SKANEATELES - The message was simple.
Chet Susslin / The Citizen
Jordan-Elbridge shortstop Erika Peterson misses the tag as Skaneateles right fielder Emily Devins steals second base on Monday afternoon in Skaneateles.
Jordan-Elbridge shortstop Erika Peterson misses the tag as Skaneateles right fielder Emily Devins steals second base on Monday afternoon in Skaneateles.
With two outs and the game tied in the bottom of the seventh, Caryn Crary stood on third, representing what would be the Skaneateles softball team's first win of the season. Across the field, Jordan-Elbridge coach Robin Smart went to the mound to chat with her team, while Lakers coach Bob Braunitzer took the time to chat with his standout athlete.
“I told her, ‘Look, I want you to take a big lead and see what the catcher does,'” he said. “The thing about Caryn, from all the years that I've known her, is that she's an incredible athlete. I just told her to look - you can't coach that. It's too much of having her make a decision and she did that. She made a good one.”
Crary, a first-year varsity player, took a big jump with teammate Terry Blessing up to bat. With two strikes on Blessing, Eagles catcher Elizabeth Caspari took Crary's bait, chucking the ball to third baseman Sam Lewis. Crary hesitated for a brief moment before sprinting home, easily sliding in after Lewis overthrew home, giving the Lakers a 6-5 win at Austin Park on Monday.
“It's really nice to get our first win,” Crary said. “Especially in a good game like this one.”
“I didn't call that play,” said Smart, the Eagles' first-year head coach. “I asked them afterwards, ‘What are you guys doing?' She just had two strikes on her, maybe if it was a ball and the count was 1-2. But I think if Sammy Lewis has nailed that throw, we could have gotten her out at home.”
Though both squads' bats have struggled a bit so far this season, they each broke out on Monday. Eagles' first baseman Sarah Fordyce ripped a two-run triple to score Lindsy Geery and Erika Peterson in the first, but the Lakers didn't waste any time answering. Pitcher Alex Hughes earned a leadoff single and after stealing two bases, scored on a dropped third strike to Crary. Emily Devins drove Crary in three batters later on a line drive single to tie the score.
Devins, who went 2-for-3, got her second single in the third - advancing on a stolen base and then scoring on back-to-back Eagles' outfield fielding errors. Jordan-Elbridge committed six errors all together, while the Lakers had four. Skaneateles stretched its lead to two in the fourth, but only after Braunitzer called on one of his best players.
After Skaneateles retired three of four batters in the third, the Lakers' head coach told Hughes in the dugout, due up fourth in the inning, to be ready to drive in some runs because the hitters in front of her were going to get on base.
He was right.
With one out, Lakers catcher Erica Tardiff nailed a bloop single to left field. Two batters and one more out later, Hughes brought her in on a well hit ball to center field
“I just had a feeling,” Braunitzer said of his foresight. “I wanted her to be ready. Sometimes you feel like there is something going, and in that inning, there was. She can do it and she showed that.”
At second base, Crary had a hand in all three outs to keep Jordan-Elbridge at bay. But only for an inning. Caspari, an Eagles third-year varsity starter, got her team back into the game with a solo blast to left field - her first home run of the season. Jenn Gasparek tied the game again for the Eagles in the sixth, after a leadoff single and then an infield Lakers error. The Eagles put forth an incredible effort, belting seven hits with just nine players in the game.
“We're low on numbers today,” Smart said. “I found out before the game that a couple of girls weren't back from vacation yet and I called the JV practice and got some kids. We just had one senior here today.”
Though she struck out twice after her big hit in the first, Fordyce came through in the clutch to give the Eagles their second lead of the game. With a hard hit double to left field, she scored Caspari. Assisting on the play was Devins, who fell down on her way to catch the ball.
“She stumbled a little bit, but we made a joke about it,” Braunitzer said. “I asked her if she had her short legs out there on that one and we laughed about it. There was nothing she could do about it - it's not like she did it on purpose.”
Any minor Lakers miscue was immediately resolved in the bottom of the seventh. Ali Goetzman came in to pinch hit for Jackie Stucker in the bottom of the order and smacked a leadoff triple to right field.
“I threw Ali in and she just ends up whacking it,” Braunitzer said. “That was awesome, I was so proud of her and all of a sudden, it's a whole different ballgame because we've got three outs to get her in.”
Two batters and an out later, Crary got on base after Lewis booted a hard line drive to third. The Eagles' third baseman advanced to pick up the ball, but it hit her shin instead. Goetzman scored the tying run on the play.
“Caryn is a great contact hitter,” Braunitzer said. “She didn't even have to get a hit - Ali just went hard and she slid hard. Then Caryn gets on and gets the steal and another steal, and we've got ourselves in a situation where we've got a play.”
One, he insists, he didn't even draw up.
“I didn't call this one - I'm not taking credit for it,” Braunitzer said of the winning run. “She took the big lead and really dared the catcher to throw it. Like (Smart) said - why she threw it, I don't know. She didn't really have a position to throw it, but I also don't know why Crary hesitated. She had another three steps and she's in. She stopped and I'm thinking - what in the world is she doing? We got a little luck there, but the bottom line is that we were aggressive and that was the key. The right girls in the right place at the right time.”
Gasparek got the loss for the Eagles but threw nine strikeouts, while Hughes fanned five and neither player walked a batter.
Last season, with Colleen Ryan in the circle for Jordan-Elbridge, the Eagles squeaked out two wins in a doubleheader in Elbridge. Now, no matter who is coaching or playing, beating their close rivals is made even sweeter for Skaneateles.
“We always wanted to try and beat Colleen before, but J-E, ever since I've been coaching has been a big game for us,” Braunitzer said. “When Sue Simms was coaching, when Joe Ryan was there and now Robin - they're competitors. I'm sure we're always going to try and go after each other. I just told our guys that I knew (Jordan-Elbridge) was a little discombobulated, but we couldn't afford not to come and play. They did. This is what we've got to do to get back into things.”
Lakers 6
Eagles 5
“I told her, ‘Look, I want you to take a big lead and see what the catcher does,'” he said. “The thing about Caryn, from all the years that I've known her, is that she's an incredible athlete. I just told her to look - you can't coach that. It's too much of having her make a decision and she did that. She made a good one.”
Crary, a first-year varsity player, took a big jump with teammate Terry Blessing up to bat. With two strikes on Blessing, Eagles catcher Elizabeth Caspari took Crary's bait, chucking the ball to third baseman Sam Lewis. Crary hesitated for a brief moment before sprinting home, easily sliding in after Lewis overthrew home, giving the Lakers a 6-5 win at Austin Park on Monday.
“It's really nice to get our first win,” Crary said. “Especially in a good game like this one.”
“I didn't call that play,” said Smart, the Eagles' first-year head coach. “I asked them afterwards, ‘What are you guys doing?' She just had two strikes on her, maybe if it was a ball and the count was 1-2. But I think if Sammy Lewis has nailed that throw, we could have gotten her out at home.”
Though both squads' bats have struggled a bit so far this season, they each broke out on Monday. Eagles' first baseman Sarah Fordyce ripped a two-run triple to score Lindsy Geery and Erika Peterson in the first, but the Lakers didn't waste any time answering. Pitcher Alex Hughes earned a leadoff single and after stealing two bases, scored on a dropped third strike to Crary. Emily Devins drove Crary in three batters later on a line drive single to tie the score.
Devins, who went 2-for-3, got her second single in the third - advancing on a stolen base and then scoring on back-to-back Eagles' outfield fielding errors. Jordan-Elbridge committed six errors all together, while the Lakers had four. Skaneateles stretched its lead to two in the fourth, but only after Braunitzer called on one of his best players.
After Skaneateles retired three of four batters in the third, the Lakers' head coach told Hughes in the dugout, due up fourth in the inning, to be ready to drive in some runs because the hitters in front of her were going to get on base.
He was right.
With one out, Lakers catcher Erica Tardiff nailed a bloop single to left field. Two batters and one more out later, Hughes brought her in on a well hit ball to center field
“I just had a feeling,” Braunitzer said of his foresight. “I wanted her to be ready. Sometimes you feel like there is something going, and in that inning, there was. She can do it and she showed that.”
At second base, Crary had a hand in all three outs to keep Jordan-Elbridge at bay. But only for an inning. Caspari, an Eagles third-year varsity starter, got her team back into the game with a solo blast to left field - her first home run of the season. Jenn Gasparek tied the game again for the Eagles in the sixth, after a leadoff single and then an infield Lakers error. The Eagles put forth an incredible effort, belting seven hits with just nine players in the game.
“We're low on numbers today,” Smart said. “I found out before the game that a couple of girls weren't back from vacation yet and I called the JV practice and got some kids. We just had one senior here today.”
Though she struck out twice after her big hit in the first, Fordyce came through in the clutch to give the Eagles their second lead of the game. With a hard hit double to left field, she scored Caspari. Assisting on the play was Devins, who fell down on her way to catch the ball.
“She stumbled a little bit, but we made a joke about it,” Braunitzer said. “I asked her if she had her short legs out there on that one and we laughed about it. There was nothing she could do about it - it's not like she did it on purpose.”
Any minor Lakers miscue was immediately resolved in the bottom of the seventh. Ali Goetzman came in to pinch hit for Jackie Stucker in the bottom of the order and smacked a leadoff triple to right field.
“I threw Ali in and she just ends up whacking it,” Braunitzer said. “That was awesome, I was so proud of her and all of a sudden, it's a whole different ballgame because we've got three outs to get her in.”
Two batters and an out later, Crary got on base after Lewis booted a hard line drive to third. The Eagles' third baseman advanced to pick up the ball, but it hit her shin instead. Goetzman scored the tying run on the play.
“Caryn is a great contact hitter,” Braunitzer said. “She didn't even have to get a hit - Ali just went hard and she slid hard. Then Caryn gets on and gets the steal and another steal, and we've got ourselves in a situation where we've got a play.”
One, he insists, he didn't even draw up.
“I didn't call this one - I'm not taking credit for it,” Braunitzer said of the winning run. “She took the big lead and really dared the catcher to throw it. Like (Smart) said - why she threw it, I don't know. She didn't really have a position to throw it, but I also don't know why Crary hesitated. She had another three steps and she's in. She stopped and I'm thinking - what in the world is she doing? We got a little luck there, but the bottom line is that we were aggressive and that was the key. The right girls in the right place at the right time.”
Gasparek got the loss for the Eagles but threw nine strikeouts, while Hughes fanned five and neither player walked a batter.
Last season, with Colleen Ryan in the circle for Jordan-Elbridge, the Eagles squeaked out two wins in a doubleheader in Elbridge. Now, no matter who is coaching or playing, beating their close rivals is made even sweeter for Skaneateles.
“We always wanted to try and beat Colleen before, but J-E, ever since I've been coaching has been a big game for us,” Braunitzer said. “When Sue Simms was coaching, when Joe Ryan was there and now Robin - they're competitors. I'm sure we're always going to try and go after each other. I just told our guys that I knew (Jordan-Elbridge) was a little discombobulated, but we couldn't afford not to come and play. They did. This is what we've got to do to get back into things.”
Lakers 6
Eagles 5
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