By ANTHONY SCOTT
SYRACUSE, N.Y. — The Syracuse Junior Chiefs welcomed the Rochester Ridgemen to Onondaga Community College for an New York Collegiate Baseball League inter-league matchup. The trip east did not go as planned for the Ridgemen as they fell to the Junior Chiefs 10-4 on Monday night.
However, it was not smooth sailing for the Junior Chiefs from the get go. The first batter of the game Brooks Pitaniello (Harding Univ.) reached on an error, and it did not take long for him to score. The next batter for the Ridgemen was Bram Wood (Olney Central Col.), and he quickly gave Rochester the lead as he blasted a two run homer over the left-field fence. The Junior Chiefs were down 2-0 before they even recorded an out.
“I put a really good swing on it and it felt pretty good to be able to help the team early.” Wood said, he did not see many fastballs after his homers as he finished the game going 1-for-3 with two walks.
Jacob Binder (Fairfield) settled down after the mistake to Wood as he finished with five innings pitched, four runs allowed (three earned), and two strikeouts.
Syracuse did not trail for long as second baseman John Militano (Salve Regina) and the Junior Chiefs were able to manufacture a couple runs of their own in the bottom of the second inning. Militano came to the dish with men on first and second. A wild pitch then sent the runners to second and third, and Militano delivered with an RBI single up the middle to trim the Ridgemen lead to 2-1. Then on the next at bat Junior Chief coach Joe Antonio put on the delayed steal, Militano was caught in a rundown and stayed in the pickle long enough for Trevor Thompson (Ithaca Col.) to steal home and tie the game.
In the third inning Syracuse took a 3-2 lead as Webb Little (Ithaca Col.) stayed hot at the plate with a sacrifice fly that scored Nick Roy (Nichols Col.).
The Junior Chiefs finally broke the game open in the fourth inning. 11 batters came to the plate for the home team as everyone pinched in to produce six runs in the inning and give the Chiefs a 9-2 lead. The big hit that really busted the game open was a two-run single up the middle by Sam Little (Ithaca Col.) that gave Syracuse a 5-2 advantage. The rip also helped knock Rochester starter Ean Walda (Grand Rapids CC) out of the game.
Rochester was able cut into the Syracuse lead after Matthew Jackson (Reinhardt Col.) came off the bench and delivered a two-run single to make it a 9-4 Syracuse lead.
The Junior Chiefs were able to plate their 10th run of the game in the fifth inning after Chris Ruiz (St Thomas Aquinas) chipped in with an RBI single.
Ruiz had his second consecutive two-hit game and afterwards said, “I’m seeing the ball a lot better and I’m hitting pitches I can handle.”
Rochester manager Justin Dillard decided to put a couple of position players in unfamiliar territory towards the end of the game. Second baseman Devan Obrien (Drury Univ.) and Matthew Jackson took to the mound to eat up some late innings. They surprisingly combined to only allow one run through the last four frames.
Manager Dillard after the game talked about his decision saying, “We were short on arms, at the end of the day you got to throw guys out there that are just willing to compete.”
Syracuse was able to collect 10 hits on their way to the 10-4 victory and coach Joe Antonio said, “The hitting is really coming around and we will see what transpires tomorrow.”
Coach Antonio and the Syracuse Junior Chiefs have won 4 of their last five contests and hit the road Tuesday to take on the Sherrill Silvrsmiths. First pitch is set for 5:00P.M from Noyes Park.
The Rochester Ridgeman will be happy to return home as their focus shifts to the Genesee Rapids. The Ridgeman and Rapids will take to the field at 7:00PM on Tuesday for a Western Division matchup.
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