By CODY LOVE
SYRACUSE, N.Y. — In a series dominated by pitchers, it’s no surprise that one was the hero of the do or die game.
Roman Wild (St. Bonaventure) pitched a complete game shutout as the Syracuse Jr. Chiefs took the decisive game three 5-0 over the Syracuse Salt Cats in New York Collegiate Baseball League Eastern Divisional Series action at Onondaga Community College on Tuesday night.
Each game in this series featured high-quality pitching on both sides, but Wild capped it off with the only instance of a starter going the distance.
Wild allowed just three Salt Cat hits and one walk while striking out seven.
Jr. Chiefs manager Matt Colbert had a strong feeling going into the game that Wild would prove to be the right choice on the bump.
“He came to me last night, and I could just tell by the look in his eye and his body language that he was ready for this game,” Colbert said.
Wild, it turned out, was well-suited for the situation.
“I love pitching big games,” Wild said. “They let us in the door, they wanted us, and they got us.”
The Jr. Chiefs offense helped Wild out from the early stages, plating a run each in the second and third innings.
In the second inning, Tyler Flaherty (Ohio Wesleyan) doubled and moved to third on a single by Samuel Ellinwood (Amherst).
He scored on a sacrifice fly to center field by Danny Walczak (Aurora).
James Wynne (Dean) led off the third with a walk and was bunted to second by Michael Elfreth (Widener).
He reached third on a Justin Healey (Widener) groundout and scored on a wild pitch to make it 2-0, Jr. Chiefs.
The Jr. Chiefs break the game open in the fifth.
Alex Schutz (St. Bonaventure) led the inning off with a double. Wynne reached when he was hit by a pitch, and Elfreth loaded the bases as he reached on an error.
Schutz and Wynne came home on another error doubling the Jr. Chiefs lead.
A sacrifice fly by Shane Trevino (Indiana U-Purdue U) scored Elfreth, making it 5-0 Jr. Chiefs and ending the day for Salt Cats starter James McCarty (SUNY Oneonta).
Sean Pisik (Ursinus) relieved him and pitched the rest of the game very well, going four and two thirds scoreless innings, allowing three hits and striking out seven.
“It was just a good day (for me),” Pisik said. “Every pitch worked, didn’t have a single thing not working today.”
Colbert spoke highly of his team after the game, lauding they’re ability to hunker down and win the best-of-three series after dropping the first game.
“They have the hearts of lions,” Colbert said. “All the credit goes to those guys.”
While the Salt Cats season ended earlier than they had hoped after winning the Eastern Division in the regular season, manager Mike Martinez was proud of his team’s accomplishments this summer.
“We’re getting better every single year,” Martinez said. “We’re making positive progress…and we get to work tomorrow on next year’s recruitment.”
The Salt Cats gelled as a team almost immediately when they first came together in June, and the players leave town with new friends for life.
“These guys are funny and amazing guys, and I mean that from the bottom of my heart,” Pisik said. “I had the time of my life playing with these guys.”
The Jr. Chiefs will face the Oneonta Outlaws in the NYCBL Eastern Division Championship Series, which starts on Wednesday at 7:00 at Damaschke Field in Oneonta.
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