Syracuse Mets honor WWII veteran, celebrate the Fourth of July a night early

SYRACUSE, NY — The Syracuse Mets celebrated the Fourth of July a night early at NBT Bank Stadium on Wednesday.

The Mets hit the road to continue their series with the Woo Sox in Worcester on the Fourth, so they honored Independence Day on the third.

Local World War II veteran and centenarian Ralph Piccolo threw out the first pitch and got a surprise message on the video board from his grandson, who is currently serving overseas and deployed in Africa.

"They hold the history, and they'll give you the real story," said Craig Tymofy, organizer of the first pitch celebration. "To hear the veterans and their stories is just great."

Pablo Reyes got the scoring started in the first inning with a three-run shot against his former club in the Woo Sox. Worcester came back to take a 6-3 lead in the top of the seventh, but Yolmer Sanchez answered for the Mets in the bottom of the inning and drove in two. The Mets came all the way back thanks to a five-run seventh to win it 8-6 after dropping the first two games of the series.

A huge crowd of 9,287 fans turned out to celebrate the Fourth on the third with the Mets and enjoyed postgame fireworks after the win.

The Mets close out the week with three games in Worcester before returning home on Tuesday, July 9th to open a series against the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders, the AAA affiliate of the New York Yankees.