By Trey Didio
SHERRILL, N.Y. — A wild third inning netted the Syracuse Junior Chiefs two runs and proved to be the difference in a New York Collegiate Baseball League game against the Sherrill Silversmiths.
Leadoff hitter Connor Mathis (Mount Union) started the frame with a walk. Center fielder Alex Caruso (St. John’s University) tried a sacrifice bunt, but was called out for being out of the batter’s box. Kenny Hostrander (Eastern Kentucky) followed that with a ground ball to third that could have been a double play, but a huge hop over Sherrill third baseman Nate Eastman (Finger Lakes) turned it into a single.
A wild pitch advanced the runners to scoring position and Stanley Susana (St. Thomas Aquinas College) came through with another single. Mathis scored but Hostrander was tagged out at the plate after a nice relay from left field. Following the play, a single and a walk loaded the bases for Syracuse. Catcher Noel Garcia (Northwood) plated Susana with a single yet Ryan Clark (North Carolina-Greensboro) was gunned down at the plate after Sherrill center fielder Mike Bunal (Binghamton) made a terrific throw to home.
Along with this outfield assist, Bunal recorded four hits with an RBI.
Sherrill had its chances early and often, but could not capitalize. The Silversmiths made numerous base running errors that cost them outs. Syracuse managed to pick off a Sherrill runner three separate times throughout the game as well as throwing out a runner at the plate. Two base runners were also caught stealing.
“You take your chances when you’re doing a lot in the running game, and tonight was one of the nights where it hurt us,” Sherrill manager Dennis Duffy said.
A critical mistake came in the eighth inning. The Silversmiths were down 3-1 at the time and drew two consecutive walks to start the frame. Zack Kessinger (Washington University at St. Louis) squared for a sacrifice bunt but pulled back on a ball that skipped in the dirt. Ka’ai Tom (Fort Scott) dashed to third and beat the throw. Syracuse third baseman Susana rifled the ball across the diamond to nab Skyler Geissinger (SIU-Edwardsville), who had hesitated and tried retreating back to first.
“That’s on the coaches, mostly. We picked bad times to send guys,” Duffy said. “We just need to do a better job of understanding situations of running, both us and the players.”
The Silversmiths also left nine runners on base.
Mike Bittel (Seton Hill) picked up the win for Syracuse as he threw six innings and allowed one run on eight hits. He struck out five. Josh Griffith (Fort Scott CC) also pitched six innings for Sherrill. He allowed three runs on seven hits and six walks. Griffith stranded seven runners but could not escape every jam as he picked up the loss.
The Junior Chiefs used a combination of four pitchers to close out the final four innings. The bullpen allowed just one hit. Zac Connelly (University of Tampa) recorded the save after striking out two in the ninth.
The two teams play a doubleheader tomorrow at Alliance Bank Stadium in Syracuse, with the first game slated for a 3:00 starting time.
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