CENTRAL NEW YORK – Two powerful baseball programs with championship aspirations met last Tuesday night and Christian Brothers Academy got the best of it, prevailing 5-2 over Cortland at Gutchess Park.
Never trailing, the Brothers scored twice in the second and fourth innings, enough for pitcher Ben Lovell, who threw a complete game with six strikeouts and just five hits allowed.
Ryan Petrie delivered the key blows at the plate his triple part of a three-RBI effort as Cooper Marko also drove in a run and scored twice, the other runs scored by Riley Clemons-Butenko, Jack Landau and Hector Gonzalez.
In the second game between these teams on Thursday at Tom Dotterer Field, more runs were scored – but again CBA was victorious, coming back late to defeat Cortland 7-4.
Going to the bottom of the sixth, the Purple Tigers led 4-3, but the Brothers put together a decisive four-run rally, with clutch hits from Clemons-Butenko and Landau, who on the day combined for five RBIs.
Tom Menar pitched two scoreless innings of relief to earn the win, only giving up one hit after Petrie went the first five innings and struck out eight, though he allowed six hits and four walks.
When it came back to league play, CBA was riding a four-game win streak, one it built upon last Sunday when, through the raindrops, the Brothers beat its Albany CBA counterparts 17-8.
What was a competitive game ended when Syracuse CBA batted around twice in the fifth and put up 14 runs. Mike Giamartino smashed another home run, his third of the season, and got two RBIs as Marko doubled, tripled and drove in three runs.
Petrie and Ethan Harris also got two RBIs, with Marko and Clemons-Butenko each scoring three times. Four pitchers worked for CBA as Landau got the twin, tossing two scoreless innings while Clemons-Butenko, Petrie and Gonzalez also pitched.
In Friday’s 10-0 shutout of Bishop Grimes at Onondaga Community College, CBA pitcher Hector Gonzalez worked through the rain and threw a five-inning no-hitter, striking out nine against three walks. Giamartino singled, doubled and drove in three runs, with Petrie and Marko adding two hits apiece.
All of this made Saturday’s 6-5 defeat to Baldwinsville a bit easier to take, even though the Brothers surrendered a 5-2 fifth-inning lead due to a spirited Bees comeback. Giamartino homered early, joining Harris with two RBIs apiece, while Petrie, Marko and Landau had two hits apiece.
Fayetteville-Manlius was at home last Monday to take on Baldwinsville and was mostly contained in a 9-1 defeat to the Bees.
Other than a second-inning run scored by Anthony Giuffrida, the Hornets could not solve B’ville pitcher Ben Leaton, who in five innings gave up just three hits.
Three-run rallies in the second and third innings put the Bees in charge as Jace Albero notched three hits and an RBI. Tyler Hawthorne drove in three runs and Anderson Tuten got a pair of RBIs.
Just like so many other times this season, though, F-M completely turned it around a day later and, hosting Liverpool, blasted past the Warriors 12-2.
The Hornets jumped out to a 3-0 edge through two innings, which proved enough runs for pitcher Max Werde, the senior limiting Liverpool to four hits while striking out nine.
Still, it took a four-run fourth inning and five-run sixth inning for F-M to get away. Giuffrida’s pair of singles drove in three runs, while Ryan Kleinhans had a pair of RBIs. Nine different players accounted for the 13 hits as Jimmy Kuss, Gavin Nicholls, Jeremy Albert, Tom Woodridge and Nolan Merrow had one RBI apiece.
Liverpool rebounded Thursday to win a rematch with F-M 7-1. After Kuss singled and scored in the first inning, the Hornets were contained by Warriors pitcher Tyler Vivacqua, only managing three hits overall.
Bishop Grimes had gained some confidence from pushing 12-0 Bishop Ludden into extra innings on May 4, and it carried over into last Monday’s tense 4-1 victory over Marcellus.
Solid pitching by Tyler Mierek (complete game, only three hits allowed) was rewarded in the bottom of the sixth, Grimes getting clutch two-run singles from Jackson Fudge and Dante Piraino, which held up.
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