By JAMES HADNOT
SYRACUSE, N.Y. — An explosion in the eighth inning was the difference between the Syracuse Salt Cats and Syracuse Jr. Chiefs Friday night in New York Collegiate Baseball action. Now, which team dropped the bomb? The Jr. Chiefs ignited a seven-run fire to break open a tie game and top the Salt Cats, 11-4.
“We had two or three kids tonight we worked with [pre-game] and they came through,” said Syracuse Jr. Chiefs Manager, Joe Antonio.
The players Antonio mentioned above were Nicholas Roy (Nichols College) and Cristobal Ruiz (St. Thomas Aquinas College). Roy went 3-for-5 on the day with two runs and an RBI, and Ruiz went 1-for-2 with an RBI.
Pre-game, the Jr. Chiefs staff helped Ruiz with his bat position. Manager Antonio explained that they instructed Ruiz to get his hands away from his body and to get the bat off his shoulder because of his long swing. For Roy, he was simply instructed to track the ball.
“A few little adjustments here and there is all you want to do,” said Antonio. “Because, obviously when they go back to school…you want them go back in a way where they are making progress.”
Now, the Salt Cats had nine hits and battled back after going down 4-0 in the fourth inning. In the fifth and sixth innings, the home team scored two runs a piece to tie this game at four.
The Salt Cats comeback was complete and the Jr. Chiefs ruled the rest of the evening. In the eighth, the visitors capitalized on walks to load the bases, a wild pitch and a HBP which both scored runs. Sam Little (Ithaca College) knocked in two more runs with a two RBI double. Finally, a throwing error scored the final three runs of the onslaught.
The two teams face off again on June 11, 2016 in round two of a three game stint at the Onondaga Community College Baseball Complex. The Syracuse Jr. Chiefs will be the home team for the final two contests.
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