By Paul Gotham
WELLSVILLE, NY – It was billed as an offensive showdown. A pitching performance proved the difference.
Jack Fowler (Felician) hurled a complete-game shutout as the Wellsville Nitros defeated the Syracuse Salts Cats, 4-0 in the first round of the New York Collegiate Baseball League playoffs at Wellsville Central Schools, Wednesday.
Fowler scattered eight hits, struck out six and walked two. The right-hander threw 141 pitches, 90 for strikes in his longest outing of the season.
“I don’t believe in pitch counts and stuff like that,” said Wellsville head coach Anthony Barone. “Jack was finishing that game. He obviously wanted it. He was lights out.”
Fowler worked out of a pair of jams.
Syracuse threatened in the fourth when they collected four hits but came away empty-handed. The speedy Bud Morton (Southern) beat out a cue shot between pitcher’s mound and first base to start the stanza. Fowler erased the leadoff hit with a pickoff move which caught Morton in a 1-3-6-3-4 rundown.
“Obviously it (the pickoff) was a big part of the game,” Fowler said. “Cam (Wellsville catcher, Friess) called it. I knew I had to execute it.”
Cristian Fiorito (Concordia) and Mike DeCarr (SUNY Cortland) followed with a pair of infield singles.
Fowler responded with a strike out, but Zach Carlino (Mt. Union) loaded the bases with a line drive through the left side of the infield.
Fowler ended the threat getting a weak pop fly to right field.
“I knew I had to bear down and get those last two outs, and we would score.”
With a twist of irony, Wellsville took the lead in the home half.
Shane Barley (St. John Fisher) reached on an error to start the frame. One out later, Thad Johnson (St. Bonaventure) walked. Tyler Lau (Illinois-Springfield) loaded the bases when he was hit by a pitch, and Cameron Friess (Texas St.) brought home the first run of the game when he reached on a fielder’s choice. Wellsville made it 2-0 when Friess gave himself up at first. During the ensuing rundown, Johnson crossed the plate.
The Nitros needed zero hits to get all the runs needed for the win.
Wellsville used a much more familiar means to add two runs in the seventh. Friess got aboard on an error, and Scott DeJong (Wellsville) did what he has done 14 times previous this season. The NYCBL’s single-season home run king connected off Syracuse reliever Connor Nolan (Le Moyne) on a two-out, two-run shot for a 4-0 Wellsville advantage.
“Scott was Scott again when we needed him,” Barone commented. “A 2-0 game is not a safe lead in this park. I thought that two-run home run was huge to give us a four-run cushion.”
Fowler limited the Salt Cats to just two baserunners between the fifth and eighth.
Syracuse had one last gasp in the ninth. DeCarr and Mike Massicci (Canisius) started the inning with back-to-back base hits. Kyle Feazell (Louisiana Coll) loaded the bases with a one-out single.
But Fowler came through again. The Shrewsbury, NJ induced a weakly hit ball in the infield which Aaron Brill (Felician) caught a on a short hop and converted into a game-ending double play.
“The word for him is competitor,” Barone said of Fowler. “At the beginning of the year, I was using him out of the pen, and I told him, ‘Jack you’re a starter. You throw strikes. You pound the zone.’ That’s what he did.”
Dan Szathmary (Georgia Coll & St. U.) took the loss. The right-hander allowed two runs on three hits over five complete. He struck out five and walked one.
“He’s an all-star pitcher,” commented Syracuse head coach Mike Martinez. “He should have been on the all-star team. The other team was better than us, and they won. We got to hit the ball. We got to score runs. We didn’t.”
Kyle Cushman (Onondaga CC) and Ray Messner (Ave Maria) each tossed a shutout inning in relief.
DeCarr and Tucker Starkey (Ave Maria) collected two hits apiece for the Salt Cats.
Dave DeWolfe (Francis Marion) rapped a pair of doubles for the Nitros.
Wellsville and Syracuse ranked first and third for runs scored and home runs during the regular season.
Wellsville moves on to the NYCBL semi-finals where they will meet the #2 seed Hornell Dodgers. The teams met on 10 occasions this season, with Hornell holding a 6-4 advantage. Game one of the best-of-three takes place Thursday night. A 7 p.m. first pitch is scheduled at Maple City Park.
The Olean Oilers defeated the Syracuse Jr. Chiefs, 5-2 in the other first round matchup. Olean will take on the first place Oneonta Outlaws in the NYCBL’s second round. A 7:05 start time is scheduled Thursday night at Damaschke Field.
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