Tuesday, May 7, 2019: Port Byron/Union Springs' 52-inning shutout streak ends

   Leading off today: Port Byron/Union Springs had its 52-inning shutout streak snapped but remained unbeaten this season with a 5-1 baseball victory over Jordan-Elbridge on Monday.

   Jordan-Elbridge pushed across a run in the sixth inning, ending the Panthers' shutout streak that began April 11 in Port Byron/Union Springs' second game of the year. The Panthers are now 10-0 with eight shutouts.

   Jake McNabb threw six innings of four-hit ball and outfielder Ryan Bailey banged out three hits at the plate before taking the mound in the seventh in the victory.

   "We've preached to these kids all year that if we can put up four or five runs, we're going to be very tough to beat," Panthers assistant coach Colin Parry said. "We returned every starting pitcher from last year, so these kids have been there and we're comfortable with them."

   More baseball: Garden City pulled off a triple play in the sixth inning on the way to an 8-4, come-from-behind victory over Carey to clinch the Nassau A-II championship.

   Garden City (14-3, 12-1) scored seven runs in the top of the sixth for the four-run lead. Carey (13-4, 9-4) was threatening in the bottom of the inning by opening with a walk and a single. But second baseman Stephen Baymack snared Kevin Bell's sinking liner, found shortstop Tommy Reifler at second base ahead of one runner for the second out and Reifler threw to first baseman Jay Brown ahead of the other for the third.

   "It was pretty low to the ground," Baymack said. "I had to get it just before it hit the ground for us to have a chance to get both runners."

   It made for a nice recovery for Baymack. He twice made miscues that may have prevented the Trojans from turning double plays, then also made an error in the second that opened the door for the Seahawks' third run.

   "(Stevie) showed the mental toughness he has, to come back from a start like he had and come through in a big spot like this -- big game with the conference championship on the line," Garden City coach Dave Izzo said. "There's a lot of kids who might have carried it with them and turned it into a five-error game. I'm proud of him."

   Softball: Julianne Bolton hit a pair of home runs and pitched a one-hitter with 16 strikeouts for Clarence in a 15-0 victory against Jamestown. Bolton had four hits and drove in four runs.

   Improvising in order to play: Rain on Sunday night left Fayetteville-Manlius' softball field unplayable, the Hornets and Cicero-North Syracuse improvised Monday by turning the stadium field typically used for football and lacrosse into a diamond.

   C-NS won 16-0 in five innings on the makeshift field that included extended netting down the first- and third-base lines and double bases being used as bags in the infield. The coaches agreed to a ground rule that a batted ball that got past an outfielder and rolled to the bleachers would be called a triple.

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   "We practice and we scrimmage on the turf. We go out to our football stadium any time we can't get on our field. We're used to turf," C-NS coach Mary Beebe said. "Our girls prepare and adjust and we're proud of them."

   Senior catcher smashed a pair of triples, scored three runs and drove in three more. Alayna Harbaugh added three hits, three runs, and three RBIs.

   Following up: As I reported last week while attending the quarterly Executive Committee meeting in Saratoga

Springs, the NYSPHSAA has waived the seven-day rule for the remainder of the spring season.

   I apparently have not been spending enough time outdoors or at least looking out the window of the lavish New York State Sportswriters Association offices (i.e., my man cave), because the Democrat and Chronicle did some digging over the weekend and reports that the weather in Section 5 has been a bit worse than I realized.

   As bad as it's been, however, some schools do not intend to avail themselves of the option of playing on Sundays unless absolutely desperate at the end of the regular season.

   "Typically, Sundays are family days. There is nothing wrong with that day of rest for the kids," Hilton AD Mike Giruzzi said. "I'd be willing to say that people will stay away from Sundays. There are still districts that have a (school) board policy about Sunday events."

   Coaches also take into consideration that players may also have jobs during the season.

   "They are making a sacrifice by playing games (and attending practices) during the week," Rochester City Athletic Conference softball chairperson and Monroe coach Daniel Wright said. "We try to avoid weekends when possible, so they can work on the weekends."

   Section 5 is allowing softball teams to play five-inning doubleheaders, but the value is minimized because the games must be played between the same two teams, eliminating league matchups where the clubs have already met once this season.

   Monroe County baseball chairman Jason Wasserman said that most teams in the league have played about half of their league schedules.

   "They have 20 days to get 10 games in," Wasserman said. "That's right around where we normally are, and it's better than last year."