Saturday: Sports season ramps up as spring break wraps

WATERTOWN, New York (WWNY) - High school sports in the area are beginning to ramp up again with spring break coming to an end.

That was the case Saturday morning in Adams as South Jeff hosted Westhill in a boys non-league lacrosse contest.

The Spartans were down 1-0 early when Ethan Hopkins dents the back of the net on one of his 3 goals, tying the game at 1.

With Westhill up 2-1, Cobin O’Brien gets loose in front and splits the pipes, knotting the score at 2.

South Jeff takes the lead when Noah Abbott winds and fires a laser: 3-2 Spartans.

Westhill beats South Jeff 14-6.

On the college side, a men’s Liberty League meeting in Potsdam as Clarkson hosted R.I.T.

Clarkson was down 3-0 in the 1st when Alex Seiler unloads a blast that connects: Golden Knights down 3-1.

In the 2nd period, the score is now 4-1 when Bryan Penney nets one of his 2 goals on the day, cutting the lead to 2.

With Clarkson down 6-3, Sebastian Geiger rips yarn to put the Golden Knights within 2.

Penney scores his 2nd goal of the game to make it 7-5, but R.I.T. beats Clarkson 15-8.

In Canton, a Men’s N.A.C. contest as SUNY Canton hosted the Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts.

Less than a minute in, Alex Jacobs scores his 21st goal of the season to put the Roos up 1-0.

15 seconds later, it’s Jacobs again for his 2nd goal of the game: 2-0 SUNY Canton.

South Jeff product Carter Pooler scores from a tough angle to make it 3-0.

Another South Jeff grad, Tanner Amell, ups the lead to 4-0.

SUNY Canton rolls past MCLA 21-6.

In college softball from the Alex T. Duffy Fairgrounds, JCC hosted Niagara C.C. in a doubleheader.

In game 1 action at the top of the 1st, it was Brooke Beleza with a web gem throwing out the runner from her knees.

At the top of the 2nd, Carthage product Kiannah Ward makes the diving grab in center field.

At the bottom of the 2nd, JCC takes the lead when Torie Moore hits a sacrifice fly to right center. Ward scores to make it 1-0.

But Niagara beats JCC 3-2 in 8 innings.

The Frontier League baseball schedule resumes Monday after a week off for spring break.

For the Carthage Comets, they hope a week to regroup will help them turn things around.

The Comets are a young team with only 4 seniors on their roster.

Carthage is looking to build on a 2022 season that saw them post a 13-7 overall record, 5-1 in Frontier League play, but Coach Joe Sech’s team has gotten off to an 0-3 start.

Sech says despite the slow start, the team is looking forward to what lies ahead after spring break.

”Well, so far it’s been a rough start. Three good programs, three good coaches, off to a slow 0-3 start. But we’ll use this week to hopefully get better. We can’t worry about what other people are doing. We’re super excited to get out here today with this scrimmage. We’ve got a busy week. You know, one week you can’t, we can’t, say the season is over, so we’re back to work this week. We’ve had a good week of practice and we’re excited for next week,” said Sech.

The Comets have a doubleheader against Lowville on Monday and then games against Indian River on Friday and Saturday.

The players know that stringing some wins together can get them back on track and are keeping a positive attitude.

”As a senior, the start is always tough. Watching our guys get their heads down a little bit is rough, but we have the talent and we have the hard work to turn it around. It’s all on us really,” said Senior 1st Baseman Alex Mono.

”We just have little errors that we need to clean up, and we just- We kind of keep our heads down, but we’re pretty good at getting them back up and keep moving,” said Senior Catcher Mason Moser.

”Well, we’ve had a little bit of a rough patch. There’s always room for improvement. The greatest thing about losing is it helps you improve as a team. It bonds you tighter and it gives you something to improve on every day at practice,” said Junior Shortstop Shay Sinitiere.

Sech says the one thing that has impressed him the most about this team is their resiliency and the way that the players have stayed together and continue to improve each and every day, be it in games or at practice.

“Together. They show up every day whether it’s a positive or a negative and they show up to work every day which is an asset. Any of the outside stuff hasn’t really happened. They’re down, but they’ve worked hard and we’re excited for next week.”

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