Ithaca Sweeps Utica; Fisher Splits with Baruch
ITHACA v UTICA
The Ithaca College baseball team continued its run of success with a sweep of Utica College on Saturday at Freeman Field in Ithaca. In Saturday's doubleheader sweep, Ithaca won by scores of 3-2 and 7-3.
Ithaca 3, Utica 2
Utica led 2-0 early before Ithaca rallied to claim the victory in the weekend opener. The Pioneers scored single runs in the first and third innings, and Ithaca tied it with two runs in the bottom of the fifth
Christian Brown delivered a sacrifice fly to bring in
Matt Connolly with Ithaca's first run and
Luke Stark singled to bring in
Cameron Oathout with the game-tying run.
Ithaca won it in a walk-off in the bottom of the seventh. A one-out single by
Cooper Belyea started the rally, followed by a single from Brown to put two men aboard.
Luke Stark drew a walk to load the bases, and
Tim Henry singled to right field to bring home Belyea with the winning run.
Benji Parkes pitched six effective innings before yielding to reliever
Jimmy Wagner in the seventh. Wagner earned the win to improve to 3-0 on the year. Parkes allowed two runs on four hits, both were unearned. He had seven strikeouts and issued three walks. Stark and Henry had two hits each for Ithaca.
Ithaca 7, Utica 3
Ithaca scored two runs in the first and never trailed in a 7-3 victory.
Luke Stark led the offense with three hits in a 3-for-4 afternoon, with an RBI and a run scored.
Stephen Yanchus and
Zach Coleeach scored two runs.
Andrew Sanders pitched seven innings and picked up the win to improve to 4-1 on the season. He allowed two runs, both earned, on four hits with two walks and six strikeouts. He left the game with a 4-2 lead and was replaced by
Brandon Diorio, who earned his first save of the season with two strong innings. Diorio pitched a perfect eighth inning and then Ithaca tacked on three insurance runs in the bottom of the eighth. Diorio allowed one run on three hits in the ninth and closed out the victory.
ST. JOHN FISHER
The nationally-ranked St. John Fisher College baseball team had its program-best 14-game winning streak snapped on Saturday as the Cardinals traveled to New York City to take on the Baruch College Bearcats. Fisher would rebound in the second game with a 7-0 shutout.
Game 1
In the opening game of the doubleheader, neither team was able to move a runner into scoring position until the top of the third when
Cody Wiktorski singled and quickly stole second base. The sophomore infielder tried to work his way to third base, but was thrown out on the play.
The Bearcats would score all the runs they would need in the bottom half of the third after smacking three hits including a two-run double that proved the difference maker in the game.
The No. 16 Cardinals, now 16-2 on the season, would get one back in the seventh inning.
Malcolm Kelsey would lead off with a single to center field and come around to score on an RBI-single from
Joe Simmons, but that was as close as Fisher would get as the Bearcats ended Fisher's historic streak.
Senior pitcher
Mike Rynerson took the loss despite a strong out. The Rochester native went six innings and surrendered only six hits and two runs while striking out a season-high nine batters.
Fisher, which had been averaging nearly 14 hits over its last 14 games, was held to only six hits in the opening game, all of which were singles.
Game 2
In the finale,
Sean Badger earned his second after holding the Bearcats to only four hits over five innings of work.
The visiting Cardinals got on the board in the third inning as
Cam Allen doubled and came around to score after back-to-back balks by Baruch. Fisher would add another run in the fourth when
Brad Rush led off the inning with a walk and proceeded to swipe second base.
Nick Flemister stepped to the plate and did his job, moving Rush to third where he would later score on a wild pitch to give Fisher the 2-0 advantage.
Fisher showed its speed in the fifth frame when
Mike Fahy led off with a single and advanced to third after a single from Wiktorski. The Cardinals would then pull off the double steal as Fahy stole home to put Fisher up 3-0. Wiktorski would go on to steal third and came around to score the Cardinals' fourth run on an RBI-single from Kelsey.
Up 4-0 in the sixth, Fisher tacked on three more runs on a pair of base hits with Wiktorski knocking in two with a single to the left side.
The Cardinals returned to their aggressive form in the nightcap, belting 12 hits while also stealing 10 bases, leading to the 7-0 win.