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Syracuse Spartans Ready to Kick Off 2022 Season Syracuse Spartans Ready to Kick Off 2022 Season

By John Wood

(Semel): Calling all baseball fans out there, our sports reporter John Wood tells us about the start of the season for the Syracuse Spartans.

(Wood): Christian, Joey, good evening. While the school year is wrapping up, Summer sports are just starting.

I spoke with a local summer collegiate baseball team that has their season getting underway this week.

(Wood): It’s a sound that can only mean one thing…

Summer baseball is back in Syracuse.

But not just any baseball, college baseball, which to Syracuse Spartans President JJ Potrikus is some of the best you can get.

(Potrikus): “Ya know, college baseball for me is just one of the purest forms of baseball there is.”

(Wood): The Syracuse Spartans kick off their fifth season in the New York Collegiate Baseball League this week after falling in the first round of the playoffs in 20-21.

For Matt Alexander, a Syracuse native and Bucknell infielder, the decision to return home to the Spartans this summer wasn’t too hard.

(Alexander): “It’s pretty close to home, good program, I can get a lot of good work in here, it’s just a good community, good area, a good place to play baseball.”)

(Wood): “Now when Spartans fans take a seat at the ballpark this summer, they’ll notice not much has changed on the field since 2021, as there are 10 returning players from the squad coming back to the team this year. Yet the biggest change is actually inside the dugout, as the new head coach Paul Ludden will take over for the Spartans this summer.”

(Ludden): “Excited for a new learning experience for myself, experience to work with some guys from some different levels, we got D-1, D-2, D-3, NAI, JUCO guys. So really just excited to try to get them better and develop them.”)

(Wood): Before Ludden found his way to the Spartans dugout, the Cicero-North Syracuse High School product made a name for himself on the diamond, starting his collegiate career at Clarkson before putting up big numbers at SUNY Brockport.

After a short stint in professional baseball, Ludden made his way into coaching, first as the head coach at Onondaga Community College, where the Spartans call home, to now with Cazenovia College.

Yet for Potrikus, his former head coach only needed to say one thing to let him know he had his new leader.

(Potrikus): “Best reference I could get would be from Matt Michalski who said, ‘He’s a spartan, he does things the spartan way, he knows the way you guys expect things to do and he’s going to come in and lead these guys.”

(Wood): While Ludden is mainly focused on the product his team puts on the field, he also hopes that the Spartans embrace and take in the area they’re fortunate to call home this summer.

(Ludden) :“But I remember my personal experiences from playing summer ball and then pro ball was just the people that I met coming to the games, so I’m hoping these guys can buy into that and really make a connection with the community because it can really go a long way.”

(Wood): The Spartans kicked off their season today on the road against the Rochester Ridgemen, capturing a big 10 to nothing win.

The home opener for the squad will be this Wednesday at 7 PM, taking on the Sherill Silversmiths.

Wednesday night is also Challenger Baseball night, as the Spartans will be joined on the field by Challenger Baseball members after the Spartans join in on their league’s fun on Tuesday.

SYRACUSE, N.Y (NCC News) – The crack of a wooden bat on a warm afternoon. It’s a sound that can only mean one thing. Summer baseball is back in Syracuse.

But not just any baseball, college baseball, which to Syracuse Spartans President J.J. Potrikus is some of the best you can get.

“Ya know, college baseball for me is just one of the purest forms of baseball there is,” Portrikus explained.

This week, the Syracuse Spartans kick off their fifth season in the New York Collegiate Baseball League after falling in the first round of the playoffs in 2021. The team boasts 11 local players, the biggest number in the team’s history. 

For Matt Alexander, a Syracuse native and Bucknell infielder, the decision to return home to the Spartans again this summer wasn’t too hard.

“It’s pretty close to home, good program, I can get a lot of good work in here, it’s just a good community, good area, a good place to play baseball,” Alexander said.

However, the biggest change for the Spartans this season comes in the dugout. Paul Ludden is taking over the head coaching duties from former coach Matt Michalski. Ludden seemed eager to get started on this new challenge.

“I’m excited for a new learning experience for myself, experience to work with some guys from some different levels, we got DI, DII, DIII, NIAA, JUCO guys. So really just excited to try to get them better and develop them,” Ludden explained.

Before Ludden found his way to the Spartans dugout, the Cicero-North Syracuse High School product made a name for himself on the diamond, starting his collegiate career at Clarkson before putting up big numbers at SUNY Brockport. 

After a short stint in professional baseball in the Pecos League, Ludden made his way into coaching. First he was as the head coach at Onondaga Community College, where the Spartans call home, and now he’s with Cazenovia College.

Yet for Potrikus, his former head coach Matt Michalski only needed to say one thing to let him know he had his new leader.

“The best reference I could get would be from Matt Michalski who said, ‘He’s a Spartan, he does things the Spartan way, he knows the way you guys expect things to do and he’s going to come in and lead these guys.’”

While Ludden mainly focuses on the product his team puts on the field, he also hopes that the Spartans embrace and take in the area they’re fortunate to call home this summer just as he once did in summer baseball.

 “But I remember my personal experiences from playing summer ball and then pro ball was just the people that I met coming to the games,” Ludden said. “So I’m hoping these guys can buy into that and really make a connection with the community because it can really go a long way.”

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