Before and after the rains, Chittenango’s baseball team remained in good form, steadily moving up the OHSL Freedom division standings and improving to 10-3 overall. First, the Bears went to Cortland last Monday and put together a 7-1 win over the Purple Tigers. Wes Burghardt pitched and had one of his best outings of the season, allowing five hits and four walks, but striking out four and constantly working his way out of possible trouble. Meanwhile, the Bears were steady, notching runs in each of the first five innings. Erik Kurz led the push with two hits, two runs scored and an RBI as Steve Mesmer drove in two runs and Brendan Galek got an RBI, too. Devin Christopher, Nic Bacon and Greg Jasek also scored runs. Three days later, Chittenango faced Phoenix and had another strong showing as it beat the Firebirds 7-2. Just as Burghardt had done against Cortland, Mike Moon went the route, giving up four hits and two walks while earning five strikeouts. He also got early help as the Bears, who never trailed, scored three runs in the first two innings, then watched Phoenix cut it to 3-2 before it pulled away with runs in each of the last three innings. Jasek led the offense with two hits and two RBIs. Galek scored twice as he and Bacon also had two-hit showings. Christopher and Kurz joined Galek in driving in single runs. It proved closer in Friday’s game at East Syracuse-Minoa, but once again the Bears pulled it out, edging the Spartans 3-2 to reach the double-digit win mark. Chittenango got two first-inning runs off ESM ace Mike Para. The Spartans used single runs in the third and fourth to tie it 2-2, but the Bears inched ahead with a run in the sixth, and it held up. Jeff Pierce went six innings for the win, amassing five strikeouts before Jasek handled the seventh inning for the save. Burghardt starred at the plate with a solo home run, two hits and two runs scored, while Christopher also scored a run. Meanwhile, the Chittenango softball team had an up-and-down start to the month. Rained out Tuesday against Homer, made up that game on Thursday and lost to the Trojans 14-7. The Bears still pounded out 13 hits in this game, three of them from Kaleigh Koegel. Haley Landers managed two hits and earned three RBIs as Alanna Haynes, Brandyn McDermott and Shelby Bogle also had two-hit outings. Alexa Farsaci scored three runs, with Jennifer Sternberg joining Koegel and Haynes in the RBI column. Every time Chittenango threatened, though, Homer had an answer, keying its win with four-run rallies in the third and fifth innings. Katie Sinclair got four hits, including a home run and two doubles, while Carissa Cornwell had three hits, three run scored and three RBIs. Chittenango rebounded Friday and rallied twice for an 8-7, eight-inning win over Fulton. The Bears squandered a 3-1 lead when the Red Raiders scored four runs in the top of the sixth. Down 6-3 going into the bottom of the seventh, the Bears somehow pulled even with three runs. Then, after Fulton got a run in the top of the eighth to go up 7-6, Chittenango came back once more, earning the tying and winning runs. Landers, with two doubles and three RBIs, and Koegel had two triples and two RBIs, led the late offensive surge. Haynes, Sternberg and Danielle Farley drove in one run apiece as McKenzie Doig scored three times. By stark contrast, on Saturday the Bears ran into Fayetteville-Manlius ace Amy Bright and did not get a hit off her in a 5-0 defeat. In fact, just one Chittenango runner reached base, on an error, as Bright recorded 11 strikeouts and got most of her run support when the Hornets scored four times off Shelby Hogan in the bottom of the fifth.