SHERRILL, N.Y. — With six runs already home in the bottom of the seventh, Sherrill brought the winning run to the plate in TJ Gormley. On a 2-2 count, Spartans reliever Aiden Kerr forced an easy comebacker back to the mound and threw out the Silversmiths’ third baseman, sealing a game-one win for Syracuse.
It was a tale of two pitchers in today’s doubleheader between the Spartans (1-3-1, 3 points) and Sherrill Silversmiths (3-1, 6 pts). Syracuse’s Jack Knapp sparkled on the mound in game one, pitching four innings of one-run ball in a 10-8 Spartans win. In game two, left-hander Connor Toriello shined for the Silversmith, tossing six scoreless innings in a 2-0 win for Sherrill.
William Kinney started game one strong for Syracuse, lining an 0-1 offering from Sherrill’s starter, Jason Labrador, off the right-field fence for a leadoff double. Tanner De Grazia moved Kinney over to third on a groundout, then Adam Sullivan plated the shortstop on his groundout to first base, giving the Spartans an early 1-0 lead.
Syracuse had a prime opportunity to tack on more runs in the second, loading the bases with one out. But Labrador worked out of the jam this time for the Silversmiths. The southpaw froze Ethan Snyder on a 3-2 breaking ball for the second out and later got Kinney to ground out after a 10-pitch at-bat to strand all three runners.
After working two scoreless innings, Knapp found himself in trouble in the bottom of the third. Sherrill loaded the bases on three straight singles to start the frame. The SUNY Oswego right-hander countered with a strikeout of Jeph Hadson-Taylor, then got Brandyn Durand to fly out to right. Knapp was one strike away from escaping unscathed but plunked Liam Flynn to tie the game 1-1 after three.
The Syracuse offense backed Knapp in the following half-inning, putting up a four spot in the top of the fourth to retake the lead. Singles by Joe Wike, Jacob Bowman and Ryan Pelton loaded the bases for Snyder, who avenged his earlier at-bat by cracking an RBI single to center. With the bases still juiced, Kinney drew a four-pitch RBI walk and De Grazia was hit by a pitch, scoring the fourth run. Sullivan’s sacrifice fly plated Snyder from third, and the Spartans led 5-1 after four.
Knapp settled in, hurling a 1-2-3 scoreless bottom of the fourth. In his third appearance for the Spartans this season, the Syracuse junior finished with four innings of four-hit, one-run ball, walking none and striking out four.
The Spartans kept the pressure on the Silversmiths in the fifth when Pelton’s RBI groundout scored the sixth run. Bowman walked, stole third and raced home on a wild pitch extending the lead to 7-1. The visitors added three more in the sixth courtesy of a Sullivan ground-rule RBI double and Wike sac fly. Gendron stepped up and blasted his first hit of the season, an RBI single to left, making it 10-2.
Josh Martin entered in relief for Knapp and finished off the Silversmiths over the final three frames. in his second appearance. The SUNY Oneonta right-hander followed up last night’s scoreless inning with two straight zeroes in the fifth and sixth. Sherrill made things interesting, scoring sixth in its final at-bat. Aiden Kerr entered in relief for the Spartans and stopped the bleeding, forcing a groundout to secure a Syracuse win in game one.
In game two, both starting pitchers were sharp early. Syracuse’s Eric Korzeniewski and Sherrill’s Toriello matched each other with one hit and no runs allowed through the first two innings. Gilkey lined a single to left field in the third but was left stranded.
The Silversmiths took the lead with two outs in the bottom of the third. Jeph Hadson-Taylor began the frame with a single and came around to score when Michael Benedetto smacked an RBI single to second base.
A strong throw at third base by Lance Phillips kept Sherrill from extending its fresh lead, keeping the Spartans down 1-0 after three.
Toriello continued to dominate Syracuse’s lineup through the fourth. The Salve Regina southpaw retired the Spartans in order on just nine pitches for his fourth scoreless inning. The home team broke through in the following half-inning on a two-out RBI single by Hadson-Taylor, doubling the Silversmiths’ advantage.
Syracuse had its first big chance to score in the fifth. Phillips lined his second hit, a single to left, then Vince Gamberdella got hit with two outs, putting two on for Gilkey. On a 3-2 pitch from Toriello, the Spartans’ leadoff batter grounded out to second, keeping the Spartans off the board.
After allowing runs in back-to-back innings, Korzeniewski responded with a scoreless fifth, stranding Durand at second. But Syracuse could not get anything going against Toriello, who threw six scoreless frames. The North Berwick, Maine, native had a much-improved outing after allowing two runs in two innings against the Salt Cats on June 8. The southpaw also finished with no walks and seven strikeouts on the afternoon.
Korzeniewski capped off a complete game on the mound, finishing with six innings of two-run ball with one walk and four punchouts. The OCC right-hander’s ERA moved to 1.80 in 10 frames pitched.
In relief, Ryan Callaghan hurled a clean inning for Sherrill, slamming the door on a Syracuse comeback. The Spartans finished game two with no runs and four hits, their lowest marks in both categories this season.
Syracuse returns home for a doubleheader with the Horseheads Hitmen on Monday. First pitch from the Onondaga Community College Sports Complex is set for 5:00 p.m., with game two to follow. Fans can listen to the Spartans’ radio broadcast by visiting our website, https://syracusespartans.com/live/.