Syracuse.Com
by Ryan Storie | rstorie@syracuse.com
McGraw softball coach Kris Terwilliger did not find out that his team was going to be undermanned in Tuesday’s clash with Onondaga/LaFayette until just a few hours before the opening pitch.
A combination of sickness and injuries left the Eagles with only eight players.
While McGraw put up a fight, Onondaga/LaFayette rode its steady bats and quality pitching to a 6-3 victory.
“This group of girls, their perseverance is through the roof,” Terwilliger said. “They adapt to this kind of stuff. I went to them at 2 p.m. today and told them we had eight girls, but with the way the weather was, we couldn’t be rescheduling games, so we’re playing. They all looked at me and said, ‘Let’s do it, Coach.’”
Offensively, the Eagles were forced to take an automatic out each time the ninth spot in the lineup came up. McGraw had just two outfielders on defense.
The change on the defensive side led to strategic adjustments from Onondaga/Lafayette.
“We talked about hitting the ball where we wanted to go,” Onondaga/LaFayette coach Rose Stroh said. “Their outfield was shifted, so we had to adjust there and find the gaps.”
Onondaga/LaFayette’s consistent hitting led to an early lead. Senior Aubrie Jones kicked off the scoring with a solo home run in the second inning. Onondaga/LaFayette tacked on two more runs in the fourth and fifth innings to extend its advantage to three.
McGraw’s gritty squad refused to be written off. A stretch of hits, walks and errors allowed the Eagles to load the bases in the top of the sixth inning. Back-to-back walks scored two runs for McGraw. Eighth-grader Emersynn Wilson hit a sacrifice fly to even up the score.
However, Onondaga/LaFayette answered right back in the bottom of the sixth. A two-RBI single by Gisele Greco capped off a three-run rally that put Onondaga/LaFayette back in the driver’s seat. The Eagles went down 1-2-3 in the seventh inning.
“It was nice to see that our bats came alive after,” Onondaga/LaFayette pitcher Kaidence Cronin said. “It’s good to know that they have my back offensively and defensively.”
Cronin threw a complete game for Onondaga/LaFayette. The All-CNY senior struck out eight batters to match her season-high output.
McGraw’s pitching was split between sophomore Abby Lakie and freshman Remington Stull. Lakie lasted four innings while fanning five hitters. Stull made it through the last two innings with three strikeouts.
Onondaga/LaFayette remains undefeated on the campaign with three wins. Before a contest on Monday against Bishop Grimes, Onondaga/LaFayette had nearly three full weeks without a game.
“I thought we were a little shaky in the beginning, but we came through once we got past the nerves,” Stroh said. “Coming off break is hard. It was shaking the rust off and trusting themselves.”
Onondaga/LaFayette hits the road to take on Tully on Thursday.
McGraw (2-1) looks to bounce back against unbeaten Hamilton on Friday.
“We’ll get right back to work tomorrow,” Terwilliger said. “A pretty light practice tomorrow. Give the girls a little bit of rest, and then we’ll hit it hard on Thursday. We’ve got a big one against Hamilton.”
https://www.syracuse.com/highschoolsports/2025/04/onondagalafayette-softball-stays-perfect-as-late-rally-fends-off-shorthanded-mcgraw-30-photos.html