Just when the East Syracuse Minoa baseball team thought it was making a serious push in the tough OHSL Freedom American division, it received a jolt from an opponent who hadn’t won a league game yet.
Christian Brothers Academy, sporting a modest 1-2 record, hosted the Spartans last Monday and mostly relied on a big second-inning outburst to support Jack Sheridan’s pitching effort and earn a 9-1 victory.
They were still 0-0 when, in the bottom of the second inning, the Brothers got to ESM starter Shane Krawec, going through its entire order and notching six runs, later adding a run in the fourth and two runs in the sixth.
Brian McCann led CBA by going four-for-four, earning an RBI and scoring twice. Nate Burns drove in two runs and earned a pair of hits as Sheridan, Mike McCully and Jack Maser earned one RBI apiece.
ESM’s lone run came in the third as Jimmy Griffin drove home James DePaul. But that was all Sheridan would give up in his five-inning stint that included five strikeouts and just three hits allowed before David Gross took over in relief and went the rest of the way.
Both teams were back in action Wednesday, with ESM staging yet another late comeback to beat Mexico 6-5 as CBA rolled past Central Square 9-1.
Through two innings, the Spartans led Mexico 3-0, only to see the Tigers tie it by the fifth and then score twice in the top of the sixth for a 5-3 advantage. Unfazed by this, ESM regained the lead with a three-run rally in the bottom of the sixth.
Mason Hausler’s double and home run keyed the Spartans’ attack. Nick Castrello added a triple as he and Jeff Loder drove in two runs apiece and Griffin added an RBI. On the mound, Tom Ghika went four innings before Ryan Seburn and Dan Williams closed it out, Williams keeping Mexico scoreless in his 1 1/3 innings to earn the win.
Less drama was found at Central Square, where CBA made it three wins in a row, breaking it open by scoring five runs in the top of the third and adding three runs in the fifth.
Jack Maser had four of the Brothers’ 12 hits, with Sheridan and Dom Spinoso each getting two hits and Spinoso scoring three runs while also pitching a complete game, piling up 13 strikeouts and limiting Central Square to three hits and a sole run in the bottom of the third.
CBA would host Oswego on Saturday afternoon, and see that win streak dissipate in a 6-0 defeat, all of the damage inflicted in a second inning where the Buccaneers tagged Brothers starter A.J. Pankowski for all six of its runs as Elijah Dandrich and Trevor Bradshaw each had two-run singles.
Though relievers M.P. Geiss and Mike McCully blanked Oswego the rest of the way, it didn’t matter because Bucs pitcher Joe Wallace had a superb effort, limiting CBA to four hits and earning six strikeouts. Sheridan, Luke Frontale, William Ierlan and Bryce Moore got those hits.
Saturday was where ESM resumed, taking a trip to Baltimore, Maryland and defeating Digital Harbor 9-0 in a game where it scored six runs in the first two innings to get control and the trio of Hausler, Seburn and Williams held the Rams to four hits.
At the plate, Castrello, with two hits and three RBis, set most of the tone. Sam Jenkins also had two hits as he, along with DePaul and Williams, got one RBI apiece. Hausler drove in two runs as Justin Sauve scored twice.
Jamesville-DeWitt began to show signs of getting out of its early-season struggles in last Monday’s 12-3 romp over Camden, putting up seven runs in the first two innings to take control and adding five runs in the top of the fifth.
Casey Kretsch went three-for-three, doubling twice, and drove in three runs as Gavin French and Dylan McGee each got two hits and three RBIs. Pat Cramer added three hits as he and Andrew LeClair both scored three times. Josh Kowalczyk pitched 4 2/3 innings, striking out four. McGee and Sean Hlywa also saw pitching stints.
Of far more importance as J-D winning in league play over Homer, 3-2, on Wednesday afternoon. It was a game that nearly got away twice, with the Trojans erasing 1-0 and 2-1 deficits before the Rams went back in front with a run in the sixth and held on thanks to Will Havens pitching a scoreless seventh inning.
Combined, McGee (who started and went five innings), Havens and Kretsch held Homer to three hits and combined for eight strikeouts. Cramer doubled, singled and drove in two runs as Luke Smith and Matt Cappelletti matched that two-hit output and Smith scored twice. Cappelletti contributed an RBI.
Having climbed back above .500 (5-4), J-D visited Chittenango on Friday and kept on rolling with a 12-4 victory where it scored in every inning except the second as Havens pitched and blanked the Bears until the fifth inning, when Sean Hlywa relieved him.
Finishing with 15 hits, the Rams got four of them from Cramer, who doubled, tripled and scored twice. Cappelletti scored three times as French’s pair of hits led to three RBIs. Smith drove in two runs, with LeClair, Kretsch, Ian Crawford and Parker Wing getting one RBI apiece.
