By ANTHONY SCOTT
SYRACUSE, N.Y. — Patrick Merryweather (College of Charleston) hurled eight for his second straight outing as the Syracuse Junior Chiefs defeated the Sherrill Silversmiths 8-3 on Wednesday night in New York Collegiate Baseball League action from Onondaga Community College.
Merryweather allowed three runs on seven hits, while striking out nine and walking one.
“I was kind of spotty with my fastball until the later innings, but overall it was alright” Merryweather said, “I’m looking to get a complete game next time and just improve each time.”
Last time on the hill on June 21st Merryweather allowed two runs on five hits.
“All of our starters have done an outstanding job,” Junior Chiefs head coach Joe Antonio said. “We can’t ask for any better.”
The Junior Chiefs were looking to avenge their loss from the previous night and get back to their winning ways. They gave starting pitcher Merryweather the ball to get the job done against the Sherrill Silversmiths, and Merryweather did not disappoint.
The Junior Chiefs helped their starter early. Matthew Kleinstein (Felician Univ.) went to the opposite field delivering an RBI triple off of the right-center field wall. Kleinstein quickly came around to score from third when Asher MacDonald (Bates College) grounded out to shortstop to give Syracuse an early 2-0 lead.
“It was a three-one count and I saw the fastball on the outside part of the plate and I just drove it that way” Kleinstein said after his rip. The Felician University junior finished the game going one-for-two with an RBI, two runs scored, and two walks.
Christian Aybar (Southern New Hampshire) was one of the only successful Silversmith hitters to face the Junior Chief lefty. Aybar struck a double his first time up at the plate and came around to score on a wild pitch. The SIlversmiths only trailed the home Chiefs 2-1 after the third inning.
The Junior Chiefs capitalized on a few walks and wild pitches by the Silversmith starter as they added three runs in the fourth inning. Syracuse held a commanding 5-1 lead.
Junior Chief starter Merryweather had to face his nemesis Aybar again in the fifth frame. Aybar connected for a single up the middle. Then Dylan Pounds (Pittsburgh Greensburg) lifted a triple out to right field and scored Aybar. Aybar went two-for-three with two runs scored in the game. The Silversmiths were trailing 5-2 after the fifth.
Syracuse played some small ball in the seventh inning and scored three more runs to bring their lead to 8-2.
After the Pounds triple, Merryweather retired seven consecutive SIlversmith batters, four of which he sat down via the strikeout. The Baldwinsville, New York native was unlucky in the eighth as a third SIlversmith run crossed home plate after a couple of infield singles and an error. However, Merryweather finished his night strong, striking out the final two batters of the eighth frame.
In the ninth inning Antonio brought in his reliever Kevin Soriano (Saint Peters) to seal the deal. Soriano was all business as he sent the Silversmiths down in order collecting two strikeouts on his way to finishing off a 8-3 victory for Syracuse.
“I see a championship team in these guys if we can just eliminate the errors and the base on balls,” Antonio said.
“If we get a little hot and make a push, we can sneak into the playoffs.” Silversmith coach Jim Hegmann said, “I think if we sneak in, we can be dangerous with our best three arms on the mound.”
Sherrill returns home to Noyes park on Thursday when they welcome in the Rome Generals. First pitch is set for 12:00 P.M.
The Syracuse Junior Chiefs are looking for a big win at home on Thursday when the division leading Cortland Crush come to town. Cortland and Syracuse is set to start at 7:00 P.M. from Onondaga Community College.
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