SHERRILL, NY — The Syracuse Junior Chiefs won both games (7-1/7-5) and improved to 6-0 on the season when facing the Sherrill Silversmiths.
“They’ve had our number so far this year,” Sherrill manager Dennis Duffy said.
Syracuse took advantage in the first game early by scoring in the opening frame. Leadoff batter Connor Mathis (Mount Union) started it off with a single and advanced to second on a sacrifice bunt. After Sherrill starter Josh Griffith (Fort Scott) induced a popup, Junior Chiefs’ shortstop Kenny Hostrander (Eastern Kentucky) came through with a two-out RBI single.
Syracuse followed that inning by pushing across five runs in the second. Two consecutive batters walked to start the inning and came home on a three-run homer by catcher John Cialone (Villanova). The nine hitter Aaron Pigna (Ave Maria University) kept things going with a single and proceeded to steal second. Alex Caruso (St. John’s) brought him around to score with a base hit to make it 6-0.
Unlike the Junior Chiefs, Sherrill could not get the offense going. They managed one run on just three hits as Syracuse starter Jordan Fuller (Seton Hill) struck out six over six innings.
A bright spot for the Silversmiths was Hunter Keatts. Keatts, who plays at Wallace State, relieved Griffith to start the third inning. He allowed just one run on no hits through the final four innings.
“It’s unbelievable when we can get a guy who hasn’t really thrown a lot this summer and he did everything we look for,” said Duffy of Keatts. “He really kept our bullpen fresh going into this big stretch coming up.”
Thomas Jordan (Northwood) entered in the seventh inning and closed the door for Syracuse as Fuller picked up the victory.
Early on in game two, it looked as if the Silversmiths could finally get a win of their own against the Junior Chiefs, but poor defense and timely hitting from Syracuse put that notion to rest.
Mathis led off the game with a home run off Sherrill hurler Ed Zakrzewski (Mohawk Valley Community College). Zakrzewski allowed two more hits in the opening frame but did not surrender another run.
Sherrill quickly tied things up as its leadoff hitter Mike Bunal (Binghamton) hit a home run to right field.
Just like in game one, a team had a huge second inning; this time it was the Silversmiths. Ka’ai Tom (Fort Scott) led off with a walk and stole second base. Troy Jones (Monroe Community College) followed with a sharp single to right field. Nate Eastman (Finger Lakes) hit a hard grounder to third where Junior Chiefs’ Stanley Susana fielded it and threw home as Tom tried to advance. Tom beat the throw and gave Sherrill a 2-1 lead.
With runners on first and second and no outs, Mark Sherlock (Marywood) squared for a sacrifice bunt. Billy Kosachook (Urbana) fielded it but threw it into right field, allowing both runners to score. Sherlock advanced to third and scored later on a Bunal single, good for his second RBI.
Sherrill would not score for the remainder of the game and only produced one hit over the final five innings.
“We had their guy on the ropes early and just didn’t capitalize to knock him out of the game,” Duffy said. “We have to keep our foot on the gas.”
It remained 5-1 until the fourth inning. Zakrzewski quickly retired the first two Syracuse hitters until beaning the next two. Pigna came through with a single to plate one runner, but Cialone was gunned down at third after a great throw from center fielder Tom.
The Junior Chiefs kept things rolling by scoring two more in the fifth inning. Mathis singled to get things started. After Caruso walked, Susana ripped a ball to third. Eastman made a diving stop, stepped on third for the first out, yet threw the ball away as runners advanced to second and third.
Caruso scored on a wild pitch and Nick Sinay (Buffalo) singled home Susana. After Zakrzewski got another out on a popup, Gabe Levanti (Virginia Tech) grounded between short and third. Shortstop Skyler Geissinger (Southern Illinois University at Edwardsville) fielded it cleanly but threw the ball away to set up runners on second and third.
In came side-arm throwing Thomas Moriarty (Hamilton). Moriarty escaped the jam as Syracuse catcher Noel Garcia (Northwood) grounded out.
The Junior Chiefs were not done yet. In the following inning they scored three more runs to cap their rally and take a 7-5 lead. An Eastman throwing error allowed two runs to come home and Susana added an insurance sacrifice fly.
Alan Komorowski (Washington) relieved Kosachook in the fifth inning and threw 2.2 brilliant innings. He did not allow a hit and struck out three to pick up the victory. Moriarty received the loss for Sherrill.
Sherrill fell to 9-14 on the season, but has hope to finish the year strong.
“Overall we just need to make sure to bring it everyday and we will be fine as a team,” Duffy said.
Syracuse improved to 15-9, good for third place. The two teams meet again tomorrow in Syracuse for a doubleheader starting at 11:00 am.
Leave a Reply