By Justin Lada
BOONVILLE, N.Y. — The Syracuse Salt Cats played what was easily their best game of the summer and were rewarded with a move out of the basement of the NYCBL East. With a dominating 7-1 victory over the Adirondack Trailblazers and the Utica Brewers defeating the Sherrill Silversmiths 7-6, the Salt Cats officially moved into fifth place and are just percentage points behind the Geneva Red Wings for fourth place.
Sean Williams (Oklahoma State-Pandhandle) was flat out dominant. The only scratch on his line was a solo home run by James Anderson in the fifth inning. While the ball still may be clearing it’s re-entrance to the atmosphere with NASA, it only counted as one run and it was the only run the TBlazers put on the board all night.
Williams wound up going eight strong, the longest outing by any Salt Cats starter this season. He walked two, allowed four hits and struck out 10 Trailblazers, the first Salt Cats pitcher to reach double digits in whiffs in one game.
After striking out the side in the eighth inning, Williams exited striking out the final five Blazers he faced. Only one batter reached third all night and just two reached second base on Williams. He was perfect through the first two innings of the game.
While the Salt Cats scored 15 in Thursday’s win, they were late to the party on Friday but showed up right after Williams allowed the bomb by Anderson.
Eddie Charles (Oswego State) walked to lead off the inning, but Blazers starter, Chandler Parsons, was pitching a brilliant game of his own. He put the next two batters away after the walk in the sixth, but then was removed from the game.
The Salt Cats coaching staff went with Kevin Bailey (Alvernia) to pinch hit for Nick Carlson (Rochester). The Blazers decided to bring in Ian Tresser a lefty before Syracuse pinch hit Bailey.
Tresser never threw a pitch, the Blazers deciding to play a little cat and mouse, bringing in Corbin Stykemain.
Stykemain promptly walked Bailey and then allowed an RBI double to Jake Cintolo (Suffolk) tying the game at 1-1, with two outs.
Jimmy Napolitano (Rutgers-Newark) drove in RBIs 13-14 with a single back up the middle, making it 3-1 Salt Cats.
Two straight walks to Connor Thompson (Mansfield) and Mike Mascari (Oneonta State/Oswego State)) to load the bases and then Stykemain was done.
Sean Larson came on with the bases loaded and two outs, but Bud Morton (Moorehead State) delivered the big blow, a pinch hit bases clearing triple to center field, making it 6-1, giving Williams all the run support he needed.
Despite the long layoff of a 10-batter sixth inning, Williams set the Trailblazers down in order in the sixth. A walk and a single for Adirondack in the seventh threatened Williams’ tempo, with action in the Salt Cats bullpen. The 6’4″ right hander would bear down and retire James Anderson, attempting to bunt at first. The bunt went between Williams and Cintolo at third, Williams would pick it up and throw a laser off his back foot to gun down Anderson, and then retired the next two batters to deny the Blazers.
Bo Watson (Onondaga CC/St. Bonaventure) worked the ninth, walking three batters but mixed two strikeouts in the inning. He would get the final out of the game on a check swing hit by pinch hitter, Bobby McLaughlin. Watson took the chopper and ran to step on the plate and gave the Salt Cats their fourth win in their seventh win, their sixth in the last 10 games.
The Salt Cats head to Geneva on Saturday to face the Red Wings at 7pm from McDonough Park. Corey Mingin (Oklahoma State-Panhandle) (0-0 3.48) will make his second straight start of the season for the Salt Cats.
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For the record, this is Williams second win. He won the season opener against Utica pitching 6 shutout innings striking out six. His stats do not reflect this at this time.