CENTRAL NEW YORK – Twice at the end of a full and compelling week of baseball, East Syracuse Minoa and Jamesville-DeWitt found themselves on the field against one another.
In the series opener last Thursday, the Red Rams saw its three-game win streak snapped as the Spartans, fueled by two big rallies and solid late-game pitching, prevailed 7-4.
J-D appeared to get the jump with a three-run first inning, but ESM pitcher Carter Stewart settled down and blanked the Rams for the next five frames, ultimately striking out six and only allowing three hits.
Meanwhile, the Spartans got to J-D pitcher A.J. Sumida for four runs in the bottom of the third and added a three-run fourth. Aaron Reynolds and Joe Federico both had a pair of RBIs as Trey Bova and Jacob Pacheco also drove in runs. In defeat, the Rams’ Aidan McGuire hit a solo home run.
Bova also picked up the save as ESM now sought the sweep at J-D on Friday, but could not quite pull it off as the Rams bounced back to prevail 2-1.
Reynolds drove home Dan Gilkey in the top of the first, but from there J-D pitchers Luke VanMarter (five innings) and Jake Ogata (two innings) shut out the Spartans, giving up just two total hits and amassing 11 strikeouts.
All that work on the mound paid off when the Rams tied it, 1-1, in the fourth and went ahead an inning later, Tyler Kaelin earning an RBI as Gogata and Eamon Giblin scored the runs.
Prior to this, J-D had a second meeting with Central Square, whom it beat on April 4 and, in last Monday’s rematch, managed to prevail again over the Redhawks, this time 7-6.
Down 3-0 after one inning, the Red Rams tied it, 3-3, and after Central Square went up 4-3 responded with a four-run rally in the top of the fourth. Giblin, Kaelin, Aaron Ko and Tim Cooper each drove in runs.
Staked to that 7-4 lead, VanMarter, in relief of Jake Ogata, pitched two innings and got the win, though Luke McQuaid needed to get the final two outs.
ESM, meanwhile, had a non-league game last Monday at Marcellus and ran into the hot pitching of Ethan Snyder in a 2-0 loss to the Mustangs.
Whatever the Spartans tried at the plate didn’t work against Snyder, who only allowed two hits, Pacheco’s double and Luke Liedka’s single, and amassed 11 strikeouts.
Meanwhile, Pacheco and Liedka joined Bova and Stewart in mostly containing Marcellus, the only slip-up coming in the bottom of the fifth, Ryder Donahue managed three of the Mustangs’ five hits.
Thus, ESM was 1-3 going into last Tuesday’s game against Oneida, where it bolted to a big lead – and had to, in order to hang on and earn a 12-10 victory.
Five first-inning runs got the Spartans in control and the margin grew to 9-0 through three. Still, ESM needed a two-run fifth inning and a run in the sixth to withstand Oneida’s late charge.
Pacheco and A.J. Graham each got a pair of hits, with Pacheco driving in three runs. Gilkey added a pair of RBIs as Liedka, Kevin Stewart, Mike Munger and Marlon Czajak earned one RBI apiece.
