Smitties rally for win over Salt Cats

Sherill outslugs Syracuse to improve to 2-0at start of NYCBL season.

SHERRILL » The Sherrill Silversmiths won their final home game of the 2016 season in walk-off fashion, scoring five runs in the bottom of the ninth for a thrilling comeback victory.

Friday the team returned to Noyes Park and provided plenty more excitement for the dozens of fans on hand.

After letting leads of 6-0 and 8-7 slip away, Sherrill scored four runs in the bottomof the eight to pull out a 13-12 victory over the visiting Syracuse Salt Cats.

Austin Perryworked a hitless inning of relief in the top of the eighth to earn the victory for the Silversmiths on the mound.

Thomas Beliveau took the loss, allowing four runs on four hits and a walk in his one inning of work.

Syracuse starter Kyle Taylor had trouble locating the strike zone in the bottomof the first inning, walking five batters and hitting another. He didn’tmake it throughthe frame as Sherrill capitalized on his wildness and an error to score four runs before David Brown came onto get the final out of the inning.

The defense betrayed Brown in the bottom of the second, committing three more errors that led to two more Silversmiths runs and a 6-0 advantage for the hosts.

The Salt Cats began their comeback in the top of the third against Alex Gomes, who didn’t allow a hit over his first two innings. Jack McCarty and Alexander Ferlenda worked consecutive walks to start the inning before Craig Alleyne hit an RBI single to plate the visitors’ first run. Tim Gorton and Shannon Baker followed with back-toback RBI groundouts, trimming the lead to 6-3.

Syracuse continued to pressure Gomes in the top of the fourth. Gomes hit Joshua Rodriguez to lead off and Matthew Nerz followed with a single. McCarty brought both runners home with a double, ending Gomes’ day on the mound. Callum Slater took over in relief and retired his first batter – with McCarty advancing to third – before walking Alleyne. With Gorton batting, Alleyne stole second and McCarty scored on the throwdown, tying the score. Gorton grounded out to advance Alleyne to third and, with Baker batting, Alleyne stole home on the lefty Slater to give the Salt Cats a 7-6 edge.

The hosts wasted no time pulling back in front, scoring twice in the home half of the fourth. MichaelWroth walked to lead off against Brown and Jake Coro followed with a single to put runners on first and third. Nicholas Wydler’s sacrifice fly to right field scored Wroth and advanced Coro to third for Nate Goodman, whohitanRBI single togive the Silversmiths the lead again at 8-7.

The visitors used the long ball to take the lead back in the top of the fifth. Brandon Cornelius, Justin Clark and Nerz hit solo home runs to make it a 10-8 game in favor of Syracuse.

Sherrill got one of those runs back in the bottom of the fifth against James Coyne, who entered to get the final out of the previous inning. Two singles and a walk loaded the bases with one out for Wydler, who was hit by a pitch to force in Kingsley Ballao with a run to make the score 10-9. Coyne escaped further damage, getting a strikeout and a groundout to preserve the one-run lead.

Vernon-Verona-Sherrill alum Devin Long pitched a scoreless inning of relief in the top of the sixth before Syracuse struck again in the top of the seventh. ColtonEremian hit a one-out single and stole second, coming around to score onCoryKrolikowski’s two-out RBI single. Krolikowski scored on an error later in the frame, extending the lead to 12-9.

Dan Greaves pitched two scoreless innings of relief for the Salt Cats before giving way to Beliveau in the bottom of the eighth. He walked Joshua Goldstein to lead off and Tully Allen followed with a double. A wild pitch to Steven Valentine scored Goldstein and Valentine’s RBI single closed the gap to one run. Ballao then hit a long double to center field, putting the tying and go-ahead runs in scoring position for Wroth. He hit an RBI single to tie the score and send Ballao to second and, with Coro batting, the duo executed a double steal to bring home the gamewinning run.

Tyler Hertzwig came on to pitch the top of the ninth and set the side down in order to earn the save.

KYLE MENNIG — ONEIDA DAILY DISPATCH Sherrill’s Jake Coro (4) slides safely into home as Syracuse catcher Mattnew Nerz applies the tag without the ball during their game in Sherrill on Friday.