CORTLAND, N.Y. — Cortland’s Aaron Izquierdo stepped up to the plate with the winning run on third in the bottom of the ninth. The catcher swung at the first pitch from Syracuse’s Jack Knapp and lined a walk-off single to right-center field, completing the comeback and winning the game for the Crush.

On opening day, the Spartans (0-1) faltered late in their 6-5 loss to the defending champion Crush (1-0). Joe Wike’s two-run blast in the top of the fifth gave Syracuse a 5-0 lead, and starter Eric Korzeniewski tossed four scoreless innings. However, Cortland responded with runs in each of the last five frames to steal the victory.

But it was the Spartans who took control of the game early on. After both teams went down 1-2-3 in the first, Robert Johnston beat out an infield single in the second inning for the contest’s first hit. 

In the third, Tyler Gendron drew a walk on a 3-2 fastball from Cortland’s starter, Kevin Worek. William Kinney reached base on a forceout to second, then Joshua Gilkey executed a perfect hit-and-run single to extend the inning. Worek worked out of the jam when Joe Wike grounded out to second, ending the threat with the game still knotted at 0-0. 

Syracuse finally cracked the scoreboard in the top of the fourth, thanks to a three-run, three-hit inning. Adam Sullivan began the frame with a bloop single to left field, then took second base on a wild pitch. Zach Garcia fell behind in the count but worked out a walk to keep the pressure on the Crush. 

Perry Chetney delivered the first runs for the Spartans, slamming a double down the left-field line to score Sullivan. Johnston followed with a productive RBI ground out to second, then Jacob Bowman smashed an RBI single to center, plating a third run. 

The Crush threatened in the bottom of the fourth, but a nifty double play by Wike and Kinney in the Spartans’ infield kept the home team off the board. Korzeniewski dominated on the mound against the reigning champs, spinning four frames of scoreless ball, allowing two hits and striking out two.

“[Korzeniewski] set the tone for us on the mound. he did a really nice job pounding the zone. We played very hard. I feel like we’re going to be a really scrappy team this year,” head coach Christian Lalomia said.

After shining in the field, the Wike-Kinney combo did damage offensively the following inning. Kinney led off the fifth with a single to center, and then Wike rocketed a 2-1 pitch from Worek over the left-field fence, the first longball of the year for Syracuse. The Eckerd college sophomore had no homers in 169 at-bats this season with the Tritons but went deep in his third plate appearance with the Spartans. He also combined on three double plays in the field, robbing the Crush of multiple hits.

“He’s going to be a staple in our lineup. He’s going to be a leader for our team this year. I like the way he carries himself while he’s playing and in the dugout,” Lalomia said.

Jake Blozy’s RBI single cut the visitor’s lead to 5-1 after five, and Casey Wilkins entered in relief for Cortland to start the sixth. Chetney reached base a second time with a walk, but the southpaw retired the next three batters in order. The Crush got another run back on a double steal in the bottom of the sixth to plate their second run.

Wilkins and Nick Ianniello stifled the Spartan bats the rest of the way, combining for four shutout innings. Back-to-back doubles by Blozy and Owen Podolec put the home team down 5-4, then Sean Moynihan Jr. dropped a game-tying single into center field in the eighth.

Knapp froze Blozy on an outside curveball for a called strike three to start the ninth, but timely hitting by Louis Percival kept a two-out rally going. After getting robbed of hits multiple times by Spartans’ infielders Wike and Kinney, Izquierdo sealed the win on a first-pitch liner to center, scoring the winning run for Cortland.

Syracuse travels to Sherrill tomorrow night to take on the Silversmiths. First pitch from Noyes Park is set for 5:00 p.m. Fans can listen to the Spartans’ radio broadcast by visiting our website, https://syracusespartans.com/live/.