DANSVILLE, N.Y. — Dansville’s Jimmy Kerley stepped up to the plate with the winning run 90 feet away in game one. The third baseman wasted no time putting the ball in play off Syracuse’s Sean Lucas, cracking the first pitch to center field. Zach Garcia raced from the outfield but couldn’t make the tough grab, winning the first game for the Gliders.

Lack of pitching help plagued the Syracuse Spartans (3-7-1, 7 points) in their doubleheader loss to the Dansville Gliders (6-3, 12 points) on Saturday. With only two pitchers available throughout both games, Sean Lucas did his job for the Spartans but earned a complete-game 4-3 loss in game one. Dansville blew out Syracuse 14-4 in the second contest, as the visitors had to use multiple position players in their five-inning, mercy rule defeat.

The Spartans weren’t treated kindly by Dansville’s starter, Jaden Newton, in game one. The right-hander plunked Tanner De Grazia and Jacob Bowman, setting the table for Adam Sullivan. Despite his wildness on the mound, Newton whiffed Syracuse’s shortstop, striking out the side with no runs allowed in the first.

Syracuse’s starter, Sean Lucas, allowed the game’s first run in the bottom of the frame on an RBI groundout by Brayden Foster. However, the Poughkeepsie native worked around a walk and hit-by-pitch, forcing a Brett Alvis flyout to strand two runners in scoring position.

A fielding error in the top of the second put runners at first and second with no outs for the Spartans. Tyler Gendron tapped a first-pitch dribbler to third baseman Jimmy Kerley, who tagged Robert Johnston running to third, then threw to first for a nifty double play. Zach Garcia couldn’t plate Perry Chetney on second, becoming the fourth strikeout victim of Newton for the final out.

The Gliders looked poised to extend their lead in the second after Lucas allowed a walk and hit with two outs. The righty responded by blowing a 2-2 fastball past Matt Mcclements for the third out. After two complete innings, Dansville held a 1-0 lead.

Base hits by Joe Wike and Adam Sullivan, then another error by the Gliders, loaded the bases with two outs in the top of the third. The Spartans continued to struggle with runners in scoring position, this time stranding three when Robert Johnston grounded out to second base. Syracuse left six runners on base through three frames, failing to score a run.

With pitching scarce for the Spartans, Lucas eased the nerves of head coach Christian Lalomia by retiring Dansville 1-2-3 in the third. After Syracuse came up empty in its fourth-inning at-bats, a double play helped Lucas in a scoreless, 11-pitch fourth on the mound.

Newton continued to mow down Syracuse’s offense into the fifth, punching out two batters to start the frame. Wike lined a two-out single in an attempt to spark the offense. Bowman also reached base a second time after drawing a walk. With a duck on the pond, Sullivan came through with a bullet line-drive into right field. Wike raced around the bases and dove into home ahead of Dansville’s throw, tying the contest at 1-1.

Lucas continued to sparkle on the mound for the Spartans, tossing his fourth straight scoreless frame with two strikeouts in the fifth. 

Syracuse’s offense backed the right-hander in the sixth, taking a 2-1 advantage. With Chetney on third and De Grazia in the batter’s box, a balk by Newton brought in the go-ahead run. The Dansville starter limited the Spartans to just one after Wike flew out to right with Gendron on second for the final out.

The Gliders fought back with a barrage of hits in the bottom of the sixth. Kerley sprinted home on a single from Alves, and Dansville’s go-ahead run crossed the plate on a throwing error. Alves stood on third with no outs, but Lucas stranded him with two strikeouts and a flyout.

In its last chance at-bat, Syracuse evened up the score at three. A single walk and a wild pitch put runners at second and third for Chetney. The catcher popped a ball to second that turned into a sacrifice fly, thanks to the speed of pinch-runner Vince Gamberdella. That would be all the Spartans would get, leaving its 11th runner on base in a tie game.

Two hits in the bottom of the seventh put runners on the corners for the Gliders. Kerley smacked a walk-off single to center, winning game one for the home team.

Despite taking the loss, Lucas impressed in his longest outing by far for the Spartans. The Salve Regina product tossed six and two-thirds innings with four runs, two walks and six strikeouts.

In game two, the Gliders jumped out to an early lead courtesy of a wild pitch by Spartans starter Christian Fava. Cameron Sheets smashed a two-run double to right-center field, ballooning the home team lead to 3-0 after the first inning.

A bases-loaded walk in the bottom of the second extended Dansville’s advantage to 4-0. With the Spartans lacking more pitchers, Wike entered in relief from second base, making his first-ever collegiate appearance. The Eckerd College infielder struck out his first batter faced, the game-one hero Kerley, and kept the damage at four runs to none after two.

Syracuse’s offense came up empty again in the top of the third. The Gliders followed with a five-spot off the Spartans’ position pitcher, extending their lead to 9-0. First baseman Brendan Flynn took over Wike in the bottom of the fourth and threw a scoreless inning.

With their backs to the wall, the Spartans’ offense put together a valiant comeback effort in the fifth. Following a single by Garcia and a walk by Johnston, three more Syracuse hits plated its first four runners of game two. Sullivan’s single would put runners on the corners for De Grazia, who reached first on an RBI infield single. A throwing error by the Gliders plated another runner, then Gamberdella launched a rocket that struck Bednarski and rolled into the outfield, scoring the fourth Spartan run.

Still rolling with position players on the mound, De Grazia took over on the bump from second base. Hits and walks would pile up quickly, and Dansville eventually plated its fifth run on a sacrifice fly to right field for the 10-run mercy rule at 14-4.

The Spartans return home to battle Cortland on Sunday afternoon. First pitch from the Onondaga Community College Sports Complex is set for 2:00. Fans can watch the Spartans’ live broadcast by visiting our website, https://syracusespartans.com/live/.