EAST SYRACUSE — The outcome might not have been what the Fulton varsity softball team had hoped for, but as their jerseys read, Wednesday’s contest against Central Square was “more than a game.”
Fulton lost to the Red Hawks, 13-5, at Carrier Park Field of Dreams in East Syracuse, as part of the More Than a Game Foundation’s Strike Out Cancer event. The game was one of three on the day, with Chittenango and Marcellus squaring off, and Liverpool battling Fayetteville-Manlius.
“It’s a great thing,” said Fulton head coach Derek Lyons of the event. “Cancer is a devastating disease, and if we can do a small little bit within our Fulton community, we’re more than willing to do that. The event was nice. ... We had a lot of fun, I just wish we could have played a little better.”
The Red Raiders committed 10 errors in the loss, with five of Central Square’s 13 runs scoring unearned.
“Our first inning, we played well,” said Lyons. “But then after that, we kind of let one error turn into 12, and that hurts.”
The Red Raiders struck first, taking a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the first inning when an RBI single from Riley Kempston scored pitcher Emma Spaulding, who led off with a single of her own.
But defensive miscues came back to haunt Fulton in the second, with Central Square plating four runs in the frame. Spaulding got a strikeout and a popout for the first two outs of the inning, but Natalie Bush followed up by lacing a double into left field.
Caytlin Redeye reached on an error, allowing Bush to score, and another error allowed Jamielyn Kelley to reach base. A double for Rylee Broadwell scored both runners, extending the Red Hawks’ lead to 3-1.
Broadwell, the Red Hawks’ starting pitcher, eventually came around to score on another error, pushing Central Square’s lead to 4-1. After allowing a run in the first, Broadwell settled in, striking out a pair in a scoreless second inning.
Spaulding worked around another error in the third to strand a pair of runners in scoring position, and the Red Raiders were able to get a run back in the bottom half on a sac fly from Lydia Mirabito, cutting the deficit to 4-2.
Lyons had praise for Spaulding, the Red Raiders’ eighth-grade pitcher, saying “she’s doing awesome.”
“We didn’t have her back today, that was obvious with the amount of errors there were,” said Lyons. “But she does a good job hitting her spots. She’s doing unbelievable. I couldn’t ask for more from her, to be honest with you.”
Central Square again responded, however, scoring three more runs in the fourth. Kelley led off with a single, scoring from first on an RBI double by Broadwell.
Kayla Tarquino singled to bring home Broadwell, with Tarquino eventually coming home on an error, pushing the lead to 7-2.
The Red Hawks plated three more in the fifth, with Redeye leading off with a double before eventually coming around to score. Broadwell reached on an error, scoring on an RBI single from Carley Cinquemani, and Jai Patchen came across to score on another error, extending Central Square’s lead to 10-2.
Lyons said the Red Raiders’ lack of experience, coupled with a week off for spring break, contributed to the team’s struggles in the field.
“We’ve had some kids miss because of spring break. We were flip-flopping lineups and stuff,” said Lyons. “We’ve had some practices to prepare, but we’re not all into it yet. We’ve got to get back into it.”
The Red Hawks plated two more in the sixth on a two-run single from Tarquino, extending the lead to 12-2.
Fulton’s bats came alive in the bottom half of the inning, with Lyons saying the team “got the timing down a little bit.”
Mirabito led off the inning with a double, advancing to third on a single from Kempston. A single from Bella Maliszweski scored both runners, cutting Central Square’s lead to 12-4. Laura Bartlett hit into a fielder’s choice with one out, scoring Maliszweski to add another run.
Lyons said it took the Red Raiders “a little bit” to pick up the speed of Broadwell on the mound.
“Once we did, we started putting the ball in play,” said Lyons. “We were bunting, we were playing small ball. That’s how we have to play. We didn’t get into it initially, it took us a couple innings, but now that we’ve seen it, and we’re going to be consistently playing, we’ll get better. We’ll hit the ball better.”
Central Square added another run in the seventh after Cinquemani singled and advanced to third on an error, scoring on a fielder’s choice off the bat of Payton St. Clair.
Broadwell allowed back-to-back singles to Leanna Rupert and Mirabito in the bottom half of the inning, but got Kempston to pop out to end the game and seal a 13-5 win for the Red Hawks.
Broadwell was 2-5 at the plate with a pair of doubles and three RBIs for Central Square. She went the distance on the mound, allowing two earned runs and striking out six.
Cinquemani was 3-5 with an RBI, while Bush, Kelley, and Tarquino all added two hits apiece.
Mirabito went 2-4 for Fulton, with a double and an RBI. Kempston also went 2-4 with an RBI, while Maliszweski drove in a pair of runs. Rupert went 2-4, while Bartlett added an RBI.
Spaulding threw all seven innings for the Red Raiders, allowing eight earned runs. She walked three and struck out two batters.
Fulton (1-3) will play at Camden at 4:45 p.m. today. Despite the loss, Lyons made note of a few positive takeaways from the game.
“We saw some positive things. We made some decent plays in the field in the sixth and seventh innings,” said Lyons. “So we’re there. We can make those plays. The consistency has to be there. And that’s with focus, that’s with being at practices.”
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