CENTRAL NEW YORK – An active and exciting season for the Fayetteville-Manlius softball team still had not included a victory against a Salt City Athletic Conference Metro division opponent.
All of that changed last Thursday afternoon at Baldwinsville, where the Hornets rallied late to edge the Bees 6-5 and win its first league game of any kind since the 2023 season.
What had pushed F-M to its strong start this spring – namely, power at the plate – appeared here again, first in the early going when Megan Woodridge hit another home run and added a double as the two sides each scored at least once in the first three innings, forging a 4-4 tie.
Then, trailing 5-4 in the top of the sixth, eighth-grader Avilene Terry went deep over the fence and tied it, followed by a seventh inning where Anna Egan doubled, moved to third on a wild pitch and scored the go-ahead run on Sam Monroe’s single.
Seventh-grader Katie Modugno then earned the final three outs, having replaced starting pitcher Alexis Hamilton in the fifth. It was the first time Modugno had pitched a varsity game.
As a follow-up F-M defeated Rome Free Academy 9-2 on Friday netting all of its runs in the first three innings, with Woodridge twice going deep, her fifth and sixth home runs of the season. Terry, Egan and Monroe also drove in runs and Hamilton held the Black Knights to six hits overall.
F-M had won four in a row before it got halted last Monday by Cicero-North Syracuse, the Northstars defeating the Hornets 12-6.
Essentially the first inning decided matters with C-NS netting five runs to take the lead for good, then continuing to produce with five more runs in the fourth and fifth innings as Aubrey Coyle twice went deep for home runs which amounted to six RBIs.
Avery Howe did go three-for-four for F-M getting two RBIs. Woodridge also had three hits, with Terry and Malea Coates earning two hits apiece.
During the transition from April to May Christian Brothers Academy and East Syracuse Minoa each piled up runs while earning important league victories.
In the Spartans’ case it all burst out in last Wednesday’s doubleheader against Syracuse City with ESM winning 27-7 in the opening game and then moving on to take the second game 16-4.
The opener included ESM erupting for 16 runs in the bottom of the second inning, Catherine Barkley leading the charge as she went three-for-four with a single, double, triple and five RBIs.
Ava Burry went deep for a home run, joining Sophie Banach and Addison Adames with three RBIs apiece. Five others -Emily Clonan, Hailey Leo, Hannah Decker, Maddy Marquart and Juliana Orcutt – drove in two runs apiece.
Though the second game wasn’t as lopsided, it still featured six-run rallies in the first and third innings along with Sydney Gurniak driving in three runs to match Adames. Orcutt and Barkley got two RBIs apiece as Marquart scored four times.
All this turned Friday in a 14-1 loss to state Class A no. 14-ranked Chittenango, the Spartans’ only run coming in the fourth when Marquart doubled and scored. Lauren Machan led the Bears with three hits and three RBIs.
Back on Monday afternoon CBA put up 13 runs in the top of the second inning of last Monday’s game at Mexico, batting around twice on the way to topping the Tigers 21-3.
Overall the Brothers had 15 hits, three each by Allison Boule and Giana Anderson, with Boule scoring four runs and Anderson earning four RBIs. Grace Bertrone-Nicotra drove in three runs as Mari Catherine Giamartino, Julia Achuff and Aubrey Vincentini earned two RBIs apiece.
It continued two days later with CBA taking out Altmar-Parish-Williamstown 16-2, with Bertone-Nicotra going three-for-four and driving in four runs as Giamartino doubled and got three RBIs. Anderson, Boule and Juliette Zimmerman each drove in two runsas Gracie Battles pitched and earned eight strikeouts.
