SYRACUSE, N.Y. — With the Salt Cats’ winning run on second and two outs, the Spartans needed one more out to secure a tie. On a full count, reliever Josh Martin fired a pitch that Aaron Sisto grounded to second. Joe Wike fielded the ball cleanly and tossed to Tyler Gendron at first, giving the Spartans their first point of the 2023 NYCBL season.

The Syracuse Spartans (0-2-1, 1 point) erased an early three-run deficit but ultimately tied after 10 innings against the Syracuse Salt Cats (1-4-1, 3 points) on Saturday night at the Onondaga Community College Sports Complex. NYCBL rules only allow one extra inning, and if the score remains tied after that, the game ends in a tie, and both teams receive one point. Spartans starter Luke Boule tossed seven innings of three-run ball (one earned) in his collegiate debut, while Creighton Wesson and Josh Martin hurled three scoreless innings in relief. However, the offense could not find its groove against the Salt Cats, tying a season-low of seven hits while leaving 12 runners on base.

Salt Cats starter Jake Lanzer had his fastball working early in the first inning. The St. John’s product opened the game with a strikeout of William Kinney on the heater. Then, after Joe Wike singled to right field on the first pitch, Lanzer caught Adam Sullivan looking at an outside fastball for the second out. Perry Chetney’s groundout to shortstop left Wike stranded on second to end the frame.

Luke Boule made his collegiate debut on the mound for the Spartans and found himself in trouble from the jump. The UAlbany commit’s first pitch plunked Cayden Gaskin, then a throwing error on a pickoff attempt advanced the Salt Cats’ leadoff hitter to second. Boule would toss nine straight balls to start the game, and the home team would execute a double steal to take the contest’s first run. A 6-4-3 double play from the Spartans helped ease the rookie’s nerves, but an RBI single by Aaron Sisto past a diving Kinney at short extended the Salt Cats’ lead to 2-0 after one.

The Spartans’ offense put pressure on the Salt Cats when Zach Garcia began the second with a single to right field. Colin Williams and Joshua Gilkey drew walks to load the bases for Kinney with two outs. The shortstop hit a hard grounder fielded by his counterpart, Matthew Stokes, who stepped on second base for the third out of the frame.

The Salt Cats struck again with two outs in the second when Matthew Rinaldi sent a 2-1 offering from Boule into left for an RBI single, making it 3-0 through two innings.

However, Lanzer began to lose control of his pitches in the third, opening the door for a Spartans comeback. After walking two batters, Zach Garcia’s RBI groundout plated Joe Wike from third to score the first run for the Spartans. A second run scored on an errant throw from the Salt Cats on a routine grounder for the would-be third out, gifting the visitors another run to make it 3-2.

Boule gained confidence as the game went on and looked like the dominant pitcher he was at the Christian Brothers Academy. The right-hander retired the Salt Cats on 10 pitches in the third. Benjamin Tullo led off the fourth with a single, but Boule retired the next three batters to prevent further damage. The following inning, the catcher Williams helped out the Syracuse native by throwing out the speedy Gaskin for the first out. Boule would do the rest and then some, tossing six innings of one-earned-run ball with two walks and two strikeouts.

“I struggled to find the zone in the first inning, just very nervous with an anxious throw. But I settled in, got my groove and started getting guys out,” Boule said.

The Spartans broke through to tie the game in the top of the seventh off Salt Cats reliever Brandon Gomez. Wike drew a leadoff walk, then pinch-hitter Jacob Bowman stepped up and cracked a first-pitch triple that bounced off the center field wall.

Boule came back out for the seventh, despite a pitch count reaching the 90s. No batter seemed to faze the soon-to-be UAlbany freshman, who struck out Jonathan Gonzalez on a nasty slider to begin the frame. After enforcing a lineout, Boule’s 106th pitch was a fastball painted perfectly on the outside corner for a called strike three. That was the end of the night for the CBA alum, who spun seven innings of three-run ball (one earned) with two walks and four punchouts.

“I just want to attack hitters, throw with confidence and give no free passes,” Boule said.

While the pitching kept the Salt Cats off the board, the Spartans offense could not deliver the knockout punch against relief pitcher Jared Reminder. Two walks set up Wike for a game-changing at-bat with two outs in the eighth, but the second baseman lined out to right on the first pitch for the third out. Through eight innings, the Spartans left a staggering 11 runners on base, a recipe for disaster.

Creighton Wesson entered in relief for Boule in the bottom of the eighth, his first appearance in over a year. His first pitch was bunted softly by Gaskin for an infield single. The Salve Regina product struck out Rinaldi on a heater for his first punchout for the Spartans. After allowing a walk, the right-hander fanned Jay Murdock, then escaped the jam after Gilkey snagged a fly ball in center.

With another chance to take the lead, the Spartans went down 1-2-3 in the ninth against Reminder. Wesson retired the first two Salt Cats batters in the bottom of the frame, thanks to two outstanding plays at first base by Tyler Gendron. Jared Rijfkogel reached second base on an error, putting the winning run in scoring position with two outs. The Spartans right-hander thrived under pressure, striking out Stokes on a fastball to send the game into extra innings.

Robert Johnston started off the 10th strong with a single to center. Williams followed with a perfect bunt, which the Salt Cats threw into right field. With the ball in the outfield, head coach Christian Lalomia gave Johnston the green light for home, only to get gunned down by Tullo for the first out. Gendron would ground out for the second out, then Gilkey was called out on a bang-bang play at first base, erasing any chance of a Spartans victory.

Luckily for the Spartans, the Salt Cats couldn’t scratch the score column in their half-inning against Spartans reliever and SUNY Oneonta right-hander Josh Martin. Gaskin started the bottom of the frame with recorded his third hit of the contest, but Bowman speared a liner from Rinaldi at third and tossed to second for the first out. A single put the winning run once against on second, but Martin stepped up when it mattered most, forcing two groundouts to secure the tie.

The Spartans travel to Sherrill for a doubleheader against the Silversmiths on Sunday afternoon. First pitch of game one at Noyes Park is set for 2:00 p.m. Fans can listen to the Spartans’ radio broadcast by visiting our website, https://syracusespartans.com/live/.