Doubleheader Sweep for Houghton and Ithaca
HOUGHTON v Utica
Houghton baseball put to rest a 12-game losing streak with two shutout wins over Utica College on Saturday.
Houghton claimed game one, 2-0, and followed with a 1-0 game two decision.
The victories also marked the first for Houghton on their new field at the Kerr-Pegula Athletic Complex.
Game one saw starting pitcher Ned Monthie go the distance, allowing five hits, striking out two and walking two over seven innings.
Monthie got the only run support he needed in the second inning. Trent Unverdorben singled and Pat Parsons was hit by a pitch. Unverdorben then advanced to third on a wild pitch, and a groundout by Bryan Hodge moved Unverdorben to third and Parsons to second. Chris McKay then doubled to drive both runners home and give Houghton a 2-0 lead.
Monthie was able to avoid some trouble in the top of the seventh, thanks to some solid defensive play behind him. With the bases loaded and only one out, Monthie forced the next Pioneers batter into a grounder to second baseman Enrico Sukhdeo, who flipped the ball to shortstop Michael Knapp for one out and on to Pat Parsons at first for the double play to end the game.
Unverdorben and McKay each had two hits.
The Highlanders got another strong pitching performance in game two. Kevin Cassar allowed just four hits over six innings, struck out four and walked three. Chad Muise came on for three innings of relief and allowed just two hits.
With strong play on the mound, Houghton needed just one run. That came with the bases loaded in the bottom of the sixth, Garret Kirkpatrick hit into a fielder's choice that drove home Chris McKay.
Though neither team scored over the final three innings, the Highlanders had to overcome a steal attempt at home plate in the top of the ninth.
Seth Cornell went 2 for 3 at the plate and Unverdorben was 2 for 4.
ITHACA v St. John Fisher
The 25th-ranked Ithaca College baseball team won its biggest games of the season with a doubleheader sweep of 13th-ranked St. John Fisher on Saturday afternoon at Dugan Yard. Saturday's two wins combined with Friday's split gave Ithaca a series win over the Cardinals and the Bombers improved their overall record to 22-7 on the year. St. John Fisher fell to 20-5. Ithaca is 10-2 in Empire 8 play and St. John Fisher is 3-3.
Ithaca returns to action Tuesday for its fifth consecutive game against nationally-ranked opposition as the Bombers host seventh-ranked Cortland at 4 pm. Tuesday at Freeman Field.
Game 1
The lead changed three times before Ithaca came out on top in the first game of the doubleheader, behind a four-run fifth inning rally.
Ithaca trailed 3-2 headed to the top of the fifth before breaking through for four runs.
Cooper Belyeadrew a leadoff walk,
Christian Brown singled and a double steal moved the runners to second and third.
Luke Stark hit a sacrifice fly to tie the game and then
Tim Henry singled to bring in Brown with the go-ahead run.
Colby Gee reached on an error to put two men on board, and then with two outs
Zach Cole and
Matt Connolly delivered RBI singles to put Ithaca ahead 6-3.
Andrew Sanders started for the Bombers and pitched into the fourth inning.
Jimmy Wagner took over and earned the win to improve to 4-0 on the season. St. John Fisher scratched out single runs in the bottom of the sixth and bottom of the seventh. The last-inning threat ended with the potential tying run on second base when Wagner induced a ground out.
Ithaca took the early lead with two runs in the third inning. The first run came in on a double steal and the second on a sacrifice fly by
Luke Stark. Fisher went ahead 3-2 with a run in the third and two in the fourth to set up Ithaca's decisive fifth inning.
Brown and Connolly had two hits each for Ithaca and Henry,
Stephen Yanchus and
Zach Cole had one hit each. Stark had two RBIs, both via sacrifice fly, and Brown and Belyea scored two runs each.
Sanders allowed three runs, all earned in three and two-thirds innings of work on five hits with three walks. Wagner allowed six hits and one walk with five strikeouts in three and a third.
Game 2
Ithaca made a late comeback and then held on for an extra-inning win in the second game of the doubleheader. The Bombers trailed by two headed to the ninth inning, and then carried leads into the bottom of the ninth, bottom of the 10th and then closed it out in the 11th inning to claim the doubleheader sweep and series victory over Fisher.
St. John Fisher scored two in the first and one in the third to build a 3-0 lead. Ithaca answered with a run in the fifth, but the Cardinals scored in the bottom of the inning to re-establish a three-run advantage. Ithaca got a single run in the sixth to make it 4-2, and then broke through with three runs in the top of the ninth.
The ninth-inning rally started with a single and two walks. A sacrifice fly by
Josh Savacool made it 4-3, and a single by
Cooper Belyea re-loaded the bases.
Christian Brown then hit a sacrifice fly to tie the game. With two outs, Steven Yanchus walked and an infield error then allowed the go-ahead run to score. Fisher answered with a run in the bottom of the ninth on a wild pitch.
In the 10th, Ithaca started with a leadoff double by
Zach Cole and he moved up to third on an infield ground out.
Matt Connolly then singled in Cole. Fisher again rallied and took advantage of a two-out error by the Bombers that allowed the tying run to score.
The decisive 11th-inning run came on a wild pitch by the Cardinals with the bases loaded.
Ithaca's fifth-inning run came on an RBI groundout by Savacool to bring home
Luke Stark. In the sixth, a two-out rally produced three consecutive singles and
Tim Henry scored on the base hit by Cole.
Cole and Belyea had three hits each for Ithaca and Savacool had two RBIs.
David Jasukonis,
Zach Pidgeon and
Brandon Diorio divided the first 10 innings, with Diorio getting the victory. He allowed two runs, one earned, on three hits over three innings. He had one strikeout.
Logan Barer pitched the bottom of the 11th to get the save. He allowed a hit, but had two strikeouts.
Stevens v Brockport
The Stevens Institute of Technology baseball team was swept by SUNY Brockport on Saturday by scores of 7-6 and 9-3 in a pair of nine-inning non-conference games at Brockport. Stevens is now 13-10 overall on the season, while Brockport improves to 18-10.
Game 1
The Golden Eagles notched their game-winning run on a single in the bottom of the seventh to break a 6-6 tie. Brockport's bullpen then held Stevens scoreless in the eighth and ninth innings to secure the win.
The Ducks committed six errors in Game One which led to five unearned runs for Brockport.
Stevens scored first in the opener on a fielder's choice by sophomore
Nicholas Sieber (Shrewsbury, Mass.) that brought home junior
Ryan Mannello (Staten Island, N.Y.).
In the third, Brockport tied the game up at 1-1 on an error, but the Ducks regained the lead in the top of the fourth on an RBI groundout by freshman
Bret Viola (Carmel, N.Y.)which plated senior
Dan Allen (Egg Harbor Township, N.J.).
After the Golden Eagles scored again in the bottom of the fourth to bring the score to 2-2, Stevens put four runs on the board in the fifth. Allen drove in the first run of the frame on a fielder's choice and Sieber stroked a base hit to bring in Allen and Mannello. Sieber then got in a rundown which allowed sophomore
Jayson Yano (Foothill Ranch, Calif.) to steal home.
Brockport fought right back with four runs of its own in the bottom of the fifth on three singles to centerfield.
Sophomore Greg Jaksuik (The Woodlands, Texas) threw 4.1 innings in the start and surrendered seven hits and six runs (only one earned). Jakusik also struck out two batters in a no-decision. Junior
Gary Boardman (Staten Island, N.Y.) was dealt the loss in 3.2 innings of work. Boardman gave up five hits and struck out a pair.
Game 2
Stevens once again led first in the ballgame with a run in the first, but the Golden Eagles answered with one in the first and three in the second. Brockport increased its lead to 8-1 after the fifth inning before the Ducks could plate a pair of runs in the top of the sixth to pull to within an 8-3 difference, only to watch the Golden Eagles score another run in the bottom half of the frame.
Yano drove in the first run in the nightcap with a base hit through the left side to bring in junior
Brian Hennelly (Holbrook, N.Y.), who reached base on a single with one out.
In Brockport's three-run second, the Golden Eagles touched up sophomore
Robert Robbins (Tallahassee, Fla.) with five hits. Brockport then knocked Robbins out of the game with four more hits in the fifth, which led to four runs.
Robbins gave up 11 hits in 4.2 innings and eight runs (seven earned). The sophomore did strike out four batters in the loss. Classmate
Thomas Sheridan (Staten Island, N.Y.)recorded the final out in the fifth. Viola tossed two innings and fanned a pair before giving way to freshman
Will Korosec (Cream Ridge, N.J.) who threw a perfect eighth inning.
Freshman
P.J. Wiegartner (Hamilton Square, N.J.) hit a two-run homerun in the sixth inning with Viola on base.
Sophomores
Tyler Bush (Bristol, Conn.) and
John Sideris (Whitestone, N.Y.) both went 2-for-2 off the bench.