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Syracuse Spartans Provide Summer Baseball Opportunity for College Athletes Syracuse Spartans Provide Summer Baseball Opportunity for College Athletes

Regional diversity strengthens culture of summer baseball teams

By Drew VonScio

Spartans
© 2024 Drew VonScio

CODY STOKES: SUMMER BASEBALL HAS STARTED, AND THE SYRACUSE SPARTANS ARE BACK AT IT FOR ANOTHER SEASON. NCC SPORTS REPORTER DREW VONSCIO TAKES US TO ONONDAGA COMMUNITY COLLEGE TO LEARN HOW THE PLAYERS ARE BONDING OVER AMERICA’S PASTTIME.

DREW VONSCIO: THE SOUNDS OF SUMMER BASEBALL ARE BACK AT OCC AS THE SYRACUSE SPARTANS TAKE THE FIELD. WHILE WINNING IS IMPORTANT, HEAD COACH EAMONN ANDRE SAYS HE WANTS HIS PLAYERS TO IMPROVE.

EAMONN ANDRE: “Early on, I want to see everybody. I want to get a good feel for what we can do…. but to me, development is a big, big thing and I want to make sure each guy gets their opportunity and gets their chance.”

VONSCIO: SPARTANS PLAYERS COME TOGETHER WITH VARIOUS LEVELS OF COLLEGE BASEBALL EXPERIENCE. FOR INFIELDER JOE WIKE, THE DECISION TO PLAY WAS A NO-BRAINER.

JOE WIKE: “It’s my last ride, I got one more year left of eligibility. I just graduated from Eckert College at school. I went there for four years, and it’s my last ride in Syracuse. I get to play in front of all my friends, my grandpa and all my family.”

VONSCIO: “Like most summer baseball teams, players from the Spartans come from all over the United States. Some are from right here in Central New York while others come from as far as California.”

VONSCIO: FOR CATCHER SAMMY LEE, THERE WAS ONE THING THAT BROUGHT HIM IN FROM THE GOLDEN STATE.

SAMMY LEE: “Being able to get in right away and get right to it. I think, you play a long, long spring season, play a lot of games out here. And I think it should be really good for my development.”

VONSCIO: HAVING PLAYERS FROM ACROSS THE COUNTRY ONLY STRENGTHENS THE TEAM. ANDRE SAYS IT ADDS TO THE LEARNING EXPERIENCE.

ANDRE: “The way you do it in upstate New York might be different than the way you do it in California, so it gives people the opportunity to learn and create new friends and create new bonds.”

VONSCIO: DREW VONSCIO, NCC SPORTS.

STOKES: THANKS, DREW. THE SPARTANS SEASON GOES THROUGH THE MIDDLE OF JULY. FIRST PITCH FOR TOMORROW NIGHT’S GAME IS AT 7 PM. THAT’S ALL THE TIME WE HAVE FOR SPORTS AT FOUR, I’M CODY STOKES. JALYSS, AVERY BACK TO YOU.

SYRACUSE, N.Y. (NCC NEWS) – The Syracuse Spartans have started another season of summer baseball in the New York Collegiate Baseball League.

As the Spartans start their seventh season, the athletes on the team are new to each other. Some may have played for the Spartans in the past, but the team has a lot of new faces. Having these new faces is just one of the ways players can learn during the summer.

“The way you do it in upstate New York might be different than the way you do it in California, so it gives people the opportunity to learn and create new friends and create new bonds,” said head coach Eamonn Andre.

All of the players just spent the last few months playing for their colleges (or high schools in some cases), and some players may want to spend the summer at home. Infielder and Central New Yorker Joe Wike gets the best of both worlds.

“It’s my last ride, I got one more year left of eligibility,” said Wike. “I just graduated from Eckert College at school. I went there for four years, and it’s my last ride in Syracuse. I get to play in front of all my friends, my grandpa and all my family.”

Multiple members of the Spartans are from as far away as California. With collegiate summer baseball leagues being plentiful in the United States, the odds of one being closer to home for Sammy Lee are very high. But there was one thing that drove him to the Spartans.

“Being able to get in right away and get right to it,” said Lee. “I think, you play a long, long spring season, play a lot of games out here. And I think it should be really good for my development.”

And perhaps the biggest challenge of all for summer baseball is balancing winning with player development. Everyone has more fun when they win, and winning helps bring in players for subsequent years. However, Andre’s focus is on development.

“Early on, I want to see everybody,” said Andre. “I want to get a good feel for what we can do…. but to me, development is a big, big thing and I want to make sure each guy gets their opportunity and gets their chance.”

The Spartans are in action through July 21, and all home games are held at Onondaga Baseball Complex on the campus of Onondaga Community College.

 

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