The Syracuse Spartans took a lead into the ninth inning, but couldn’t stop a comeback as the Syracuse Salt Cats grabbed a 5-1 victory at OCC.
John Tully set the pace for the Spartans. The right-handed starting pitcher tossed seven innings of scoreless baseball, allowing five hits and no walks. He matched his season high of five strikeouts to keep the Salt Cats bats at bay.
On the other hand, the Spartans batters couldn’t figure out Salt Cats starter Sam Peterson. The right-hander only allowed three hits and struck out eight in six and two-thirds innings pitched.
The Spartans used good fortune to take the lead in the seventh inning. After an error extended the frame, Peterson hit and walked Spartans batters to load the bases. The Salt Cats brought in a reliever who immediately walked Jake Jaszcz with the bases loaded to drive in the lone Spartans run of the day.
The Salt Cats stayed tenacious and found their breakthrough in the ninth inning. The Salt Cats scored all five runs on five hits in the final inning of regulation to steal the lead from the Spartans. The Spartans went down 1-2-3 in the ninth inning to complete the ball game.
The next Spartans game is an away contest at the Cortland Crush. First pitch is set for 5:00 pm. The next Spartans home game is on Wednesday, July 10 against the Sherrill Silversmiths. First pitch is scheduled for 7:00 pm.