WEBSTER, N.Y. — With one run already home, Rochester had runners on the corners with one out in the sixth for Jorge Arispuro against Casey Vaughn. Kody Putnam broke for second, and a pump fake by Perry Arthur Chetney froze Alec Blakestad in-between third and home. Syracuse’s catcher fired a bullet to Jacob Bowman at third base, picking off Blakestad to keep the Spartans in front.

Clutch pitching under pressure helped the Syracuse Spartans (9-13-1, 19 points) fend off the first-place Rochester Ridgemen (22-6-1, 45 points) 4-2 on Wednesday night. Tyler Gendron’s three-run homer gave Syracuse the early lead, and the Spartans’ defense picked off four Rochester runners on the bases. Syracuse handed the Ridgemen its first loss in 10 games and has now won back-to-back contests for the second time this season.

Both Satoru Arai and Gavin Miller worked 1-2-3 first innings on the mound for their respective teams. The pairing struck out three of their six batters faced, keeping the game scoreless after one.

Arai began to lose control in the second, and the Spartans took advantage. The right-hander walked Adam Sullivan, then hit Robert Johnston to open the frame. After recording two outs, Tyler Gendron stepped into the box with runners still on first and second. The New England College product turned on a 1-0 fastball from Arai, blasting a flyball to left. The ball sailed over left fielder Mason White’s head and over the fence for a three-run homer.

It was the first longball to left field at Basket Road Field this season, which has the exact dimensions of Yankee Stadium. Gendron’s first round-tripper of the season delivered the first punch from the visitors, who lead 3-0 after two.

Miller helped his cause in the bottom of the third, picking off two runners to keep the Ridgemen scoreless. After giving up a single, the southpaw caught Jorge Arispuro leaning at first base for the first out.

With runners on the corners, the freshman at George Washington University caught Cooper Mills in-between first and second. Gendron alertly tossed to Perry Arthur Chetney at home as Connor Sackett broke for the plate. Chetney easily tagged out his catcher counterpart for the final out, and the Spartans held a 3-0 advantage through three.

Even Rafael Gomez Jr., the league leader in stolen bases, could not use his speed against Miller. The designated hitter cracked a single to left but was caught in a pickle attempting to swipe second base. A walk and another single by the Ridgemen put runners at the corners with two outs. Miller stayed calm with the pressure mounting, inducing a flyout by Kody Putnam to end the inning.

Gendron roped another laser off Arai, this time a ground-rule double to left-center, putting a runner in scoring position with one out. The right-hander pulled a trick out of Miller’s hat, picking Gendron off second base, then struck out Zach Garcia to erase any further threat.

Back out for the fifth, Miller got help from middle infielders Will Kinney and Joe Wike, who spun a nifty 6-4-3 double play. Rochester kept the pressure on with a hit and walk, but the southpaw worked out of another jam, this time retiring Gomez Jr. for the final out.

“[Our pitchers] executed pitches when they had to. I think there were a couple plays that made their lives a lot easier,” head coach Christian Lalomia said.

The Spartans’ offense continued their hard-hitting into the sixth against Arai. Jacob Bowman cracked a screamer off the right-field fence for a triple, then came home on Wike’s RBI groundout. Sullivan smashed a triple of his own to center, the fourth extra-base hit by the Spartans. After a brief meeting at the mound, Arai froze Johnston for strike three to end the inning.

 Vaughn entered in relief for Syracuse and was not greeted kindly by the Ridgmen. Putnam got Rochester on the board with a one-out RBI single to right field, putting runners at the corners for Arispuro. Chetney pump faked when Putnam attempted to steal second, catching Blakestad halfway between third and home. The catcher threw a dart to Bowman at third base, tagging out Blakestad for out number two. It was the fourth runner erased off the basepaths by the Spartans’ defense, who maintained a 4-1 lead after six.

“That’s what good teams do. They take advantage of other team’s errors,” Lalomia said.

Rochester reliever William Russotti kept Syracuse off the board to start the seventh. Cade Nolan sparked the Ridgemen with a lead-off single in the bottom of the frame but was thrown out by Garcia in center attempted to stretch his hit into a double.

Despite one run, Mills notched the home team’s 10th hit, and Vaughn’s walk to Gomez Jr. placed two runners on base for the White. The right-hander fell behind Rochester’s slugger 1-0 but worked the count to 2-2. With tensions at an all-time high, Vaughn froze White on a nasty back-door slider, shutting down any hope in the seventh for the Ridgemen with the score still 4-1.

But Rochester did not give in, threatening once again in the eighth against Vaughn. Two hits set up the home team with runners on second and third with no outs. Vaughn countered with back-to-back strikeouts of Putnam and Arispuro on his fastball but lost control on a pitch against Nolan, plating Grabanski on a wild pitch.

Sean Lucas entered for Vaughn with two outs and runners on first and third. Pinch-runner David Stechow stole second, and the tying runner now stood 180 feet away. On a 3-2 offering, Lucas blew a fastball by Clayton McAllister, stranding both runners. Another clutch strikeout by Spartans pitching kept them in front 4-2 after eight.

After the Spartans came empty in the top of the ninth, Lucas sealed the deal in the bottom of the inning. The right-handed flamethrower set the Ridgemen’s 1-3 batters down in order, striking out Gomez Jr., then inducing a popout from White to end the game.

“Sean Lucas came in and really just blew fastballs by [Rochester]. He’s got a live arm and its nice to see him have some success,” Lalomia said.

The Spartans head to Cortland to battle the Cortland Crush on Thursday night. First pitch from Gutchess Field is set for 6:00 p.m. Fans can listen to the Spartans’ live broadcast by visiting our website, https://syracusespartans.com/live/.