WATERTOWN — Friday proved to be a rough night all around for the Watertown Rapids.
The Rapids yielded eight runs over the first three innings in en route to a loss to the Syracuse Salt Cats.
Then Watertown coach Ben Julien was tossed from the game in the fifth inning after several close calls went against his team.
The game nearly ended by a mercy rule, but the Rapids came back to score eight runs over the last four innings to keep the game in regulation.
Watertown made a late surge but was ultimately dealt a 14-10 loss by Syracuse in a New York Collegiate Baseball League game played before a crowd of 230 at the Alex T. Duffy Fairgrounds.
Despite his team’s early struggles, Julien, a veteran coach at the collegiate level, was heartened by the way his team didn’t quit and surged to score runs later on.
“It started out rough,” Julien said. “But we were resilient and the way we came back, at one point in time we were down (10) runs and we almost got 10-run ruled. And then we came back and scored some runs. So I’m unbelievably proud of what our guys did.”
Yet the Salt Cats totaled 18 hits on the night as every player but the leadoff man recorded at least one hit.
Catcher Andrew Heppner led the way for East Division-leading Syracuse (14-7) as he went 4-for-6, including a double, and drove in three runs.
“Both teams fought pretty hard,” Syracuse coach Mike Martinez said. “We came out ahead at the end, we just did a little bit more than they did at the end and hung on.”
Tristan Gatchalian, Isaac Brozon and Matt Gonyeau each collected three hits for the Salt Cats, with Gonyeau homering.
After a scoreless first inning, the Salt Cats broke out in the second by scoring six runs on six hits as well as a hit batter as Gonyeau and Gatchalian each singled in a run, Heppner delivered a two-run single to left field and two more runs scored on a pair of errors.
Earlier in the inning, Julien was clearly upset after a Syracuse base runner heading back to second base wasn’t called out after a tag appeared to be made, which would have ended the inning and limited the damage.
Later in the third, a Syracuse runner stole second base on a close call and Watertown hit into a double play in the fifth on another close play, which led to Julien’s further protest and ejection from the game.
“We struggled a little bit early, but we came around,” Julien said. “I think if a couple things go our way, it’s a different game. This game is a very tough game and sometimes it becomes harder if things don’t go your way. So if things would have gone our way, I think it’s a different outcome. Do we win?, I don’t know.
“But the tenor of the game could have been changed by our play and other things.”
The early onslaught contiued in the third as Gonyeau connected for a two-run home run over the wall in left.
After the Rapids scored single runs in the third and fourth innings, the Salt Cats answered by plating three more runs in the fifth, keyed by an RBI double from Jaxson Grant.
Syracuse tacked on two more runs in the sixth to lead 12-2, but the Rapids responded with a four-run uprising in the bottom of the inning as Robbie Carvelli and Aiden Reis generated two-run singles.
After William Webster walked with the bases loaded to drive in a run in the seventh, Xavier Myles doubled in three runs in the eighth to draw Watertown within 13-10.
“They have a lot of heart and that’s the most important thing,” Julien said.
“Look, they played hard,” Martinez said of Watertown. “They had a couple tough calls on them tonight which could have gone either way. But they hung in there, they came back and they made it a close game.”
Heppner added a RBI double in the ninth to complete the scoring.
Syracuse starter Aidan Kempf pitched four innings, yielding two runs on four hits and two walks while striking out three. Hunter Alten came in and threw two innings before Caleb Fisher pitched the final three.
“It always starts on the mound, Kempf’s been our guy all year and he just gives us a nice quality start,” said Heppner, who attends Binghamton University. “And obviously the six runs in the second, we had good run support, we were running the bases well, we’re hitting well. Just situational hitting, that’s the name of the game.”
Reis went 3-for-4 on the night and drove in three runs to lead Watertown (6-9) at the plate and Ben Hess, Myles and Carvelli each totaled two hits in a 12-hit team effort.
Julien hopes the fight the Rapids showed Friday will resonate with the team in the coming games.
“I think the biggest takeaway is how we fought back and didn’t quit,” Julien said. “You almost get 10-run ruled and lose by four, it’s a group that has really hung in there this season, I mean this could be a galvanizing moment for us.”
Watertown will now hit the road with games at Rochester and Sherrill on Saturday and Sunday and will also play at Syracuse on Tuesday.
The Rapids will open a seven-game homestand by hosting Olean in a doubleheader on Wednesday and will play Rochester on Thursday at the Fairgrounds.
“They’re great guys, they really are,” Julien said of his team. “A lot of talent, a lot of heart and they’re good people and that’s the most important part.”