Spartans Swept by #4 Thunderwolves

Cayuga Community College Baseball lost both halves of a home doubleheader to one of the top teams in the country on Saturday.

The Spartans opened the 2024 season hosting #4 Niagara County Community College at Falcon Park, with the Thunderwolves taking both games by scores of 14-2 and 11-4.

Cayuga Coach John Rizzo said the Spartans will need to play better moving forward, but noted that there's talent on the roster that should allow the team to do that.

"We weren't good enough today. I have to do a better job of preparing the team," said Rizzo. "We have the athletes to get the job done. There's value in scheduling good opponents, and Niagara is a great opponent."

Neither team scored in the first three innings of the opener, with Cayuga starting pitcher Matt Rumney holding the Thunderwolves' bats in check. Niagara took the lead in the fourth on a three-run homer, but the Spartans responded with two in the fourth on run-scoring doubles by Jacob Laird and Bradley Soto Diaz. Niagara's bats dominated the rest of the game, scoring 11 runs in the next three innings.

Juan Perez went two-for-three with a double and run scored for Cayuga in the first game. Laird and Soto Diaz went one-for-three with doubles and an RBI, with Laird also scoring a run.

In the second game, the Spartans trailed by three in the third when Mike DeRosa walked, stole second and scored on a single by Kevin Dolan. Niagara extended its lead to 10-1 over the next two innings, with Cayuga scoring runs late on a single by Soto Diaz and two Niagara wild pitches.

The Spartans smashed 13 hits in the second game, with DeRosa, Dolan, Soto Diaz, Alex Gaudet and Luca D'Emilio each finishing with two hits. DeRosa, Perez and Perry Chetney had doubles, with Perez, Laird and D'Emilio scoring runs.

Cayuga will look to pick up their first win of the season on Tuesday, March 5, when they host a doubleheader against conference opponent Tompkins Cortland Community College. First pitch is scheduled for 2 p.m. at Falcon Park.