By PAUL GOTHAM
SYRACUSE, N.Y. — His coach was looking to get a runner in scoring position. A teammate was looking to score from first. Zachary Krider (USC-Upstate) took care of it all with one swing of the bat.
Oneonta third baseman Zachary Krider connected on a two-run blast in the top of the ninth to send the Outlaws to the New York Collegiate Baseball League Championship Series with an 8-6 victory over the Syracuse Jr. Chiefs, Thursday night at Onondaga Community College.
Krider’s two-out bomb – a monstrous shot which easily cleared the fence in deep left center field – punched the Outlaws ticket to their straight championship series appearance.
“I was just trying to get one into the outfield into the gap,” Krider said. “Honestly, just thinking about driving the run in.”
Krider turned on a 1-0 fastball, middle-in and sent it into the cool central New York air.
Krider’s game-winner may not have occurred if it wasn’t for Jordan “McClain” Bradley (Wofford) who fouled off a pair of full count pitches before earning a two-out walk.
“I had to get on base any way I can because I wanted to let Krider do his work,” Bradley said. “When I get on base my teammates behind me I know they’ll pick me up.”
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Joe Hughes planned to put Bradley in motion. Krider never gave it a chance.
“We were waiting for “McClain” to maybe to try and steal a base to get in scoring position and maybe get a single to get him in,” the Oneonta manager said. “He took care of that decision for us.”
Bradley, the league’s reigning Player of the Week, collected two hits in four trips to the plate for his third multi-hit game in a row and fifth out of the last eight contests. But when it mattered most he turned patient at the plate, battling back from a one-and-two count to earn the free pass.
“That was a great piece of hitting by McClain to battle to get on base,” Hughes said.
With 19 stolen bases on the season, it was a matter of time before he moved into scoring position. He didn’t need any speed on this play.
“I just put my head down and ran,” Bradley commented. “As soon as I saw the outfielder’s number on his back, I was scoring. I was sprinting the whole way through. I didn’t know it went over the fence. I’m just trying to score. I was like, Wow! It’s smoked.”
Joey Orlando (Binghamton) picked up the victory. The right-hander struck out one and walked two over an inning and two-thirds for his first victory of the playoffs. He earned the win with a rally-stifling pickoff at third to end the eighth.
With runners on the corners, Syracuse’s Shane Trevino (IPFW) tried more than once to induce a rundown and allow his teammate to score from third. On the fourth such attempt, Orlando spotted his opportunity and fired to Krider at third for the final out of the inning.
For Orlando it was a matter of sticking with what he has practiced over time.
“They did it a couple times there,” he said. “Step off and keep your cool and stay as relaxed as you can. Saw him leading off a little too far and luckily he tagged him out.”
“That was a big play,” Hughes noted. “They tried all different ways to get him in. He remained poised. He’s a competitor. He wasn’t rattled by the situation. He came through big for us.”
Trailing 3-2 in the third, Oneonta regained the lead. Ryan Nelson (Quinnipiac) singled to center. Trevor Putzig (Tennessee Tech) beat out a bunt to the right side of the infield. Alex Rojas (Eastern New Mexico U) plated a run with a base hit. Nicholas Spangler (Shippensburg) made it a 4-3 game when he reached on fielder’s choice.
Bradley doubled over the bag at first to start the fifth. After a wild pitch, the Oneonta center fielder came home on a Krider ground out. He has 12 hits in the playoffs and has scored 11 runs and driven in seven.
“I just got to keep it simple,” Bradley said. “That’s what I tell myself when I go up in the box ‘keep it simple.’ And a nice smooth swing just keep everything the same. Just let what happens, happens. Just trying to hit the ball hard every time. Look for one spot and then it.”
Syracuse rallied.
Danny Walczak (Aurora) walked to start the sixth. After a stolen base, he moved to third on a Michael Elfreth (Widener) base hit and scored on a Justin Healey (Widener) ground out.
Trailing 6-4, Walczak worked another free pass to start the eighth. He moved to second on a Matthew Wood (Salve Regina) sacrifice bunt and stole third. James Wynne (Dean Coll) followed with a free pass of his own, and Elfreth brought home a run with a ground ball to the right side of the infield. Wynne scored when Healey reached on an error.
But this Jr. Chiefs club, which knocked off the first-place Syracuse Salt Cats in the divisional series, ran out of steam.
“These guys have fought through so much especially those last two weeks,” Syracuse manager Matt Colbert said. “Guys getting hurt. We put them in an extremely difficult situation. It says a lot about their character and their will to win and their competitive nature. I applaud them. It’s a minor miracle that we even got to this point. Anything after the Salt Cats series on was an added bonus for us.”
Oneonta moves on to play the winner of the Niagara Power – Olean Oilers series. Game one of the NYCBL Championship series will be Saturday night at Damaschke Field in Oneonta. The Outlaws won the league championship in 2013 and 2011.
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