Pioneers Sweep Houghton; Bombers & Cardinals Split
UTICA v HOUGHTON
The Utica College baseball team swept its first twin bill of the season Friday defeating host Houghton College on the road, 2-0 and 5-4, at the Houghton Baseball Stadium. Sophomore
Joshua Webb led the Pioneers in game one tossing a complete game shutout to pick up his first win of the season.
UC moves it overall record to 6-12 while the Highlanders fall to 6-16 on the season.
ITHACA v ST. JOHN FISHER
The 13th-ranked St. John Fisher Cardinals and 25th-ranked Ithaca College Bombers split a doubleheader Friday. Ithaca used a seven-run rally to take the opener 7-2, while Fisher battled back to a 3-2 victory in the nightcap.
Game 1
Ithaca scored all seven of its runs in the top of the sixth inning to get the win in the first game of a doubleheader. The big inning started with a leadoff single from
Tim Henry. After a strikeout,
Brian Burns walked and
Matt Connolly singled to bring in Henry. Connolly and pinch-runner
Cameron Oathout moved up to second and third on the play due to an outfield error.
Luke Stark singled to tie the score, bringing in Oathout.
After Stark stole second,
Josh Savacool was intentionally walked and
Cooper Belyea followed with a three-run double to give Ithaca a 5-2 lead. With two outs in the inning,
John Stanley doubled to bring in Belyea and later scored on a Fisher error.
St. John Fisher scored two in the bottom of the first off of Ithaca starter
John Prendergast, but that was all they mustered as Prendergast picked up the complete-game victory. In seven innings, he allowed eight hits. Prendergast struck out six batters and didn't walk any. He is 8-0 on the season.
Stark and Belyea led the Ithaca lineup with two hits each. Seven different players crossed the plate in the big inning. It was the second time this season that Ithaca has scored seven runs in an inning, also achieved March 12 in the fourth inning of a 16-5 win at Occidental.
Game 2
Junior pitcher
Mike Rynerson earned his first win of the season, tossing eight innings, yielding just six hits and two earned runs.
Ryan Smith threw a perfect ninth and tallied one strikeout to pick up his fourth save of the season.
Ithaca struck first with two runs in the top of the third to take a 2-0 lead, but the Cardinals would battle back to score the game's final three runs to defeat the Bombers, 3-2.
After recording the first out in the top of the third, Rynerson would run into trouble. The next three Bombers would reach base with two singles and a walk before a 2-RBI single through the left side gave Ithaca a 2-0 lead.
Rynerson would settle down after that, retiring 16 of his final 20 batters while allowing just three hits.
With Ithaca still leading 2-1 in the bottom of the fifth, Fisher would tack on two runs to take the 3-2 lead.
Cam Allen led the inning off with a single, before
Mike Fahy notched a double into center field. With runners at second and third,
Chris Roeder and
Nick Flemister hit back-to-back sacrifice flies to put Fisher for good.
All three of Fisher's runs came on sacrifice flies.
Malcolm Kelsey and Fahy led the Cardinals, both going 3-for-4.
Cody Wiktorski finished 2-for-4, while Flemister and Simmons both went 1-for-3. Allen finished 1-for-2 with an RBI and a run scored.