Coyle make an immediate impact, hitting a first-inning home run as part of a five-run outburst which put C-NS in front for good.
Adding another home run late in the game, Coyle worked her game total to six RBIs, a new career mark, all part of a 14-hit attack which produced double-digit runs for the fourth time this season.
Owens got three hits, with Syndey Rockwell and Paige Pangaro getting two hits apiece. Rockwell, Jaquin, Marisa Leone and Mia Farone each scored twice.
Scheduled to face Shenendehowa Saturday but rained out, Liverpool went to a different location to take on two different opponents and split those games.
In a 2-0 win over Pine Plains Goodfellow continued to pitch at a high level, only allowing three hits while notching 12 strikeouts. And she got the help she needed when the Warriors scored twice in the fifth inning, Mia Cabrey getting an RBI single as Grace Euson and Alivia Henty-Goldberg scored those runs.
More runs came in a 21-12 defeat to Mepham where Liverpool scored in every inning except the fourth yet still lost. Henty-Goldberg tripled, singled and drove in five runs, with single RBIs going to Cabrey, Mills, Goodfellow, Liliana Salamida and Alexis Mathers.
There could be up to five games for Liverpool next week including a doubleheader with Fairport after league games with Fayetteville-Manlius and West Genesee plus a non-league test from New Hartford. C-NS would also take on F-M and then face Sandy Creek Friday night.
