By CODY LOVE
SYRACUSE, N.Y. — A win in their regular season finale has the Jr. Chiefs in good position to play more baseball.
The Syracuse Jr. Chiefs magic number is one after they blew past the Syracuse Salt Cats 11-3 in New York Collegiate Baseball League action at Onondaga Community College on Friday night.
A home loss by the Geneva Red Wings against the Sherrill Silversmiths brought the Jr. Chiefs playoff-clinching magic number down to one.
The Red Wings still have a doubleheader against the Oneonta Outlaws on Friday, and a loss in either game would secure the spot for the Jr. Chiefs.
However, two wins by the Red Wings would force a third game between the two on Sunday morning, and a Red Wings win would force a one-game playoff against the Jr. Chiefs later in the day.
While they need a little help, the Jr. Chiefs did all they could today to put themselves in the catbird seat.
“Our backs were against the wall today,” Jr. Chiefs manager Matt Colbert said. “We came out, we executed, we did exactly what we had to do.”
The offense got right to work in the bottom of the first.
Alex Perry (Salve Regina) got them on the board with an RBI triple to center field.
“I just tried to slow things down, keep it simple at the plate,” Perry said. “It was working out.”
He was knocked home on an RBI double by Shane Trevino (IPFW).
A Phillip Madonna (Siena) single moved Trevino to third, and Tyler Flaherty (Ohio Wesleyan) delivered with a base hit to make it 3-0.
Perry got the Jr. Chiefs another run in the second with an RBI double.
The Jr. Chiefs’ remaining runs came in a three-run fifth, and a four-run sixth.
The key hit of the fifth inning was a two-RBI triple by Alex Schutz (St. Bonaventure), after which he crossed the plate on a fielder’s choice.
The Jr. Chiefs sixth inning runs came on an RBI single by Flaherty, a walk by Schutz, and RBI groundouts by Samuel Ellinwood (Amherst) and Michael Elfreth (Widener).
Although the Salt Cats equaled the Jr. Chiefs in hits (14), they only managed three runs.
Tanner Whiteman (Maryland Eastern Shore) started and got the win.
He allowed three earned runs on ten hits and two walks, while striking out seven over four and two thirds innings.
Cory Poplawski (Salve Regina) and Matthew Wood (Salve Regina) finished out the game with scoreless relief.
The Salt Cats, having already clinched the division, decided to experiment with some defensive changes and a different lineup.
While some experiments were successful, such as scoreless relief pitching innings from position players Cameron Dias (Rutgers-Newark) and Adam Thoryk (Alma), manager Mike Martinez was not thrilled with how they worked out overall.
“Total system breakdown,” Martinez said. “We get fourteen hits…serious system breakdown with stuff other than offense.”
He will return the team to its normal configurations for the playoffs.
Perry (3-for-4), Madonna (3-for-4), Trevino (2-for-3), Flaherty (3-for-5) and Justin Healy (Widener, 2-for-4) all had multi-hit days for the Jr. Chiefs.
For the Salt Cats, Matt Mastroianni (SUNY Oneonta) was 3-for-4 with a stolen base.
David Nuzzo (Onondaga Community College) was also 3-for-4, including a two-RBI double to the right-center field wall that almost left the ballpark in the fifth.
The Salt Cats (29-17) now gear up for the playoffs which start on Sunday.
They will face either the Jr. Chiefs or the Red Wings.
The Jr. Chiefs (24-22) will root for one Oneonta victory over Geneva this weekend both to avoid a one-game playoff, and to set up a matchup with the Salt Cats in the Eastern Divisional Series..
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