By Christian De Guzman
SYRACUSE, NY — The Syracuse Spartans (3-1) couldn’t find the offense as the Cortland Crush (2-2) handed Syracuse its first loss of the 2021 NYCBL season by a score of 9-1.
“I’m not too concerned about this loss,” said Spartans Head Coach Matt Michalski. “We had a good meeting after the game. We win together and lose together. This game beats you up enough. I’m not going to beat these guys up too much. Just teach them what I can and move forward.”
Syracuse took the initial lead after Cortland Starting Pitcher David Keller struggled in the first inning. The Crush right-hander walked three batters in the first inning to load the bases. Teague Conder then came to the plate and hit a sacrifice fly to center field for the only Spartans run of the evening.
The Spartans lead wouldn’t last long as Syracuse starter Derek Jann ran into trouble in the third inning. An error and two walks loaded the bases, and Cortland would capitalize by scoring on a Jann wild pitch and a single.
The offenses of both teams would stay dormant until the eighth inning as both starters threw excellent games. Keller finished the day allowing only one hit and striking out seven Spartans. Jann couldn’t quite match that line but still kept the Crush in check, allowing only four hits and striking out five. Both starters went six innings.
“[Jann] really settled in,” said Michalski. “He was very effective the rest of the way. It’s a game of adjustments. As quickly as we can adjust, the better off we’re going to be. You saw that with Jann.”
Cortland broke the game open in the eighth inning. 11 Crush batters came to the plate as Cortland scored six runs in the frame to increase the advantage over Syracuse. Three Crush batters walked and four Cortland hitters picked up singles to tack on the most runs that the Spartans have allowed in an inning this season.
The Crush added one more run in the ninth before sealing the game. Syracuse could only manage three hits against the Cortland pitching staff.
The Spartans drop back into a tie for the top spot in the NYCBL East Division with the Syracuse Salt Cats winning over the Sherrill Silversmiths winning earlier today.
Syracuse plays Sherrill next on the road at Noyes Park on Monday, June 14 starting at 5:00 p.m. The next Spartans home game is on Tuesday, June 15 against the Syracuse Salt Cats. First pitch is set for 7:05 p.m. For tickets, email [email protected].