Spartans Fall in Opening Round of Region III Playoffs

Cayuga Community College Baseball's season ended with two road losses to Erie Community College in the opening round of the Region III playoffs on Saturday.

In the sub-regional series, the Spartans dropped the opener 11-2 to the Kats, then staged a late rally in the second game before falling short by a 10-8 final. Cayuga ends the season with a 31-21 record.

Cayuga held a brief lead in the opener when Jeremy Recio smashed a solo homer in the top of the first, but the Kats responded with six runs over the next four innings to take the lead. Ben Hatfield doubled home Joshua Lightburn in the fifth to cut the Kats' lead to 6-2, but Cayuga was unable to score the rest of the game.

Recio, Lightburn, and Hatfield had hits for Cayuga. Jancarlos Rodriguez struck out six and allowed one earned run in four innings.

In the second game, the Kats took the lead in the first inning before Cayuga's Tyler Black homered in the second to make it 2-1. Erie eventually built a 10-2 lead, but Cayuga scored twice in the fifth on a sacrifice fly and an Erie error, then tacked on four more in the sixth, including two on Black's double, to make it 10-8.

Jakson Ross and Alejandro Diaz scored twice, and Black, Chase Mascelli, Hatfield, and Recio scored once. Recio and Black had two hits, with Recio hitting his second solo homer of the day. The Spartans' lineup had 10 hits in the game. James MacLean threw five-plus innings in relief, allowing two earned runs and striking out three.