Oneida picks up both halves of twin bill

No. 4 Oneida notches 7th, 8th straight wins

Oneida girls took on Utica Notre Dame in a Sunday double-header with No. 4Oneida surging to the top.

Utica Notre Dame and Oneida entered Sunday afternoon’s softball doubleheader riding seven and six-game win streaks, respectively, and each team was looking to take control of the Tri-Valley League Pioneer Division. As has been the case for the past decade, coach Mike Curro’s squad is once again in the driver’s seat for the league title in May. Oneida, currently rated the No. 4 team in Class B according to the New York State Sportswriters Association, swept a doubleheader on its home field, winning 9-0 and 15-7 to improve to 10-1 on the season and extend its winning streak to 8 games. “We know they’re a much improved team,” said Curro. “They get better every year with coach (Olivia) Tooley.” His team jumped out in front from the start, taking a 2-0 lead in the top of the first inning playing as the away team in the opening game. Lauren Skibitski roped a one-out double that one-hopped the fence, Oneida’s only hard hit of the inning against Utica Notre Dame starter Courtney Murse. Sydney Lusher followed with a soft fly ball over first base that dropped for a double, putting runners on second and third for Emily Marshall, who brought Skibitski home witha sacrifice fly. Alyssa Gienger added an RBI single two batters later for the 2-0 edge. Those two runs were more than enough for Kyra Shlotzhauer, who cruised through five innings of shutout ball, allowing just three hits and walking none while striking out six. Oneida gave Shlotzhauer additional breathing room with a two-out rally in the top of the fourth. Kaylin Curro started it with a single and Skibitski followed with her second double of the day, driving the freshman home. Skibitski scored her second run when Lusher followed with a single, extending the lead to 4-0. The Jugglers mounted their biggest offensive threat in the bottomof the fourth, putting runners on the corners with one out on back-to-back singles by SamFluty and Jackie Roberts. Shlotzhauer got out of the jam by striking out the next two batters, preserving the shutout. Oneida followed with an offensive outburst in the top of the fifth, sending 10 batters to the plate in a five-run frame. Olivia Friend and Adriana Chappa walked around a Gienger single and a Shlotzhauer sacrifice, loading the bases with one out. Mary Robello, who hit the ball hard for a long fly out to senter field in her previous at bat, roped a single to plate Chapa. Curro followed with a two-run single and Skibitski drove in her second run with her third hit of the day. Reilly White capped the inning with a line drive to left that brought Curro home and made the score 9- 0. Skibitski finished the first game going 3-for- 5 with two doubles, two RBI and two runs scored while Curro batted 3-for-4 with a double, also scoring twice and driving in two. Gienger also had three hits in the winning effort. Coach Curro turned to Kerri

gan Crysler for the final six outs and the eighth grader was up to the task, striking out four while allowing a hit and a walk over two shutout innings. “She’s an eighth grader that is talented,” said Curro. “After Kyra leaves her footsteps here she’s going to be the future. We’ve got a couple other kids on modified that can throw really well too so we’ve got pitching, we’re going to be OK in that department. ”He added that in between games he wanted his team to stay light and loose, and he wanted to start game two as quickly as possible. In that second game, Gienger belted a threerun homer in the bottom of the first to spark a 15-0 Oneida run. Oneida’s left fielder finished the second game with a 1-for-1 line with a homer, three walks, three runs scored and four RBI. Shlotzhauer stayed in the circle for the start of game 2, working 3.1 innings without yielding a hit or walk while striking out six. Combined with her six strikeouts in the first half of Sunday’s twin bill, Shlotzhauer recorded her 400th career strikeout less than a week removed from throwing a perfect game. After fitting in four games in seven days, Oneida will rest until Thursday when it faces Whitesboro in a TVL crossover matchup.