By Alicia Daddario
SYRACUSE, NY — The Syracuse Salt Cats avenged Friday night’s double header loss to the Jr. Chiefs Saturday afternoon with a crucial 12-8 victory in New York Collegiate Baseball League action. The Salt Cats (14-14) exploded for an exciting 12 runs and 12 hits at LeMoyne College, giving them the edge over the Jr. Chiefs as they win the season series with their rivals 5-3, with one head-to-head contest remaining.
With playoffs approaching and teams playing through tough stretches of games, this win for the Salt Cats was crucial. Player of the game, Colton Montgomery (Georgia Coll & St. U) expressed the importance of the victory,
“It is huge. We were struggling the past couple days as we need to get into the playoffs, so that was a big win to help that out.”
The pitching match up for the game was one of All-Star caliber as Salt Cat Zach Carlino (Mt. Union) and Jr. Chief Ryan Clark (UNC Greensboro) took the mound. Carlino went 4 and 2/3 innings, giving up seven runs on 10 hits, while walking four.
Both teams wasted no time swinging the bats and putting some runs on the board. In the top of the first inning, Connor Mathis (Mount Union) singled to right field and advanced to second on an error committed as Ben Sawyer could not field the ball cleanly. Next up, second baseman Aaron Pigna used his speed to reach safely on a bunt single. Batting third for the Chiefs, Stanley Susana (St. Thomas Aquinas) was credited with an RBI as he grounded out to second, scoring Mathis and moving Pigna to third. Carlino’s pitch to clean up hitter Nick Sinay (University at Buffalo), got past the catcher, allowing Pigna to cross the plate for the second run of the inning. Jr. Chiefs led 2-0.
The Salt Cats answered in what seemed to be the best offensive inning of the season. Lead off hitter and short stop, Anthony Massicci (Canisius) set the tone for the rest of the inning as reached first on an infield single. Bud Morton (Southern) followed suit with a single of his own to left field. Runners in scoring position and the Cats could not think of anyone better to come to the plate than Cristian Fiorito (Concordia), who is second in the NYCBL in RBI’s with 28 on the season. Fiorito singled to right center field, scoring Massicci for the first of nine runs in the inning.
Next up, Montgomery singled to right field for the fourth straight hit for the Salt Cats. Third baseman Mike DeCarr (SUNY Cortland) continued the hit streak with another single to left field, loading the bases for Tucker Starkey (Ave Maria). Starkey found himself in a 3-1 hitters count. He ripped one to right field for two RBI’, scoring Morton and Fiorito.
Ben Sawyer (Alvernia) stepped up to the plate and reaches first with a RBI single. Kyle Feazell (Louisiana) and Mike Mascari (SUNY Oswego) got on the base paths with a single and a walk, respectively. The Jr. Chiefs failed to record an out before the Salt Cats batted around. Massicci up to the plate for the second time this inning, gets a sac fly to left field. Montgomery went 2-2 in the inning as he singled yet again, but this time earning two RBI.
The first inning ended, and the Salt Cats put nine runs and 10 hits on the scoreboard.
Carlino worked a quick and clean second, third, and fourth inning. However, the Jr. Chiefs answered back in the fifth by batting around themselves and picking up five runs, which ended Carlino’s night. Susana began the inning with a single to left right field. Sinay and Wright occupied second and first base after being walked on four straight pitches. Bases loaded for catcher Noel Garcia (Northwood) and he cashed in with a home run over the left field fence at Rockwell. A grand slam for Garcia scored all three base runners and earned him four RBI on the night. Kenny Hostrander (Eastern Kentucky) scored on an Aaron Pigna (Ave Maria) single, which ended the Chiefs five-run rally. Salt Cats led 9-7 after 4.5 innings.
The Salt Cats offense would get three more insurance runs, one run in the fifth, sixth, and seventh. Mascari hit an RBI single up the middle, which scored Starkey’s second run of the game. Cats tacked on another run in the sixth as Fiorito crossed home plate on a DeCarr RBI single. Finally, Mascari scored the twelfth and final run on a wild pitch.
The Jr. Chiefs could not mount a comeback other than scoring one more run in the eighth inning on a Sinay solo home run. The reason for the Chiefs lack of scoring can be attributed to the efficient relief pitching. Connor Nolan (LeMoyne) picked up the win after dealing a scoreless 2 and a third innings. Ray Messner (Ave Maria) only gave up one run: the home run by Sinay. And to close it all out, Bo Watson (St. Bonaventure) was a strike throwing machine and retired the side in the ninth to secure the win.
When Watson comes into games like these he has one goal in mind, “to strike everybody out.” He did strikeout one but the more impressive stat was that he did not throw one ball.
This much needed win for the Salt Cats puts the team record at an even .500 and puts them in a tie with the Geneva Twins for fifth in the league. Every game counts down the stretch, and Syracuse will look to build off this explosive win Sunday afternoon as they host a double header against the Sherrill Silversmiths at LeMoyne College.
The Jr. Chiefs have a doubleheader with the Oneonta Outlaws. First pitch at Hopkins Road is slated for 3 p.m.
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