Bomber Baseball Secures E8 Championship; Houghton Sweeps Utica
ITHACA, N.Y. - The Ithaca College baseball team, ranked 20th nationally, secured the Empire 8 championship with a doubleheader sweep of St. John Fisher (16-11, 4-4 Empire 8) on Saturday at Freeman Field. The Bombers (24-5, 9-0 Empire 8) rallied to win the first game 4-3 in nine innings of a scheduled seven-inning game, and then went on to a 6-4 win in the second game.
With a 9-0 conference record, the Bombers have secured the Empire 8 championship. There is no postseason tournament in Empire 8 baseball. Ithaca will again host St. John Fisher for a doubleheader Sunday at Freeman Field beginning at 1 p.m.
Ithaca 4, St. John Fisher 3 (9 inn.) |
Box Score and Play-by-Play
The Bombers trailed 2-0 and 3-2 in the game, but came back to even the score each time and scored the winning run in the bottom of the ninth. After St. John Fisher went ahead 2-0 on two solo home runs, the Bombers got one run back in the fourth on a sacrifice fly by Matt Connolly and tied it in the fifth on a sac fly from Tim Locastro that followed a leadoff triple by Christian Brown.
Fisher went ahead in the top of the seventh as a run crossed on a wild pitch, but Ithaca answered in the bottom of the inning when Corey Caswell's sacrifice fly brought in Locastro from third. The winning run scored in the ninth when the Bombers loaded the bases and Max Addy singled up the middle with the infield drawn in to bring in the winning run. Brown and Caswell led Ithaca with two hits each and Brown scored twice.
Pat Lemmo picked up the victory with a complete-game effort to improve to 6-0 on the season. He allowed three runs over nine innings, two of those coming on solo home runs. Lemmo yielded seven hits and walked two batters, with eight strikeouts.
Ithaca 6, St. John Fisher 4 |
Box Score and Play-by-Play
The Bombers led early, but Fisher took a 4-3 lead in the top of the fourth with a three-run homer. Ithaca answered with three runs in the bottom of the fourth and went on to the victory. Seven different batters had at least one hit and five different players drove in at least one run.
Ithaca turned three double plays in the game in support of starting pitcher Jimmy Wagner and reliever David Jasukonis, who earned the victory to improve to 1-2 on the year. Jasukonis worked 3.2 innings of scoreless relief with two strikeouts and he didn't issue a single walk.
Ithaca scored twice in the bottom of the first on a sac fly foul out by Tim Henry and an RBI triple by Colby Gee. A sac fly from Brown in the second brought in another run and a three-run rally in the fourth was highlighted by an RBI triple from Brown.
Six of Ithaca's 10 runs in the doubleheader came in to score on sacrifice fly RBIs.
HOUGHTON v UTICA
The Highlanders continue to find late game heroics and they stretched their winning streak to six games after sweeping a doubleheader from Utica College for the second-straight day.
Houghton won game one 7-6 and the night cap 7-4.
Game 1, Houghton 7, Utica 6
the Highlanders scored four times in the top of the seventh to erase a three-run deficit and earn the 7-6 win.
After Utica opened the scoring with a run in the second inning, the Highlanders evened the score in the top of the third. Villalobos came home on a long fly out by Kaiden Bowers.
The Pioneers added another solo run in the bottom of the inning.
Houghton added two more in the top of the fourth, but the Pioneers responded with three runs in the bottom half of the inning and another in the bottom of the fifth to go up 6-3.
McKay doubled to lead off the seventh and came home on Villalobos single. Jacob Bannerman moved Villalobos to second with his own base hit, and after a Michael Kerr fly out, Villalobos moved the third. He wasn't there long, as Bowers hit a double to drive him and Bannerman home to tie the game at six. Kameron Konert followed up with a single to bring home Bowers. Patrick Parsons and Jason Reid each flied out to end the inning.
Reliever Jacob Kocher walked the first two Pioneer batters to start the bottom of the seventh, but retired the next three hitters to end the game and earn the win.
Bannerman led the Highlander hitters with a three-hit performance. Villalobos added two hits and two runs.
Seth Cornell started on the mound, pitching four innings and allowing four hits and five runs. Jonathan DeDell pitched an inning in relief, allowing two hits and a run, while Kocher closed the final two innings, allowing a single hit, to get the win.
Game 2: Houghton 7, Utica 4
After earning three-straight wins with runs in its final at bats, the Highlanders built an early lead and held on for a 7-4 win over Utica.
Houghton scored twice in the second inning, four in the fourth and added another in the top of the fifth to go up 7-0, giving starting pitcher Kevin Cassar all the run support he would need.
The Pioneers scored three times in the sixth and added their final run in the bottom of the seventh.
The Highlanders erupted for 14 hits, with five batters tallying two or more base knocks. McKay went 3-for-4 with two runs scored. Bannerman had two hits and three RBI. Bowers, Kerr and Villalobos also had two hits.
Cassar went the distance, allowing nine hits and four runs, while striking out nine and walking none.
STEVENS v BROCKPORT
The Stevens Institute of Technology baseball team dropped to 17-16 overall this season after a pair of losses to SUNY Brockport on Saturday evening in Hoboken, 11-4, 4-0. Stevens nearly outhit Brockport (17-13), 13-11, in Game One but managed just three hits in the night cap.
Game One: Brockport 11, Stevens 4
A five-run sixth inning for Brockport proved to be the difference in the opener on back-to-back homeruns, including a grand slam from Nick Bunce, followed by a solo shot by Dan Hurlimann.
Stevens notched the first run of the game on a groundout by senior
Michael Donovan (Frisco, Texas) in the bottom of the first inning which brought home freshman
Jayson Yano (Foothill Ranch, Calif.). Donovan drove in two runs with a stolen base and one hit in four at bats, while Yano went 4-for-5 with two runs scored.
Brockport answered back with two runs in the second and one a piece in the third and fourth innings to build a 4-1 lead.
The Ducks crept back to within a run at 4-3 after the fifth inning on an RBI double from junior
Dan Allen (Egg Harbor Township, N.J.) and a single from Donovan. Allen's double plated junior
Curt Lowenstein (Egg Harbor Township, N.J.), while Donovan brought home Yano for the second time.
Allen picked up three hits in as many at bats with two RBI and two doubles. His second run batted in came on a sacrifice fly in the ninth inning.
The Golden Eagles added to their lead with two more runs in the eighth inning on an infield single and a first-and-third rundown play to end the frame.
Sophomore
Matt Buccheri (Little Silver, N.J.) suffered the loss in five innings pitched. Buccheri allowed eight hits and four runs (three earned) with six strikeouts and a walk.
Game Two: Brockport 4, Stevens 0
The Ducks could not figure out Brockport starter Tyler Clifford who tossed a complete game, three-hit shutout and did not walk a single batter in the contest. Clifford struck out nine batters and allowed just one other baserunner to get on by way of a hit by pitch.
Sophomore
Ryan Mannello (Staten Island, N.Y.) led the way offensively with two hits in four trips to the plate which included a double. Allen also recorded one hit in four at bats.
With Stevens trailing, 3-0, in the bottom of the seventh, Allen singled to start off the inning, and after a fielder's choice from Donovan, Mannello ripped his double to right field. The Ducks had runners on second and third with one out but could not push a run across after back-to-back groundouts ended the inning.
Sophomore starter
Gary Boardman (Staten Island, N.Y.) labored through 4.2 innings for the loss, as he only allowed three hits and two runs, but walked seven batters to just one strike out. Junior
Mark Poinsett (Ocean Gate, N.J.) gave up just one hit with a run in 3.1 innings of work, while sophomore
Peirce Marston (Silver Spring, Md.) threw the final inning of relief and allowed an unearned run.
Stevens will travel to Baruch College on April 23 at 3:30 p.m. and then take on John Jay the following afternoon at the same time. The Ducks wrap up the regular season with five home games against Utica College and New Jersey City University on April 27-28 and May 1.