By CODY LOVE
SYRACUSE, N.Y. — Pitching ruled the day once again as the four-game series between the Salt Cats and Red Wings continued.
Cameron Jack (Mt. Hood CC) and his relievers kept Geneva scoreless while a fourth-inning RBI by Adam Thoryk (Alma College) proved to be the difference as the Syracuse Salt Cats blanked the Geneva Red Wings 3-0 in New York Collegiate Baseball League action at Onondaga Community College on Saturday night.
In yet another pitcher’s duel between the Red Wings and Salt Cats it was Jack coming out on top over Andrew Fischer (Amherst) by a razor-thin margin.
While Fischer allowed one run through six innings on three hits and six walks, Jack shutout the Red Wings through seven, allowing only two hits and one walk.
“I knew that they would attack early, so I had to keep them off balance,” Jack said. “I think that’s how we got the dub tonight.”
Jack also had a slight 7-6 edge in strikeouts.
This was his second start of the season, and he has settled in nicely to the starter role after proving to be a reliable bullpen arm in June.
“It’s too bad that we’ve had some injuries along the way,” Jack said. “But I think guys will come back healthy and I think things will just turn out in the long run to benefit our staff.”
The game was scoreless going into the fourth, but the Salt Cats finally broke through against Fischer.
Brian Bilello (Concordia) led off the inning with a double, the first Syracuse hit of the day.
It looked like he might become the third Salt Cat of the night to be stranded as Fischer retired the next two batters.
But Adam Thoryk knocked him in with a deep RBI triple to left center field.
This proved to be the game-winning hit.
“I wasn’t trying to do much with the ball,” Thoryk said. “God-willing, the pitcher gave me something I could handle and I got good wood on it.”
The Salt Cats added two unearned runs in the seventh against reliever Kevin Elwell (Elizabethtown).
Johnny Knight IV (Walsh) hit a single, then was moved to second on Lucas Tevlin’s (Binghamton) base hit.
Then, with Bilello at the plate, a pickoff attempt of Tevlin at first sailed into right field.
Knight came around to score and Tevlin made it to third, but an errant throw there ended up in left field and allowed a second run to score on the play.
The three runs were all that the Salt Cats needed as reliever Kyle Kuhr (Siena Heights) and closer Matthew Colon (Cumberland County College) each pitched hitless, one strikeout innings to end the game.
“We threw a two-hit shutout,” Salt Cats manager Mike Martinez said. “That’s kind of tough to beat.”
Jack got the win and Colon got the save while the loss was charged to Fischer.
Thoryk had the only multi-hit game of the day, adding a single to go 2-for-4.
The Salt Cats (22-13) and Red Wings (17-15) wrap up their four-game series in Syracuse on Sunday night at 7:00.
Geneva has fallen into fourth place in the Eastern Division, as the second and fifth place teams are only separated by two games. They will look to salvage the split and maintain a playoff position.
“If we take a win, we split two-two in the four game set and move onto the next game,” Red Wings manager Ryan Kassab said.
Syracuse holds a two-game lead over Cortland for first place and hopes to separate from the pack just below.
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