By Zach Gewelb
SYRACUSE, NY — Hoping to regain second place in the New York Collegiate Baseball League standings, the Syracuse Jr. Chiefs dropped two crucial games against the Geneva Red Wings on Tuesday, losing Game one 8-3 and falling in game two 5-0.
Austin Munn (Ave Maria) took the mound for the Jr. Chiefs in game two and got off to a great start, putting up three scoreless innings to start the game. While he was rolling on the mound, the depleted Jr. Chiefs offense put pressure on Geneva starter Jason Meger (North Park U).
Syracuse put two men on base in the first and one on in the second, but were unable to push across a run. In the third inning, the Jr. Chiefs had a golden opportunity with two on and nobody out for the heart of their order.
All-Star and reigning NYCBL player of the week Aaron Pigna (Ave Maria U) couldn’t move the runners despite attempting to bunt. He struck out when his two-strike bunt attempt rolled foul.
Number three hitter Noel Garcia (Northwood U) recorded an infield fly to follow, and the Jr. Chiefs window of opportunity was beginning to close. Clean-up hitter Nicolas Sinay (Buffalo U of) struck out swinging and, just like that, the Jr. Chiefs remained scoreless.
With the game scoreless through three, Munn ran in to some trouble in the fourth. He walked Bret Viola (Stevens Inst of Tech) to lead off the inning, and Viola advanced to second with a stolen base.
Viola moved to third after a sacrifice bunt from Dustin Arnold (Alvernia U) and scored on the RBI groundout by Cameron Stimpson (Monroe CC), giving Geneva a 1-0 lead.
Despite allowing one hit to this point, Munn found himself behind. He didn’t let that bother him, tough, as he posted two more scoreless innings.
The Jr. Chiefs couldn’t provide Munn with any runs off of Meger, who kept the depleted Syracuse lineup quiet through the first five innings, only allowing two hits.
Meger (W 5 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 3 BB, 3 K) exited after the fifth and gave way to reliever Zach Augustine (John Hopkins U) to face the heart of the Jr. Chiefs order. After retiring Garcia, Sinay reached base on a bunt single to give Syracuse some life.
Sinay took off on the first pitch, but was caught stealing. Arnold delivered a solid throw to second and Sinay, who did not attempt to slide, was tagged out. Augustine retired Pat Wright (Le Moyne Col) to end the inning.
Munn returned to pitch the seventh inning, but allowed a leadoff single to Lee Miller (Davidson Col). Brian Weightman (St Bonaventure U) entered as a pinch runner but was forced out at second base, allowing Stimpson to reach base.
Stimpson stole second and managed to score from there on Munn’s wild pitch, giving Geneva a two run cushion. Munn (L 6.1 IP, 4 R, 2 H, 5 BB, 5 K) allowed another single and threw another wild pitch before exiting the game after throwing 115 pitches.
Thomas Jordan (Northwood U) entered the game and walked Stuck to put men on first and second with only one out. The Red Wings pulled off a double-steal and got two runners in scoring position for Scott Shields (Cuesta U).
Shields ripped a double to left-center field and gave the Red Wings a commanding 4-0 lead. Shields advanced to third after a wild pitch from Jordan and scored on Andrew Gronski’s (Case Western Reserve U) RBI single. Jordan (0.2 IP, 2 R, 2 H, 1 BB, 0 K) Got out of the inning, but the Jr. Chiefs were unable to rally in the ninth and dropped game two 5-0.
Poor defense cost the Jr. Chiefs in a 7-3 game one loss. Billy Kosachook (Urbana U) started for Syracuse and ran in to trouble right away. Geneva leadoff man Zak Worsley (North Park U) reached base to open the game after an error by second baseman Gabe Levanti (Virginia Tech U).
Kosachook added an error of his own on the next play, which put runners at the corners with nobody out. Geneva took advantage of Syracuse’s defensive miscues when Gronski bounced in to a double play, bringing in Worsley, which gave the Red Wings a 1-0 lead.
“We needed to play better defense,” Jr. Chiefs manager Chris Haynes said. “Those (errors) hurt and they’re tough to come back from.”
Kosachook settled down after a tough opening frame and put up zeroes for the next three innings. He didn’t receive any support from the Jr. Chiefs offense, which had trouble getting on base against Geneva starter Jordan Hanlon (Elmhurst Col).
Hanlon allowed two hits in the first, but settled down and started to breeze through the Jr. Chiefs lineup. The score remained 1-0 until the fourth inning, when Geneva posted four runs off Kosachook.
Lee Miller (Davidson Col) opened the inning with a triple and scored two batters later on Dustin Stuck’s (Alvernia U) single. Worsley followed with a single to load the bases with nobody out.
Gronski drove in two runs with a single, and an error by Levanti, his second of the day, cost the Jr. Chiefs another run, giving the Red Wings a 5-0 lead.
The Jr. Chiefs got on the board an inning later when Pigna led off with a walk. Pat Wright (Le Moyne Col) was hit by a Hanlon pitch and Brian Burns (Ithaca Col) singled to load the bases with one out.
Levanti drew a walk to bring in the Jr. Chiefs first run of the afternoon, but Hanlon recovered to get out of the jam without giving up another run.
Geneva answered back in the eighth inning when they increased their lead up to six. Kosachook (L 7.2 IP, 7 R, 10 H, 3 BB, 2 K) walked Stuck with one out and gave up a double to Worsley, putting two men in scoring position for the Red Wings.
With the bullpen stirring, Kosachook was instructed to intentionally walk John Dockins (Kutztown U) to load the bases. A heads up play by John Cialone would save the Jr. Chiefs a run, as his snap throw to third after ball four beat Stuck back to the bag for out number two.
Kosachook exited then exited the game in favor or Patrick Merryweather, who allowed a two run double to Weightman. The double increased Geneva’s lead 7-1.
The Jr. Chiefs would make things interesting in the bottom of the eighth, against new Red Wings pitcher Justin Thigpen (Oglethorpe U). Thigpen relieved Hanlon (7 IP, 1 R, 4 H, 4 BB, 2 K) who had stifled the Jr. Chiefs lineup through seven.
Thigpen retired the first two batters in the inning, but ran in to some trouble after allowing a two-out walk to Levanti. Gary Jones (Delaware U of) followed with a single, giving catcher John Cialone (Villanova U) an opportunity to do some damage.
Cialone did not disappoint and drilled a double to deep left center, which brought in Levanti and Jones, making the score 7-3. Cialone was left stranded on second base to end the inning.
The Red Wings added another run in the ninth and Thigpen (S, 1.2 IP, 2 R, 3 H, 1 BB, 1 K) escaped thwarted a two-out Jr. Chiefs rally to secure the 8-3 victory.
The Jr. Chiefs have been playing without a solid chunk of their starting lineup, including Alex Caruso (St Johns U), Stanley Susana (St Thomas Aquinas Col) and Kenny Hostrander.
Haynes thinks that injuries have played a key role in the Jr. Chiefs offensive slump of late.
“We’re a banged up team right now,” Haynes said. “We still played hard, but we needed some hits today. We just need to keep playing hard.”
The Jr. Chiefs drop to 19-15, while the Red Wings improve to 15-18. The two teams will match up again Wednesday night at McDonough Park in Geneva. First pitch is scheduled for 7:00 p.m.
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