CORTLAND, N.Y. — Trailing by a run and down to its final out, Jacob Bowman stepped into the box with the bases loaded for Syracuse. The shortstop turned on a fastball from Cortland closer Eric Fields and blasted it down the left-field line, putting the Spartans in front for good.
Position players stepped up on Wednesday when the Syracuse Spartans (12-17-2, 26 points) took the battlefield against the Cortland Crush (18-13-1, 37 points). Both teams traded punches throughout game one, and after the Spartans came up empty in their last turn at-bat, pitcher Aiden Kerr sealed a 6-6 tie after striking out a batter with the bases loaded and two outs. Infielders Adam Sullivan and Will Kinney combined to throw six innings of one-run ball, and a furious seventh-inning, two-out rally helped the Spartans win game two 8-1. Syracuse is now eight points out of a playoff spot with 11 games remaining.
“We were put in a tough spot this week with nine games in six days with really limited arms right now. Having Sullivan pitch the game of his life was huge for us. It’s good to win,” head coach Christian Lalomia said.
The Spartans got off to a hot start thanks to a pair of singles by Will Kinney and Jacob Bowman. Joe Wike’s groundout off Cortland’s starter, Salvatore D’Anna, plated his middle-infield counterpart for the game’s first run. The Crush had success of their own off Syracuse’s starter, Sean Lucas, in the bottom of the frame, evening the score on an RBI single by Aaron Izquierdo.
But the visitors punched back in the top of the second, taking advantage of a wild D’Anna. Tanner De Grazia led off with a single, then back-to-back walks loaded the bases for Tyler Gendron. The Spartans’ first baseman delivered with a sacrifice fly to center, scoring De Grazia to take back the lead 2-1. David Marchetti followed with a sac fly of his own, and a two-out base hit from Bowman, his second knock of the game, added another run, making it 4-1 Syracuse after two.
The Spartans showcased their strong defense over the next two innings, helping Lucas throw scoreless frames. With one on and one out in the second, Wike and Kinney twirled a 4-6-3 double play on a hard grounder from Naythen Ruehs. Wike continued to make highlights in the bottom of the third, throwing across his body to retire Nick Mahar on a sharp grounder up the middle. Lucas induced an inning-ending popout in the third, holding the Crush to one run through three.
Syracuse started another rally in the third when De Grazia smashed his second hit, a triple to the left-center field gap. Robert Johnston cashed in with the runner in scoring position, launching a sac fly to right field, the third by the Spartans in three innings to make it 5-1.
Like D’Anna, Lucas began to lose the zone in the fourth inning, allowing four walks and three hits. Max Cairo started with a single to right, and Izquierdo deposited an 0-2 curveball to the same spot. The right-hander would walk in two runs, cutting Syracuse’s advantage to 5-3. Evan O’Rourke boosted his league-leading .433 average with an RBI single, taking a fastball the other way to right. An error by the Spartans would tie up the game 5-5, but the go-ahead run in O’Rourke was cut down in a pickle between third and home for the final out of the fourth.
Adam Schwartz took over on the hill for Cortland and worked around a one-out walk to keep Syracuse scoreless in the fifth. Lucas returned to his dominant form in the bottom of the frame, retiring the Crush 1-2-3 with two strikeouts.
The Spartans’ offense woke up in the sixth, taking back the lead with a two-out rally. Kinney and Bowman notched their second and third singles of the contest, setting the table for Adam Sullivan. With the outfield played back on Syracuse’s slugger, Sullivan dumped a bloop double to left field in-between three Cortland fielders. Kinney could walk on home as the Spartans took a 6-5 lead to the bottom of the sixth.
However, the visitors could not keep the momentum, surrendering their narrow advantage right back to the Crush. Eric Giarnese singled, then stole second off Lucasa. Ruehs avenged an earlier double play by cracking a game-tying single to right field. But Syracuse reliever Aiden Kerr stopped the bleeding, inducing an inning-ending double play on the first batter he faced.
The Spartans threatened to take back the lead in their last ups in the seventh. Vince Gamberdella lined a 3-2 single to left, then advanced to second after Marchetti got plunked by a pitch. But reliever Angelo Agro froze Kinney on a borderline-called third strike for the third out, much to the Spartans’ dismay.
In its last chance at bat, the Crush put immense pressure on Kerr, loading the bases with one out in a tie game. The right-hander responded by inducing a shallow flyout from Sean Moynihan Jr. Sean Desjardins worked his count to full, setting up a game-deciding pitch from Kerr. The SUNY Oswego product reared back and fired a fastball right by Cortland’s third baseman, stranding the bases juiced and securing a 6-6 tie in this afternoon’s opening contest.
Sullivan took the bump for game two with pitching arms limited for the Spartans. The right-hander surprised everyone early with a mid-80s fastball and hard-breaking curveball, on par with most NYCBL pitchers. He struck out four Crush batters through three scoreless innings, keeping the game 0-0 after three.
Cortland’s starter, Vincent Dolcemaschio, matched Sullivan and then some, tossing four frames without allowing a run. The right-hander from Oberlin College whiffed three batters heading to the bottom of the fourth.
Sullivan showed no signs of fatigue working as a position-player pitcher, shutting out the Crush on 10 pitches in the fourth. After Dolcemaschio countered with his scoreless frame in the top of the fifth, Desjardins got Cortland on the board with a sacrifice fly in the bottom of the frame. Sullivan would not allow any more runs from there, finishing with 4 2/3 innings, allowing one run with five strikeouts in his collegiate debut. He also drew a walk and scored a run at the plate.
“Let’s just say Adam Sullivan is Adam Ohtani or Shohei Sullivan,” Lalomia said, comparing the Spartans’ infielder to the likes of Major League Baseball superstar and two-way player Shohei Ohtani.
With the 1-0 score holding into the seventh, the Crush needed one more out to secure a game two victory. After a walk, De Grazia pinch-ran for Brendan Flynn and stole second off Eric Fields. Kinney and Patrick May were also awarded free passes, loading the bases for Bowman. On an 0-1 count, Syracuse’s shortstop ripped a line drive past a diving Desjardins at third and down the left-field line for a two-run double, propelling the Spartans in front 2-1.
From there, seven straight Syracuse batters reached base off Fields, resulting in six more runs on three hits. The Spartans held a commanding 8-2 lead when the dust finally settled.
“We worked counts really well,” Lalomia said. “Guys stayed within their approach, didn’t try to do too much, and put really good swings on the strikes that [Fields] did throw in that inning.”
Like game one, Kerr got the call to the mound in relief of the second baseman Kinney, who tossed 1 1/3 shutout innings of his own. The right-hander set Cortland down 1-2-3, locking down a game-two win for Syracuse.
The Spartans return home to battle the Sherrill Silversmiths on Thursday night. First pitch from the Onondaga Community College Sports Complex is set for 7:00 p.m. Fans can watch the Spartans’ live broadcast by visiting our website, https://syracusespartans.com/live/.