The Cicero Rattlers enjoyed their first competitive outdoor action in several months as they met up with players from Syracuse Baseball Club for a friendly scrimmage.

On a day that was supposed to push the mercury up into the 90’s, both teams wisely hit the field in the early morning to knock the rust off.

Cicero’s hottest inning was the 3rd inning, when singles, doubles, stolen bases and runs scored by Calabria, Capece, Thelen, Capp and Mearon helped bring in 6 runs. This put Cicero ahead 7-3 to start the 4th inning.

The Cicero Rattlers would go on to outhit SBC 16-6 on the day.

In the 4th inning, Cicero brought in another run as Capece doubled in Pearce to make the score 8-3. SBC came back with 3 runs in the 4th to bring the score up to 8-6.

SBC tied it briefly in the 5th before Cicero regained the lead in the 6th when Calabria scored from 3rd base on a passed ball, making it 9-8.

SBC followed with 1 hit and 3 fatal unearned runs to go ahead by 2 in the 6th.

SBC’s closing pitcher, Casey Gunnip, held Cicero scoreless, as hits by Matthews and Mearon, along with a Mooney walk, weren’t enough to bring in runs.

The day ended with SBC in the lead 11-9 as time ran out in the 8th inning.

Both teams were aggressive on the base paths, notching plenty of stolen bases.

Even though Cicero was unable to overcome some errors on defense, and left several runners on base on offense, they put in a very respectable performance that shows great promise for the upcoming season.

It was a fun, exciting day for fans, players and coaches!

The starting lineup for Cicero on this day was:

Jacob Calabria P
Nicholas Capece 3B
Lucas Thelen 1B
Daniel Capp C
Jackson Fudge 2B
Ethan Matthews LF
Michael Mooney CF
Chase Mearon SS
Sean Bombard RF
Connor Pearce eh
Jack Clary eh

Highlights of the day:

Cicero’s 16 hits gives them a team batting average of .356.

Solid defense and pitching by Calabria, Thelen, Pearce, Matthews and Mearon, who gave up only 6 hits combined and 3 walks. Cicero’s defense made 17 plays on the day.

Several fly balls caught by Capp, Mooney, Bombard, Matthews and Thelen – while facing the sun.

Doubles hit by Calabria, Capece and Mearon.

Several infield put-outs from Capece (3B/SS).

Several infields put-outs by Fudge at 2nd base.

Multiple stopped balls by Capp (C) and Mooney (C).

Multiple scoops by Thelen and Matthews at 1B.

Team quote of the day: Don’t just aspire to be the best on the team, aspire to be the best for the team.

Special thanks to Rob Capp for umping and coaching 3B and Kristi Mooney for keeping the score book. Also to Matt Govendo for umping and helping organizing the event.