By Christian De Guzman
SYRACUSE, N.Y. — The Syracuse Spartans (9-7-1) couldn’t quite withstand the offensive assault from the Mansfield Destroyers (11-4-0) as the visiting opponents swept both games of a doubleheader at OCC, 10-1 in game one and 11-5 in game two.
“They showed a lot of our faults on the field,” said Spartans Head Coach Matt Michalski. “They exposed us in a lot of areas where we need to improve on.”
Mansfield jumped out to an early lead to begin the first game of the doubleheader. Spartans starter Eddie Rosemont struggled out of the gate with three wild pitches in the first inning. That played a big part in the Destroyers scoring three runs in the frame.
As Mansfield enjoyed the early lead, the Spartans couldn’t figure out Destroyers starter Chic DeGaetano. The right hander carried a no-hitter into the sixth inning until Stephen Karis knocked a single into left field.
The Destroyers continued the strong momentum by grabbing another run off of Rosemont in the fifth inning before exploding in the sixth. Mansfield rallied to score six two-out runs off Spartans reliever Ben Beratta to give them 10 runs after six innings.
Syracuse grabbed one run in the bottom of the seventh off a Caleb Millikan sacrifice fly, but to no avail as the Spartans dropped game one 10-1.
Mansfield started game two with another first inning run off an RBI double against Spartans starter Ryan Cormier. The Destroyers added four more in the second inning to take an early 5-0 lead.
Syracuse rallied to score four in the third inning. The first run came off an error from Mansfield starting pitcher Nico Ryder that brought home Millikan. The Spartans brought home another in the inning after a sacrifice fly by Jackson Geisler before Danny Cantor delivered on a RBI single with the bases loaded. A bases loaded walk to Anthony May completed the scoring in the frame.
The Destroyers answered back with three runs in the fifth and three more in the seventh to take a commanding lead. Although Syracuse got an additional run in the sixth, the Spartans couldn’t quite keep up with Mansfield, dropping game two 11-5.
The Spartans travel on the road to play the Rochester Ridgemen on Sunday for a doubleheader. First pitch for game one is scheduled for 5:00 p.m. The next home game for the Spartans is another edition of the Salt City Rivalry as they host the Syracuse Salt Cats on Monday, June 28. First pitch is set for 7:05 p.m. For tickets, email [email protected].