Cortland Standard .net

It was another one that got away.
That was the feeling after the Cortland Crush let Sunday afternoon’s game at Greg’s Field slip through their soggy fingers with the help of two days of rain and drizzle.
Nate Verst pitched six shutout innings and left the game with a 1-0 lead only to have the usually reliable Cortland bullpen falter as the visiting Syracuse Salt Cats rallied for a 3-1 New York Collegiate Baseball League Eastern Division victory on Crown City Little League Day.
The Salt Cats improve to 14-8 and have a one-game edge over the Geneva Red Wings. The Crush slip to 11-12 and fifth place in the division, but still just three and one-half games out of the top spot at the midway point of the season.
Every NYCBL game was washed out Saturday while the only other game Sunday saw Hornell dump Genesee 9-2 in a Western Division contest. The Crush will travel to Geneva July 5 for a 1 p.m. doubleheader against the Red Wings to make up Saturday’s rain out.
Cortland’s Verst and Salt Cats starter Sean Pisik were locked in a pitcher’s duel for the first six innings. Kentucky Wesleyan College sophomore Verst allowed just two hits and walked three while striking out seven batters.
“I felt pretty good today,” Verst said. “I was lucky enough to have the start today so I was able to pitch before the mound got a slicker and muddy. I thought we were going to pull one out, but we’ll just to live for tomorrow.
“I think my change-up was my best pitch today,” he continued. “I was able to locate it efficiently. I was able to get ahead of the batters with my fastball to set up my change-up. I have been working on limiting my walks. I’m trying to help lower the team’s ERA.”
Pisik, a senior at Ursinus College, allowed just one run on three hits, hit three Crush batters and walked two while also fanning seven.
That Crush run came in the top of the first inning as Julian Gallup drew a lead-off walk. The Niagara University sophomore stole second base, moved to third on a single by Wes Burghardt and scored on a single by Mansfield University senior and Homer Central product Zephan Kash.
The Crush would leave Y.B. Hughes stranded at third after the Cortland native and West Liberty junior led off the third inning with a double and moved to third on a fielder’s choice.
Gallup was hit by a pitch in the bottom of the fifth inning with one out. He stole his 14th and 15th bases of the season to get to third base where he was left standing.
The inability to plate those runners would come back to haunt the Crush.
Syracuse tied the game in the top of the seventh inning as four of the first five batters drew walks from relievers Adam Holowienka and Crae Watkins. Both relievers have been reliable most of the season, but struggled in the misty rain. Holowienka walked the bases loaded with one out. Watkins issued a bases-loaded walk to the only batter he faced that forced in a run to knot the score at 1-1. Tyler Saundry became the third Crush reliever in the inning and he struck out David Nuzzo and Brandon Cornelius to end the Salt Cats threat.
Saundry got two fly outs to start the top of the eighth inning before hitting Lucas Tevlin with a pitch. The lone bad pitch by Saundry came with Brian Bilello at the plate. After falling behind 3-1 in the count, Saundry let a fastball fly down the heart of the plate, Bilello responded by driving the ball over the fence in left-centerfield to give Syracuse a 3-1 lead.
Eric Frontzak pitched a perfect eighth inning for the Salt Cats and Matt Colon came on in the ninth and retired the Crush 1-2-3, including two strikeouts, to earn his fourth save of the season.
Cortland managed just four hits in the game. Syracuse did not fare much better as the Salt Cats had five hits.
“I really think we are starting to come around,” Verst said. “The runs may not show it, but we are starting to hit the ball better. The guys are making better contact and the defense has come a long way since the start of the season.
“Even though the bullpen struggled today,” he added. “ I have a lot of confidence in them. We’ll bounce back.”
Cortland will look to regroup with a trip to Onondaga Community College in Syracuse to face the Salt Cats at 7 p.m. tonight. The two teams return to Greg’s Field at Beaudry Park Tuesday for a 6 p.m. contest to complete the three-game series. Syracuse has won three of the four meetings this season.
CRUSH CLIPS: There was an excellent turnout of Crown City Little League All-Stars under cloudy, misty skies Sunday Beaudry Park’s Greg’s Field. They joined the Crush players during warm-ups, playing catch in the outfield before fielding ground balls in the infield prior to the game. It was an experience that left smiles on all the youngsters’ faces.