The Syracuse Spartans entered Cortland Friday evening for a 6pm first pitch, to take on the #1 ranked Cortland Crush for their eighth matchup of the regular season. Cortland was only a win away from clinching the Eastern division, standing at 24-9-1 on the year, Syracuse a distant 2nd place in the East, at 17-18. It was a premiere Eastern division matchup with no lack of offense, as the Crush won 7-6. 

High school righty Noah Klasen got the nod for the Spartans, Siena ballplayer Noah Wieczorek for the Crush. Wieczorek sat down the Spartans in order, as Klasen opened up his outing with two walks and two singles in the bottom of the first. 1-0 lead for Cortland in the first frame.

A pair of Zach Marriott and owen Podolec singles tallied up two more in the second for the Crush, as Noah Klasen continued to struggle early on. Meanwhile, Noah Wieczorek had faced the minimum amount of batter through three frames. His only baserunner allowed was Noah Roots on a single, who was caught stealing three pitches later.

A sacrifice fly from Mason Kirchberg made it 4-0 Crush in the third. The Spartans finally responded in the fourth, with their batters making adjustments their second time through. After doubles from Matthew Alexander and Robert Johnston, Noah Roots scored the first run with his second single of the day. Jimmy Legg tacked on two more runs with a single of his own just after. A double steal from Jimmy Legg allowed Kyle Hoog to score, but Rockweel plated Legg just after to take the lead. The Spartans left the top of the fourth leading 5-4 on an offensive explosion. 

The Crush quickly responded as Aaron Cole came in for the Spartans though, as Owen Podolec retook the lead in the sixth with a 2 RBI double. Jack Clifford came back in for the Spartans, but had no offense behind him late in the ballgame. Alex Meesig came in and earned a save, clinching the Crush’s second straight NYCBL Eastern Division title. 7-6 your final score.