Though lingering in the shadow of OHSL Liberty division neighbor Solvay, the Marcellus softball team has built its own long win streak, which reached nine in a row, starting last Tuesday with a hard-fought 7-6 victory over Phoenix. The Mustangs erased a 4-2 deficit with three runs in the top of the third. Then it scored twice in the sixth, making it 7-4, and would need that cushion because the Firebirds got two runs of its own in that frame to cut the margin to one. Molly MacLachlan would pitch a scoreless seventh to help her team prevail, this after getting two hits and scoring twice. Kassie Lema managed a pair of RBIs. Then the Mustangs blanked Bishop Ludden 3-0 on a wet Wednesday afternoon where MacLachlan held the Gaelic Knights to three hits and didn’t allow a walk. For her part, Cazzandra Griglock pitched well, too, but Marcellus got to her for a run in the third inning and two runs in the fifth. Jennie Delia was credited with two hits and an RBI as she, along with Meghan Witkowski and Clare Manahan, scored one run apiece. A rematch with Ludden Thursday ended 5-2 in the Mustangs’ favor. Sara Hayes and Aubrie Murray drove in runs in the top of the third to briefly put the Gaelic Knights up 2-1, but Marcellus countered with four runs in the bottom of the third to move ahead for good. Rylie Spicer, with two RBIs, led a balanced Mustang attack, while MacLachlan and Shannon Donahue both had two hits and one RBI. Pitching yet another complete game, MacLachlan struck out seven and only surrendered one walk. Before that, Ludden lost an 8-0 decision to Chittenango last Monday, getting just one hit (Hayes’ single) off Bears pitcher Malarie Mohorter. Griglock kept the game at 1-0 until Chittenango scored seven times in the fourth and fifth innings to get clear. But the Gaelic Knights rebounded to win the second game of the twin bill 4-0 as Griglock struck out five and kept the Bears off the board despite giving up seven hits. A three-run first inning proved enough as Hayes and Meghan Wilkinson each got one RBI. After the loss to Marcellus, Ludden rebounded Friday in a big way with a 22-0 destruction of McGraw in non-league play, building a 7-0 lead and then batting twice around in the midst of a 15-run fifth-inning outburst. Griglock (who threw a one-hitter with 13 strikeouts), Ally Weigand and Jessica Sciore each had three RBIs, with Meghan Wilkinson driving in two runs and scoring three times to match Hayes and Griglock. Weigand scored four runs as Murray, Hayes, Emma Greenfield, Megan Curry and Sara Rose Costello each had one RBI. Westhill didn’t return to action until Thursday, when it roared past Chittenango 15-5. A five-run second inning set the tone as the Warriors built an 11-0 lead by the fifth, only surrendering runs when pitcher Kelly Mascari left and Melissa Newcomb relieved her. Not only did Mascari allow just one hit, she went four-for-five at the plate, delivering five RBIs. Nina Scramale drove in a pair of runs as nine of 10 Westhill players in the lineup drove in a run at some point. Maggie Liberatti finished with four hits, including a double, and scored three runs. Jordan-Elbridge had a 2-1 defeat to Cazenovia not decided until the Lakers pushed across the winning run in the bottom of the seventh inning. Eagles pitcher Alexis Rouse was sensational, holding a potent Laker lineup to just three hits and managing a season-beset 13 strikeouts. Trailing 1-0, J-E tied it in the top of the fourth as Olivia Simmons’ single scored Brienna Fabrize,. one of just two hits the Eagles got off Laker ace Nicole White, who finished with 10 strikeouts. But the Eagles got revenge on Thursday, outscoring Cazenovia 9-7 as it sprinted out to a 7-0 lead through three innings, but still needed two runs in the fourth as it withstood the Lakers’ late charge. Cassidy Fletcher, with two doubles and three RBIs, led J-E’s attack as Rouse added three hits and two RBIs. Fabrize, Keelie Hotchkiss, Ashley Hamlin and Molly Conroy drove in one run apiece, while Ashley Wixson scored a pair of runs.