The good work that Jack Sheridan did giving back to the Christian Brothers Academy baseball program through the Make-A-Wish Foundation did not go unnoticed.
In a ceremony last Monday, Sheridan, who has overcome leukemia and led the Brothers to the 2016 Section III Class A title, was given a $20,000 Scholar-Athlete award from Foot Locker.
Sheridan, who will attend Le Moyne College this fall, was one of more than 37,000 athletes nationwide nominated for the Foot Locker honor, but just one of 20 to earn the award.
He learned of the award as part of a visit by students from the Blessed Sacrament School, where Sheridan has visited and read to classes. The students were there to attend CBA’s game against visiting Oswego, which was postponed by weather issues.
But CBA did play at Oswego a day later, and the Brothers blanked the Buccaneers 4-0 as Dom Spinoso pitched a gem. Getting all but the last out, Spinoso, in 6 2/3 innings, amassed a career-best 15 strikeouts, more than overcoming the four walks and two hits he allowed.
Meanwhile, Jake Maser set a tone at the plate, going four-for-four and scoring twice. CBA had single runs in the second and third inninga, and two more in the fifth, as Tanner Coleman doubled twice. Sheridan and Jason Boule also had two-hit outings, with Boule and Eric Little credited for RBIs.
A big game followed on Wednesday as CBA tried to upend undefeated Vernon-Verona-Sherrill, but could not quite pull off an enormous comeback in a tense 6-5 defeat to the Red Devils.
Sheridan started and VVS got to him for all six of its runs in the first three innings. Trailing 6-0, the Brothers got on the board with a run in the fourth, and then charged late with two runs in the sixth and seventh innings before the Red Devils were able to get the final outs.
The home game with Oswego was made up on Thursday afternoon, just before more rain arrived, and CBA outlasted the Bucs 8-6 despite trailing most of the way thanks to Oswego’s Mike Bruce getting a single, double and three RBIs.
That 6-4 deficit vanished, though, when the Brothers scored a run in the fifth and broke out in front with three runs in the bottom of the sixth. Bryce Moore, recording three RBIs, led the attack as Sheridan drove in two runs. Little and Jack Lester also had RBis as M.P. Geiss got the win, pitching four innings with help from A.J. Pankowski and Mike McCully.
Off for most of the week due to weather, East Syracuse Minoa returned on Thursday and proved quite impressive in a 13-3 victory over Central Square.
The Redhawks led, 3-0, before the Spartans took over in the bottom of the second inning, plating six runs. Two more runs followed in the third as ESM, with a five-run fourth inning, zoomed into double digits, making it easy for pitchers Tanner Waldman and Zach Grevelding, who combined for eight strikeouts and held Central Square to five hits.
Ryan Seburn hit a home run and finished with three RBIs, with Sam Jenkins doubling twice and driving in four runs. James DePaul had a team-high three hits as he, along with Grevelding and Jason Sweredoski, had one RBI apiece. Jeff Loder had two hits and three runs scored.
ESM was supposed to face CBA in a big clash on Friday, but it got rained out, as did the Brothers’ Saturday game at West Genesee. Both the Spartans and Brothers have plenty of scheduled and make-up games to face in the last two weeks of the regular season.
