By Paul Gotham
SYRACUSE, N.Y. — One day after dropping both ends of a doubleheader, the Oneonta Outlaws bounced back for a key road win Friday night in extra innings.
Taylor Jones (N. Georgia Coll. and St. U) delivered the game-winner, and his college teammate Brandon Agar (N. Georgia Coll. and St. U) picked up the win in relief as Oneonta (18-14) defeated the Syracuse Salt Cats (18-15), 9-3 in a ten-inning New York Collegiate Baseball League game at Onondaga Community College.
Jones sparked a six-run outburst with a bases loaded single through the right side of the infield.
“Coming up with the bases loaded you don’t want to get too nervous,” Jones said. “You want to try and not do too much. Just see the ball, hit the ball and not try to hit it out of the ballpark.”
In a battle of NYCBL All Stars, Jones plated pinch-runner Tyler Martis (Siena) and Daniel Fickas (USC Upstate) on a first pitch fastball from Aveeno Nasiloski (Chicago State). The runs represented the first allowed by the right-hander since June fourth – a span covering five appearances and seven innings.
“I know the guy has had success in the past,” Jones commented. “That really didn’t cross my mind. I was just trying to get a good pitch to hit and put a good swing on it. I was able to do that.”
Agar worked three and a third innings for his third win of the season. The 2013 NYCBL Defensive Player of the Playoffs recovered from a rocky ninth and retired the Salt Cats in order in the tenth.
“We always have a good competition with this team,” Agar said of the rivalry. “They’re well-coached. They’re a bunch of good guys. It’s always fun to come out here and play them.”
Syracuse scored twice in the ninth to send the game to extra innings.
“It wasn’t exactly what I planned,” Agar said with a smile. “I was just trying to get out of the inning and give the team a chance to win. That stuff really doesn’t get to me. I think about it after the game, but during the game I really have to focus on getting out of the inning and getting the team a chance to come back as they did.”
Carson Waln (Wofford), Kody Ruedisili (Wofford) and Ben Mauseth (Grand Canyon) added insurance runs as Oneonta put the game out of reach.
“It was not easy,” Oneonta coach Joe Hughes said. “They had a timely hit to tie the game up, and we felt a little deflated. We came right back and put six up in the tenth. That was a good sign to see from our players. We had productive at bats, and it was a good way to bounce back from a tough night.”
Jeremy Roberts (Stonehill) started and allowed one run on five hits over six innings. The southpaw stranded runners in each of the first three innings before retiring the last seven he faced.
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“Roberts pitched extremely well,” Hughes stated. “He did what starting pitchers are supposed to do, give your team a chance to win. He did a nice job for us.”
Roberts struck out five, walked two and lowered his ERA to 2.41.
“I was just having fun,” Roberts noted. “Our team was doing well. We were up, making plays. It felt good.”
Oneonta took a 1-0 lead in the third. Matthew Bolger (South Alabama) brought home Waln with a two-out single.
Syracuse responded in the fourth. Patrick Ortland (Siena) delivered Nick DeRegis (Rhode Island) with a base hit up the middle.
Oneonta grabbed the lead in the sixth when Frank DAgostino (Temple) singled and scored Fickas from third.
The Outlaws added a run in the ninth when Jimmy Hand (Northeastern) drilled a double to deep center scoring DAgostino from first.
Syracuse responded in dramatic fashion in the home half.
DeRegis and Matt Mastroianni (SUNY Oneonta) led with back-to-back singles. Zach Raczok (St. Martin’s) moved the runners with a sacrifice bunt, and one out later, Anthony Morino (Mt. Union) capped the comeback with a base hit through the box to tie the score.
“He threw me an off-speed pitch on first pitch,” Morino recalled. “Fouled off the next, so I was down 0-2. I knew I had to fight it off and try to get my pitch. He left one on the outside corner, and I put it up the middle.”
The loss snapped a modest two-game win streak.
“Definitely happy about getting back into it and executing for a little while and staying in the fight,” Salt Cat head coach Mike Martinez said. “But then we lost the fight. We did not execute fundamentally twice, and that kept us out of the game.”
Matt Hardy (Nova Southeastern) allowed two runs on four hits and three walks over seven innings. The right-hander fanned five. He retired six of the first seven he faced and set down the side in order in the seventh.
“Hardy is a tough pitcher,” Martinez said. “It was a low pitch count for him, and he stayed in the game. We’re supposed to finish it for him and get some runs.”
Syracuse left eight on base.
“They were better than we were today,” Martinez added. “They executed; we didn’t. They won. We lost.”
A half game separates the two teams in the standing with the Outlaws in second trailing the Geneva Red Wings (20-11) by two and a half.
“We’re getting down to that time of year where everybody has 13 or 14 games left,” Hughes said. “No one wants to know how you start. It’s how you finish, so hopefully we’ll finish strong.”
Bolger, Jones, Ruedisili and Waln all collected two hits for Oneonta. Ramon Osuna Sanchez (College of Charleston) walked three times and scored once.
DeRegis and Ortland both had two hits for the Salt Cats.
Brandon Bell (Mt. Union) took the loss. He is 0-2.
The same two teams meet Saturday at Damaschke Field in Oneonta. A 7 p.m. first pitch is scheduled.
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