Patient Syracuse Spartans batters worked 11 walks and capitalized on opportunities to take a 12-5 win at the Rochester Ridgemen. 

The Spartans grabbed the lead with runs in the third and fourth innings. Cade Collins delivered his 10th RBI of the year on a sacrifice fly in the third inning. After Yoon Chae walked and traveled the bases on a stolen bag and error, Carter Piercey brought home his fellow two-way player with an RBI single in the fourth for the second run of the game. ]

Syracuse took control of the game in the fifth. RBI singles from Andrew An, Ethan Snyder and Matt Alexander highlighted a five-run fifth inning, giving the Spartans a 7-0 lead. A couple of bases-loaded walks and a RBI from Jaren Megan gave the Spartans even more of a boost, leading 12-0 after the bottom of the eighth.

That’s all the cushion that Spartans starting pitcher Lucas Dennis needed to cruise through the ball game. The right-hander threw seven scoreless innings of baseball with six strikeouts. Dennis retired the last 10 batters he faced in a row. 

Rochester scored five over the final two innings to attempt to rally but it was not enough for the Ridgemen. 

The Spartans generated most of their offense off walks as Syracuse walked 11 times, the second most that Spartans batters have generated this season. The lone two-hit game came from Andrew An, who played his first game with Syracuse after missing the beginning part of the season due to injury. Collins, Piercey, Synder and Megan all had multi-RBI days.

The next Spartans game is a doubleheader at Sherrill on Monday, June 24 starting at 2:00 pm. The next Spartans home game is against Rochester on Thursday, June 27. First pitch is set for 7:00 pm.