By Jared Wicks
SYRACUSE, N.Y. — The Syracuse Jr. Chiefs lost a hard-fought 10-inning game to the Sherrill Silversmiths, 5-4 at Onondaga Stadium Thursday night in New York Collegiate Baseball League play.
Ellington Hopkins (Monroe CC), who came on to pinch hit in the eighth, singled with one out and stole two bases before scoring the eventual winning run in the 10th.
Syracuse erased a three-run deficit with a late-inning rally to send the game to extra innings. The Jr. Chiefs tallied once in the eighth and tied the score with two in the ninth.
Matt McCann (Fairleigh Dickinson U ) doubled off Sherrill reliever and North Syracuse native Cory Poplowski (Salve Regina U) to lead the eighth. One out later, Nate Stemle (Kentucky Wesleyan Co) delivered with an RBI single.
The Jr. Chiefs continued to rattle the Silversmiths bullpen in the ninth.
Brian Burns (Ithaca College) worked a base on balls from Mitch Cavanagh (St. Johns) to start the ninth. Pinch hitter Jason Lundy (Fordham U) reached when he was hit by a pitch. A wild pitch, the Jr. Chiefs put runners in scoring position with no outs. McCann then stepped in the box and hit a huge two-RBI single to right to knot the game at four.
Tyler Clifford (SUNY Brockport) came on to get a huge swinging strike out on a full count, bases-loaded pitch to Cooper Belyea (Ithaca College) and force extra innings.
Jr.Chiefs starting pitcher Patrick Merryweather (Onondaga CC) let the lead-off batter get on in each of the first four innings in two walks, an error and a single which proved to be his biggest trouble as each one came around to score helping Sherrill eventually jump out to a 4-1 lead.
Merryweather (who was scheduled to start Wednesday in Cortland) settled down his final two innings of work helping keep the ‘Chiefs close before his college teammate Tanner Whiteman (Onondaga CC) came on for two innings of scoreless relief allowing only one hit.
When asked about Whiteman’s role after two games pitching on his college home rubber and still yet to give up a run, Syracuse coach Chris Haynes replied “After tonight we plan to put him in the rotation and expect him to start either Sunday (Home) or Monday (At Sherrill).”
Haynes so far this season has been happy with the play of his starting pitchers also and tonight was no different. When asked what the bright spot was in tonight’s defeat he easily answered “Pitching.”
“When we only give up four to five runs I think that puts our offense in a good position to win games,” Haynes remarked.
The story heading into the late innings was Silversmiths starter Zachary Vennaro (New Hartford H.S.) who was playing in only his third game against college competition.
“Command of the fastball was working tonight and the splitter which I threw a decent amount of times for strikes.” Vennaro explained when asked about his performance Thursday night.
Vennaro in his three games in the NYCBL has improved in each one including giving up no earned runs tonight in seven innings of work to which he hurled 100 pitches and struck out 6. He now has a 0.60 ERA
“I knew nothing about him, their third basemen told me he was a high school player and that changed my mindset a little but he pitched great against us and has some good stuff.” Haynes referring to Vennaro.
The Jr. Chiefs scoring started in the second when Burns (Ithaca College) singled and eventually scored on a catcher error. Syracuse was held scoreless for the next five innings that followed.
In the ninth Kevin Neumann (Seton Hill) worked out of jam to hold the deficit at two going into the last frame.
Daniel Jarrell (Washington College) came in the 10th to hold down the save for the Silversmiths. Jarrell put out the first two batters he faced but gave up two straight singles to ‘Chiefs Lundy and Kozuch to force Sherrill coach Greg Dombrowski to head to the bullpen again.
In just three pitches, Cody Tolbert (Ft Scott CC) locked up the save and the win for Clifford his first of the season.
The loss goes Brandon Wright (Seton Hill) who struck out two of three in the 10th inning but gave up the winning run in his one frame.
The Silversmiths go to 6-4 on the season and travel to Cortland Friday night to face the Crush (2-3).
The Jr. Chiefs fall to 2-6 and have no easy task Friday as they head to historic Damaschke Field in Oneonta in a rematch of last Sunday’s 9-6 loss to the Outlaws (4-0). Oneonta has not played since that game.
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