Huffman, Chiefs walk-off in 13th

Syracuse, NY (August 20, 2017) - The Syracuse Chiefs defeated the Indianapolis Indians, 4-3, in 13 innings on Sunday afternoon at NBT Bank Stadium. It was the longest game the Chiefs have played all season. Chad Huffman hit a walk-off double in the bottom of the thirteenth inning. It marked the Chiefs sixth walk-off win of the season.
Syracuse (48-79) was down two runners entering the bottom of the ninth, and came alive against Indianapolis reliever Brett McKinney. Brandon Snyder walked and Michael Almanzar smashed a groundball through the hole to left. Huffman moved both runners over on a sacrifice bunt. Jhonatan Solano was to follow.
 

Solano was 0 for 3 entering the at-bat. With two runners in scoring position, the Syracuse Baseball Wall of Famer delivered for the Chiefs. Solano ripped a line drive singe to left, scoring both Snyder and Almanzar to tie the game at three. And after Matt Skole grounded into a double play, the Chiefs were headed to extra innings.  
 
What ensued was the deepest the Chiefs have gone in extra innings all season. Indianapolis catcher John Bormann replaced Brett McKinney in the bottom of the eleventh. Bormann had never pitched in his professional career. For the subsequent three half-innings, the Chiefs placed runners in scoring position.
 
In the bottom of the twelve, Syracuse had runners at the corners thanks to base hits from Spencer Kieboom and Irving Falu. However, Neftali Soto grounded into a double play to end the inning.
 
The Chiefs finally ended the stalemate in the bottom of the thirteenth. Snyder led off with a line drive single to left and Almanzar walked. With runners on first and second, Huffman ripped a double to right-center, plating Snyder and giving the Chiefs the win.
 
Initially, the game was scoreless until the top of the fourth. With one out, Jordan Luplow doubled on a fly ball to center. Christopher Bostick then singled on a groundball in front of home plate, moving Luplow to third. Danny Ortiz then singled up the middle to score Luplow and put the Indians on top, 1-0. Then, with Edwin Espinal at the plate, Jaron Long's pitch went by Solano for a passed ball. That allowed Bostick to advance to third and Ortiz to reach second. Afterwards, Espinal grounded out to short, but Bostick scored on the play.
 
Syracuse grabbed a run back in the bottom of the sixth thanks to Snyder. With two outs in the bottom of the sixth, Snyder blasted an 0-1 fastball over the right-center field fence to narrow the game 2-1. It was Snyder's 17^th home run of the season, tied for the highest on the Syracuse roster.
 
Indianapolis (70-56) added to its lead in the top of the eighth. Pinch-hitter Joey Terdoslavich led off with a double off Cody Satterwhite. Terdoslavich advanced to third on a Kevin Newman sacrifice bunt. Satterwhite then intentionally walked Luplow. With runners at the corners, Bostick reached on a fielder's choice on a groundball to first. Terdoslavich scored and Luplow advanced to third on a throwing error by Soto from first.
 
Solano's RBI double in the ninth extended the game until the bottom of the thirteenth, when Huffman's double gave the Chiefs a walk-off win. It was the longest Chiefs game since April 13, 2016 when Syracuse also went 13 innings against Buffalo.
 
The Chiefs head on a seven-game road trip beginning Monday night against Lehigh Valley at 6:35 p.m. Erick Fedde is slated to start for the Chiefs and Tom Eshelman is set to start for the IronPigs.