Syracuse schools Rochester, 7-3, in front of sold-out crowd on Education Day at NBT Bank Stadium on Wednesday

Syracuse, NY –The Syracuse Mets led from start to finish on Wednesday morning turned afternoon, scoring the game’s first seven runs on their way to a 7-3 win over the Rochester Red Wings in front of an electric, sold-out crowd of 10,815 mostly students and teachers at NBT Bank Stadium on Education Day. The game began at a special time of 11:05 a.m. with more than 8,000 schoolchildren packing the stands at the ballpark. The announced crowd of 10,815 was the first sellout of the season for the Syracuse Mets.

Syracuse (15-27) got rolling right away, plating three runs in the bottom of the first. Johneshwy Fargas and Jake Mangum began the frame with a double and single respectively, putting two runners on base with nobody out. After a Carlos Rincon strikeout, Daniel Palka brought the big crowd to its feet, lining a laser-beam drive over the right-field wall for a three-run home run and a 3-0 Syracuse lead. Palka leads the team and is tied for fifth in the International League with ten home runs this season.

The Mets kept tacking on runs throughout the afternoon, adding single runs in the second and fifth plus two more runs in the seventh inning. It was a balanced attack at the plate for the Syracuse hitters. Seven of nine Mets starters reached base, five different players scored runs and four different Mets had multiple hits.

Syracuse scored its run in the second via a sacrifice fly from Fargas that plated Cody Bohanek to make it a 4-0 ballgame. Fargas also doubled and scored a run in the game. The outfielder has hits in five of his last six games, including two doubles and a home run.

Syracuse’s run in the fifth came via consecutive two-out doubles from Mark Vientos and Khalil Lee to give the Mets a 5-0 edge. Lee, who returned to Triple-A this week after a stint with Low-A St. Lucie, finished the game 3-for-4 with two doubles, a stolen base, and an RBI.

The Mets put a cherry on top of their scoring sundae in style in the seventh when Vientos blasted a two-run homer over the left-field fence to give Syracuse a 7-0 advantage. The highly-touted prospect finished the game with a double, a home run, two runs scored, and two RBIs. Since May 1st, Vientos leads the team with a .294 batting average and five home runs.

Not to be lost among all the offensive highlights, Syracuse starting pitcher Connor Grey twirled another gem on the mound. The right-hander went six more scoreless innings, allowing just four hits and no walks in his excellent outing. Grey has been nearly unhittable in his last three outings. He has gone a combined 17 and two-thirds scoreless frames with 12 strikeouts during that time.

Rochester (27-17) scored all of its runs in the top of the eighth. Andrew Stevenson and Cole Freeman both singled to begin the frame. After a Joey Meneses strikeout, Jake Noll launched a homer over the left-field wall to pull the Red Wings within four, 7-3, but that's as close as Rochester would get.

Syracuse continues its six-game series against the Rochester Red Wings on Thursday night with first pitch set for 6:35 p.m. at NBT Bank Stadium. Right-hander Tim Adleman is scheduled to start for the Mets, opposed by right-hander Sterling Sharp for the Red Wings.