Cayuga Improves To 10-2 With Sweep

Cayuga Community College Baseball made it six wins in a row Sunday with a home sweep of Mohawk Valley Community College.

Cayuga overcame an early deficit in both games, defeating the Hawks 10-6 in the opener and 11-4 in the nightcap. The Spartans have started the season with a 10-2 record and are 6-0 in Region III play.

The entire lineup played a role in both wins, said Cayuga Coach John Rizzo, who also complimented starting pitchers Carson Ashby and Will Coleman for overcoming difficult first innings.

"Both starters made adjustments after the first inning and put us in position to win, while Brantley Griggs and Keegan Ferris closed the door as they have most of the season," said Rizzo. "These are two good regional wins for us, but we need to keep improving. Winning brings a higher expectation for us as we move forward this season."

The Spartans fell behind 5-0 early in the first game but rallied for the win. Trailing 5-2 in the second, Cayuga's Fernando Espinal smashed a two-out solo homer and Tyler Korsky scored on a Mike Norton double to cut the Hawks' lead to one. Cayuga scored twice on pass balls in the fourth inning to take a 6-5 lead, then added two runs in both the fifth and sixth innings.

Ashby overcame a tough first inning to hold the Hawks scoreless in the next three frames to pick up his third win of the season. Griggs threw three innings of relief, allowing one run and striking out four. At the plate, Korsky went four-for-five with two doubles, Espinal went three-for-three with four runs scored, and Caleb Delly went two-for-five with two runs, a double and a triple.

Cayuga again trailed early in the second game, but scored two in the bottom of the first and four more in the second, including two on a double by Phil Messina. Leading 6-4 in the fifth inning, the Spartans tacked on three runs in the frame and two more in the sixth to pull away.

Coleman picked up the win for Cayuga, striking out three in four innings, and Ferris threw three scoreless innings. Messina, Korsky, Chetney and Roy Glaum each had two hits, with Messina driving in three runs and Bradley Soto knocking in two. Delly and Ough scored three runs, with Chetney scoring twice.

The Spartans will play another doubleheader against Mohawk Valley on Tuesday, March 28. The games will be played at Falcon Park, but Mohawk Valley will be the home team for both games. The first pitch is scheduled for 1 p.m.