The Syracuse Spartans rolled into their charter bus scheduled for Hornell, as the lone undefeated team in the Eastern division. By the time they made it back, they had fallen to 4-2.

Game 1 of their seven inning doubleheader with the Hornell Steamers started with a 3pm first pitch, as Cooper Meldrim was given the nod, after a lone relief putting the previous, only allowing a run. Both teams played small ball well, but the Steamers’ difference maker was their fielding. Hornell’s infield isn’t necessarily the smoothest, so the three errors made by the Spartans set the Steamers above them.

Their experience on the field showed, but Wyatt Metzger’s pinch-hit RBI single in the 5th gave them the lead, and their pitching from Brady Burdett shut the door, throwing 2 scoreless innings to finish game 1 for a 7-6 win.

As for game 2, it was a similar story. The Spartans adjusted to the tough field conditions. With only an error accredited to each team, fielding was no longer the problem. This time, the short-handed Spartan’s pitching roster was put in a vacuum as the sole reason for their struggles. After a 3-spot from Spartans bats in the third, a 2-run Roland Ryan homerun for the Steamers to left field sparked a rhythm that the Spartans couldn’t break.

Impressively enough, Brady Burdett stepped in and shut the door for another shut-down save. 4-3 was your final score for game 2 of the 7 inning doubleheader. In one day,  the Steamers’ pitching and field experience have advanced them to 3-2. The Spartans’ lack of both concepts gave them their first two losses of the season, dropping them to 4-2 on the season.

Next game for Syracuse comes after a one day hiatus, with a high-scoring Cortland Crush rematch due for Monday at 7 pm. Seth Zurbruegg is due to pitch, and is poised to re-set the rhythm for a talented Spartans squad.