Caz wins sectional opener Cazenovia boys lacrosse season ends in loss to Homer

By PHIL BLACKWELL

Things would end for the newly combined form of the Cazenovia boys lacrosse team after just one game in its return to the Section III Class C playoffs.

Drawing the no. 5 seed in an 11-team bracket, the Lakers had a bye straight into the quarterfinals, but that meant traveling to face no. 4 seed Homer last Wednesday night.

And the task ultimately proved too tall for Cazenovia, who other than a secondquarter scoring surge could not do much more against the Trojans, taking a 13-9 defeat.

Even with an 8-8 regular-season record, the Lakers had lost, 11-7, when these same two teams met two weeks earlier on that same Homer turf.

Now, with a berth in the sectional semifinals against top seed Jamesville-DeWitt at

By PHIL BLACKWELL

A special season for the Cazenovia baseball team would reach its culmination with whatever took place in the cauldron of the Section III Class B playoffs. With a no. 3 seed, the Lakers had two possible home games on the slate, starting with last Tuesday’s second-round tilt against no. 14 seed Central Valley Academy, who beat Canastota 6-2 in the opening round.

And it turned into a tense affair, not decided until Cazenovia, in the bottom of the seventh inning, put across the winning run that saved a 4-3 victory over the Thunder.

Proving its seed did not measure the quality of its roster, CVA scored twice in the first inning on Pace Ludwig’s double and again in the third to go up 3-0 on Lakers ace Jack Byrnes. But Byrnes would settle down and blank the Thunder over the last four innings, ultimately getting 11 strikeouts while only allowing three hits.

Cazenovia stayed patient against CVA pitcher Luca Skinner and then, in the bottom of the sixth, loaded the bases. Jacob Grevelding’s grounder scored a run and then, with two outs, sophomore Nico Segall delivered his most important hit of the season, a game-tying two-run single.

They stayed 3-3 until the bottom of the seventh, where Jacob Szalach singled off Thunder reliever Tanner Warren, reached second and then raced home when Sully Clarke singled to

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Chittenango was part of the same quarter of the Class B sectional bracket as the no. 11 seed, and if it won twice, the Bears could meet the Lakers in the quarterfinal.

Taking care of the first half of that task was tough enough, the Bears hanging on late to beat no. 22 seed Vernon-Verona-Sherrill in an 11-10 thriller. They traded runs early, but Chittenango broke in front with a three-run second inning and five-run third that helped overcome a 5-4 Red Devils advantage.

VVS closed within one, 9-8, in the top of the fourth, only to have the Bears get a run in that frame plus a run in the sixth that was needed as the Red Devils, trailing 11-8, scored twice in the top of the seventh.

Chittenango got the final out, though, as Ryan Thousand led at the plate with three hits and two RBIs. Carlos Torres-Carman had two hits and scored four runs, with Ty Kelly and Ben Welch also driving in two runs and Zailor Caras getting a pair of hits. Now, facing no. 6 seed Clinton in the second round with a berth against Cazenovia in the quarterfinals at stake, the Bears could not get on the board in a 2-0 defeat. For five innings, neither side blinked, but Clinton got both runs it needed in the bottom of the sixth as Matt King and Vincent Martino drove in those runs. Pitcher Kyle Majka struck out nine as the Bears’ season ended with a 10-9 record.

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stake, Cazenovia absorbed Homer’s strong first quarter and, trailing 3-1, turned into around, outscoring the Trojans 5-2 the rest of the half.

Homer recovered, though, reclaiming a slim 9-8 edge by the end of the third quarter and wearing down the Lakers in the final minutes, helped by seeing goalie Ben Bradshaw record 14 saves.

In defeat, Brendon Barnard scored four times, with Forrest Ives and Ben Blanco getting two goals apiece. Ives also had two assists as D.B. Falge earned Cazenovia’s other goal.

Tucker Ives played the whole game in goal and recorded 12 saves, not quite able to contain a well-balanced Homer attack where Hunter Riehlmann and Alex Votra both had three goals and Riehlmann added three assists as Sam Sorenson and Dan Stiles had two goals apiece.

WANT TO SAVE “4” SHOTS? ELIMINATE “4” THINGS…

Is golf a “MENTAL” game or a “PHYSICAL” game? Because we communicate with each other every week through these articles, you should know the answer to the question. Golf is, of course, both a mental and physical game. The only difference of opinions I read and hear about are how much of the game is mental and how much is physical…on a percentage basis. Even the best players, golf coaches, teachers, psychologists, and trainers in the country can’t agree on the specific percentage. The only thing “all” of them can agree on is…success in golf requires that the percentage must be significantly higher in favor of “MENTAL” skills rather than the “PHYSICAL” mechanics and strength of golfers. Bobby Jones once said, “Competitive golf is played mainly on a five-and-a-half-inch course…the space between your ears”. Arnold Palmer is quoted as saying, “Success in golf depends ‘less’ on strength of body, than upon strength of mind and character”. Jack Nicklaus said, “Golf is 85% “MENTAL” and 15% PHYSICAL”. Rory Mcllroy said, “I need cockiness, self belief, arrogance, swagger, whatever you want to call it…I need that on the golf course to bring the best out of me. Ok, the message to all golfers should be loud and clear…We need to work hard to maintain our “PHYSICAL” potential and never stop trying to develop our “MENTAL attitudes.

Before reading about the “4” THINGS that we need to eliminate in our golf game, in order to save “4” SHOTS, I’d like to challenge each of you to think about and write down the “4” THINGS you believe would accomplish this in “YOUR GAME” first. Then, you can compare. My guess is your “MENTAL” game has more potential than you think and your answers will be very similar to the ones below.

A SHORT PAUSE FOR YOUR ANSWERS...

First, let’s review the facts…

* Not one of the greatest golfers of all time have ever conquered the game of golf. Period! It’s impossible to beat.

* Sometimes you think you are “not” good enough, when you are.

* Sometimes you think you “are” good enough, when you aren’t.

* The game has the uncanny ability to find ways to make you feel as though you are a failure.

* When you feel good physically but are having trouble mentally during a round, you are in a big pile of…”Do-Do”.

I really like what Fergus Bisset has to say on the subject and hope it resonates with you. By the way, Fergus has worked for Golf Monthly and has written two books; “Great Golf Debates” and

“The Ultimate Golf Book”. So, what are the “4” THINGS he says we need to eliminate?…

1. TOO MUCH LOFT - You should eliminate using irons with too much loft around the greens. Most amateur golfers will do better around the greens if they pick a lower lofted iron and perhaps even a putter, when the lie of the ball on the grass permits. The next best option might be a 7 or 8 iron to get the ball rolling on the green as soon as possible…like a chip and run. Stay away from any higher lofted wedges because the chances of hitting a poor shot increases significantly. Just because the PGA Players do it on TV, is not a good reason for you to attempt the shot.

2. PULLING OUT A DRIVER - When you are playing a 430 yard, par 4 hole you know you can’t reach in two, that also has a tight tee shot, avoid using your driver off the tee. You can hit two fairway woods with 17-20 degrees of loft and a 9 iron or wedge to the green in three shots and maybe make a par or a bogey at worst, instead of a double or triple bogey.

3. TAKING ON THE NEAR IMPOSSIBLE - When facing a tee shot on any par 4 or 5 hole with a water hazard in the fairway, avoid trying to carry the hazard unless you are confident you can successfully clear the hazard 9 out of 10 times…not 1 in 20 attempts. The same is true of a shot over a tree on an approach shot. Unless you are confident you can hit a sand or lob wedge over the tree 9 out of 10 times, chip the ball back into the fairway and focus on trying to hit your iron close to save par.

4. GETTING AHEAD OF YOURSELF - When you start your round par, par, par, birdie, it is imperative you avoid starting to think about the “if” word…”If” I can just keep this going into the back nine…I can have a cushion when I play the tough holes. If, I can par holes 7, 8 and 9, I will have a chance to shoot my low round of the year because I always play well on the back side. There is only one way to play golf. You must focus on your next shot.. not the next 3, 10, 15 or 17 holes.

You must stay in the moment.

Ok…how did your list compare to Fergus’s list? I knew you would do well.