Matt Skole: Right Above It

Story by Andrew Leffler 
Photos by Andrew Leffler and Aubrie Tolliver

Syracuse, N.Y. -- Midway through Wednesday night's game against the Buffalo Bisons, the momentum shifted in the Chiefs' favor after splitting in a double-header the day before.

The sixth inning was when the cracking sound of third baseman Matt Skole's bat echoed through the ballpark, and a white missile soared over the right field wall.

"I was looking for a good pitch to hit" he said in a postgame interview. "Got a pitch I could do something with, I put a good swing on it, and from then on, it kinda built our confidence and we ended up scoring some more runs, and win."

Only playing 42 games last season, Skole's .238 batting average resulted in eight homers, and 26 RBIs (run batted in). Skole has shown growth in the 2016 season. Playing in 109 games in a season that has yet to finish, Skole's batting average has increased to .244, with 16 home runs, and 58 RBIs.

Skole simply credited his improvements to practice.

"I'm just trying to stay consistent, get into a good routine. Working on the cage with our coaches and our hitting guys. Just trying to get better every day and find a routine that works for me and gets me ready to play each day."

Photo credit: Aubrie Tolliver

After being up 1-0 after the third inning, and then having the Bisons tie the game in the bottom of the sixth, the Chiefs were desperate for a boost. Skole's blast into right field  was his 15th homer of the season. It could not have come at a better time, paving the way for others on the team to step up.

"I think whenever somebody gets a big hit, the guys kind of relax a little bit, and everybody kind of goes up there looking to succeed and I think that helped us out tonight," he said.

With nobody on, similar to Skole's homer in the sixth, catcher Caleb Ramsey provided the second home run of the game in the eighth inning, adding to a 6-1 victory over the Bisons.

The Chiefs' pitching was a big factor that lead to the victory. Starter Austin Voth pitched seven innings before being relieved. Over the course of those seven innings, Voth gave up one run on six singles, bringing his record to 6-7.

Voth threw 110 pitches, 67 of them for strikes, and struck out four batters. Voth was not available after the game but Chiefs manager Billy Gardner, Jr. was pleased with his pitching. Gardner was quick to point out that Voth's (below-500) record had no correlation with performance.

"He's a very good competitor," Gardner said.

"I think he's done a good job keeping us in the game for the most part, and I don't think the record is any indication of how he's pitched overall, I think he's pitched pretty well for us."

Voth's work-habits were something Gardner has definitely taken note of. "He's continued to get better, and that's what we're here for."