The Syracuse Spartans qualified for the New York Collegiate Baseball League Playoffs with a 4-1 victory over the Sherrill Silversmiths. The Spartans have made the playoffs for the fourth time in five years in the NYCBL.

Syracuse and Sherrill battled in a pitching duel through the first five innings as no runs crossed the plate. Starters Josh Martin for the Spartans and Connor Jensen for the Silversmiths didn’t allow a baserunner to reach third base in the first five innings.

The scoring finally started in the sixth inning as Spartans shortstop Jimmy Legg blasted a solo home run. Legg hit his second home run of the season with both of them coming at Sherrill. The Silversmiths responded with a RBI double from third baseman Jackson Haker in the bottom of the sixth.

Syracuse immediately retook the lead in the seventh inning with a solo home run from center fielder JC Ng. He hit his third home run of the season, which leads the Spartans. Syracuse added two more in the ninth inning off designated hitter Colin Williams’ solo home run and a Cole Rockwell RBI single.

That was all the Spartans pitching needed to keep the Sherrill offense in check. Martin’s lone run allowed in the sixth was the only blip on his line. The right hander finished with 6.0 innings pitched, allowing six hits and striking out two.

Syracuse native and NYCBL All-Star Seth Zurbruegg came in to finish off the final three innings. The right hander didn’t allow a hit or run as he finished off a fantastic performance for the Spartans.

Syracuse is the second team from the NYCBL Eastern Division to make the playoffs, along with the Cortland Crush, who have clinched the No. 1 seed in the East. The Spartans are still waiting to see who they’ll play and where in the wild card game of the playoffs.

Syracuse’s final regular season game is tomorrow on Sunday, July 24 at the Syracuse Salt Cats at the OCC Baseball Complex. First pitch is set for 2:00 pm ET. Details on the Spartans’ playoff game will be revealed after the conclusion of Sunday’s games.