CENTRAL NEW YORK – A single blemish on May 2 against Jamesville-DeWitt was not about to slow down the West Genesee baseball team.
But the rain was another story as constant precipitation early last week halted games for nearly all the local teams through the early part of the week.
The first of the Wildcats’ two scheduled games against Liverpool early last week was played at Onondaga Community College as part of a special evening which paid tribute to late Christian Brtothers Academy coaching legend Tom Dotterer, with proceeds from ticket sales and concessions going to local charities.
WG won that game 6-1, sprinting out in front during a four-run second inning where walks to Luis Garcia and Zach Einlich triggered the rally and poor defense by Liverpool prolonged it.
Though the Wildcats added single runs in the fifth and sixth innings Ryan Tabaczyk didn’t need them. He pitched a complete game, giving up six hits but striking out five.
Every WG player in the lineup got at lest one hit, with Ben Jessen’s pair of singles leading to two RBIs as Tabaczyk, Brayden Fougnier, Colin Straub and Jad Abdelqader also drove in runs.
After a ceremony honoring Dotterer between games, CBA was to take on Westhill – but rains picked up and the game was abandoned in the second inning.
More rain followed, postponing WG’s rematch with Liverpool and keeping the Wildcats idle until a Thursday-night battle with Oswego which was part of the Strike Out Lou Gehrig’s Disease Classic at NBT Bank Stadium.
The Wildcats would fight past the Buccaneers 2-0 in yet another whocase for Colin Crinnin, who dominated on the mound limiting Oswego to three hits and a single walk while amassing 12 strikeouts.
Bucs pitcher Owen Seubert was strong, too, most of the way, but in the third inning WG got both of its runs, Crinnin driving one of them in with a single as Nick Meluni and Nathan Quirk crossed the plate.
WG continued the surge on Saturday against Section V’s victor with an 8-6 win over the Blue Devils where the Wildcats scored four times in the first inning only to have Victor surge in front 6-4 by the end of the fifth.
Not rattled by this, WG regained the lead with another four-run outburst in the sixth and held on from there, having seen Einlich drive in a pair of runs as Jessen and Tabaczyk had one RBI apiece. Meluni added two hits and scored twice.
Back on Wednesday Bishop Ludden, holding the no. 7 spot in the state Class B rankings challenged ‘Holy War’ rival Christian Brothers Academy on the OCC turf.
And it was the Brothers beating the Gaelic Knights 4-0, striking twice in the first inning off Ludden pitcher Jimmy Westers and adding single runs in the third and fourth innings, the key blows a trio oftriples by Rocco Grotto, Mike Giamartino and Riley Clemons-Butenko.
All that Ludden could get at the plate were singles by Parker Pichoske and Jack Ruddy off Jameson Walker, unable to earn any hits in the five combined innings worked by Tom Menar and Noah Monsour.
Ludden topped Syracuse City 4-2 on Saturday as Joe Dunham blanked Syracuse over the first six innings and only allowed one hit while striking out nine. Pichoske and Sheen each had an RBI as Pichoske was the only player on either side with two hits.
