By Jared Wicks and Nick Ristoff
SYRACUSE, N.Y. –Anthony Morino (Mount Union College) went 3-4 and scored two runs as the Syracuse Salt Cats defeated the Syracuse Jr. Chiefs 6-4 in New York Collegiate Baseball League action at Onondaga Community College, Monday night.
“A chance to play at a new stadium in front of a new crowd,” was what Jr. Chiefs head coach Chris Haynes remarked after losing a tough second straight game to the rival Salt Cats.
Mike Gentile (American International College) the left-handed pitcher, earned the win giving up just one run in four innings. The loss went to RHP Paul Henshaw (Kenyon College).
A bright spot defensively tonight were two great diving catches in left field from Luke Emling (Villanova University) who helped make quick work of the Salt Cats in the fifth and sixth innings.
“He’s a big strong guy who covers a lot of ground and I’ve been real impressed with his play out in left field,” Haynes in reference to Emling’s night.
For the Salt Cats, Catcher Zach Raczok (St. Martin’s College) led the RBI count for both teams with two and right fielder Erik Poldroo scored twice and hit a triple to help lead the ‘Cats who are off to a perfect 2-0 start.
“We’ve got 18 to 19 guys that are prospects and our pitchers can withstand anything….I’d challenge any offensive lineup in the league,” Salt Cats Head Coach Mike Martinez said after the game in response to his teams big win.
Morino improved his batting average to .500.
Patrick Fahey (Franklin Pierce University) replaced Gentile in the fifth and didn’t allow a runner for two innings. The 6’4” righty combined a fastball with a slider. His release made it even harder for batters to differentiate the two pitches. It wasn’t until the seventh inning that Fahey allowed a runner on base when he gave up two runs.
Aveeno Nasiloski (Chicago State University) earned the save, closing out the game with only 10 pitches, striking out two batters.
“It feels real good,” Martinez continued. “Our guys are playing real good, they’re executing when they’re supposed to and pretty much making plays all of the time.
The Jr. Chiefs tried making it a game in the seventh down 5-1 when a throwing error helped catcher Cooper Belyea (Ithaca College) reach and eventually score on a balk as part of a three-run inning to cut the lead down to 5-4.
“We’re hitting the ball hard,” Haynes commented. “We’re getting in a lot of situations with guys on base and we’re just hitting the ball hard, one hop and grounding into a double play, just a little bit of unlucky situations.”
But left fielder Thomas Nagy (Bentley College) added an insurance RBI single in the ninth to put the ‘Cats ahead 6-4 which would hold up as the final.
The Jr. Chiefs will have one day off to recoup before returning to action Wednesday night in Geneva at McDonough Park in a battle of the two teams named for their closest Triple A franchise in the Geneva Redwings. That game is scheduled for 7:00pm
The Salt Cats will play two more of four straight games at Onondaga Stadium to start the season, this time they will be the home team again for a two game series with the Sherrill Silversmiths. First pitch Tuesday night is also scheduled for 7:00pm
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