Ithaca Blasts Keuka Twice To Open Home Season
ITHACA, N.Y. -- The Ithaca baseball team (6-6) ripped Keuka (0-2) 13-1 and 9-2 in Tuesday's doubleheader. Three Bombers combined on a one-hitter in game one.
Senior Dan Lynch (Williamsville/East Amherst) improved to 2-1 with a win in the opener; he faced just two batters over the minimum in his five innings of work, allowing one hit while fanning four batters. Lynch threw just 61 pitches and didn't issue a walk. Freshman Chris Anderson (Auburn/Auburn) and sophomore Pat Lemmo (Westhill/Syracuse) each followed with a scoreless inning of relief.
Junior second baseman Matt Keller (Pelham/Pelham) had three of Ithaca's 11 hits and scored three runs. Third baseman David Ahonen (Victor/Farmington), a graduate student, singled and doubled and drove in two runs. His first inning double brought home Keller for the game's first run.
Ahonen singled in Keller in the third to start a four-run inning for the Bombers. Junior outfielder Teagen Barresi (Lansing/Lansing), senior catcher Sean Weber (Columbia/East Schodack) and senior center fielder Rob Zappia (Greece Athena/Rochester) drove in runs to close out the inning.
A six-run fourth inning put the Bombers up 10-0. Keller scored on a wild pitch, right fielder Matt Streitch (East Greenwich/East Greenwich, R.I.) and junior Mike Preite (Hopkinton/Hopkinton, Mass.) contributed run-scoring singles, freshman shortstop Tim LoCastro (Auburn/Auburn) was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded and two runs scored on an infield error.
LoCastro finished with a pair of runs batted in. Senior first baseman Trevor Wolf (Freeville/Lansing) scored two runs.
In the nightcap, Ithaca rallied to win after the Storm scored twice in the top of the first, taking advantage of five Keuka errors. A three-run second inning gave the Bombers the lead for good; Weber -- who finished with three hits and three runs batted in -- singled in a pair of runs to tie the game, then stole second and scored the go-ahead run on a single by Keller.
Streich doubled home a run in the third and came in on Zappia's run-scoring single. Keller added an RBI single in the fifth after two Ithaca runs scored on a throwing error.
Zappia matched a career-best with three hits. He and Streich stole two bases apiece; the Bombers finished with 11 in the two games and have swiped 20 bases without being caught this spring.
On the mound, senior Aaron Sapp (Niskayuna/Niskayuna) evened his record at 2-2, giving up three hits and a walk in five innings. He struck out four and faced just one batter over the minimum after the first inning. Sophomore Jasper Adams (Amerst Regional/Amherst, Mass.) and junior Tucker Healy (Needham/Needham, Mass.) both threw a scoreless inning of relief.