A well-timed offensive outburst late in the contest helped the Cazenovia softball team overcome a four-run deficit in last Tuesday’s game against Westhill and beat the visiting Warriors 6-4 to move back above the .500 mark amid the busiest stretch of the season. Through the first five innings, the Lakers could not solve Westhill pitcher Kelly Mascari, and fell behind 4-0 when the Lakers got four runs off Nicole White in the top of the fourth, two of them racing home on a Mackenzie Davis single. Then, in the bottom of the sixth, everything clicked for the Lakers. Maggie Johnson’s bases-clearing, three-run triple was the key blow as Cazenovia batted around and scored six times, Sarah Liddell adding an RBI in that fracas. Other than her fourth-inning struggles, White was superb against Westhill’s potent lineup, only giving up four hits and three walks while striking out three. The Lakers returned to league play following a split of games in the April 27 Fayetteville-Manlius Tournament that included White’s first no-hitter of the season in a 3-2 victory over Oswego. Unearned runs in the first and third innings had the Lakers trailing the Buccaneers 2-0. But White shut down everything from that point forward, only walking one batter and earning 12 strikeouts. But Cazenovia didn’t catch up until getting a pair of runs in the top of the sixth, and moved ahead with a run in the seventh inning. Rachel McLaughlin doubled and drove in two runs, while Maggie Johnson added two hits and an RBI. White added a pair of hits. Cazenovia lost the other game to Rome Free Academy 6-2, surrendering a 1-0 lead when the Black Knights scored two runs in the fourth, fifth and sixth innings. McLaughlin and Johnson drove in the Lakers’ runs as Nicole Chiarello managed a pair of hits. Following the win over Westhill, Cazenovia continued to surge, pounding out plenty of hits against Skaneateles on Wednesday as it dominated the battle of Laker sides and prevailed 13-2. After grabbing a 5-0 lead by the third inning, Cazenovia sealed matters with a six-run outburst in the fourth. Johnson led the charge, smashing a home run and adding a double and single as she picked up four RBIs. White and Chiarello also went deep, both of them scoring three runs as Jocelyn Golden added a pair of RBIs. Chiarello assumed pitching duties, too, and held Skaneateles to three hits, recording seven strikeouts to overcome issuing six walks. On Saturday, Cazenovia went to Oneida for the Jack Lowell Tournament, where it faced the host Oneida Indians (no. 15 in the state Class A rankings) in the first round and could not get on the board in a 4-0 defeat. Through three innings, it remained 0-0, but Oneida got to White for single runs in the fourth and fifth innings, plus two runs in the sixth. Meanwhile, three Indians pitchers – Ally Simons, Ashley Marshall and Emily O’Herlen – held the Lakers in check, never letting them get on the board despite six hit, two of them from white, plus a double by Chiarello. Forced into the consolation round (Oneida would beat Holland Patent in the finals), the Lakers engaged in a thriller against Homer that went eight innings before Cazenovia beat the Trojans 8-7. This one went back and forth, Cazenovia grabbing a 5-1 lead by the third inning, only to see Homer use five runs in the bottom of the sixth to surge in front 6-5. Somehow, the Lakers shook this off and tied it in the top of the seventh. Then, in the eighth, Cazenovia claimed an 8-6 lead with a pair of runs and had to hang on as Chiarello surrendered a run in the bottom of the eighth, but managed to record the final out. At the plate, White went three-for-four, including a double, and picked up two RBIs. McLaughlin also drove in two runs as Chiarello and Rebeckah Swart each got two hits and one RBI.