9-1 was your final score from Syracuse, as the Spartans were handed their first loss against the NYCBL’s No. 1 team, the Cortland Crush. Cortland’s outpour of offense advanced them to 15-6-1, now 9 points ahead of the second place Spartans, who now stand at 11-10 overall. 

Ethan Collins toed the rubber for the Spartans, and akin to Cortland’s starter Noah Wieczorek, looked to establish himself in one of few appearances starting so far this year. His presence was felt early, allowing only one run off the bat of Cortland utility player Izquierdo’s RBI single. In typical Cortland fashion, three stolen bases, accompanied by three wild pitches allowed a 4-spot to break the scoring open for Cortland. Ethan Collins finished the evening with 4.0 IP, and 5 ER to his credit, with only 3 hits allowed, but 5 walks to his name as well.

Since Cortland’s 5-1 lead in the fourth inning, the Spartans simply could not play catch up, as Stephen Kwak’s wild pitches added to the damage done on the base paths by Cortland runners. They tallied on 4 more runs in similar fashion in the final 5 innings, totaling out 4 hits, with 12 (!) walks and 3 errors in support of their offense donated from the Syracuse ballclub. Max Mims’ 2-5 day at the plate, totaling 2 RBIs was most of note, especially considering his two stolen bases as well, acting as a major catalyst on the basepaths. 

As for Cortland’s defense, Wieczorek’s day on the mound was much longer, making it 5.0 IP, with the lone run allowed in the second inning coming off of the bat of Robert Johnston, an RBI single. With more arms to go to, they had a solid combined effort from Alex Windey and Champ Davis, who held the Spartans scoreless through the last 4 frames of the ballgame. 

As for the Spartans late pitching efforts, Kwak quickly left the ballgame in the eighth after what appeared to be a reinvigorated injury in his throwing arm. He finished with a statline of 3.0 IP, 0 ER, but a troubling 4 walks, two of which left on base before his departure. With no extra arms left, Cole Rockwell was the unfortunate beneficiary of the Spartans’ short-handed pitching staff, endorsing the final two innings. Cole Rockwell, who is not traditionally a pitcher, ended up combining efforts to finish the game with fellow position player Connor Lavigne, tallying the last two innings for Syracuse before the final out.

Nonetheless, the Spartans’ lone offensive highlight belonged to Bryce Moore , who provided a deep right field double in the fourth, acting as the only pure extra base hit by a Spartan on the evening.