| 4/30/2003 1:40:21 AM
Click here for the boxscore of game 1
Click here for the boxscore of game 2
ROCHESTER, N.Y. – The RIT Baseball team swept a double header from the University of Rochester today. The Tiger’s continued to swing hot bats, as they pounded out 28 hits on the day. Late inning rallies paced RIT, as they took the first game into extra innings before winning by a score of 14-13, and won the second game by a score of 6-5.
In the first game, RIT started the scoring early, when Dan Feldman (Brewster, N.Y./Brewster) (Brewster, N.Y.) singled and advanced all the way to third base when the ball skipped past the left fielder. Feldman scored on Eric Hauser (East Aurora, N.Y./Iroquois)’s (East Aurora, N.Y.) single. Rochester answered right back, scoring a run in the bottom half of the frame. RIT took a big lead when they pushed across five runs in the top of the third inning. Feldman and Hauser started the inning with back-to-back singles. Jeff Ware (Orchard Park, NY/St. Francis) (Orchard Park, N.Y.) walked to load the bases for Marty Maynard (Penfield, N.Y./Penfield) (Penfield, N.Y.), who was hit by a pitch to earn the RBI. Mark Sapienza (Avon, NY/Avon Central) (Avon, N.Y.) then drove a two RBI single. Adam Gerentine (Marlboro, NY/Marlboro High School) (Marlboro, N.Y.) would later come through with another two RBI single.
The Yellowjackets would answer back with a run in the bottom half of the frame, and then struck with four runs in the fourth. The Rochester offense, which managed 14 hits in the game, was led by Stewart Swayze (Tulsa, Okla.) who went 2-4 in the game with a double, an RBI and three runs scored and R.J. Johnsen (Washington D.C.) who went 2-5 in the game also with a double, two runs scored, and two RBI. After the U of R tied the game at 6-6, RIT came back and scored two unearned runs in the top of the fifth to take another lead. Jamie Schild (Fairport, NY/Fairport) (Fairport, N.Y.) reached on a fielder’s choice, stole second, and came around to score on a single up the middle by Gerentine. Gerentine would later come around to score on Feldman’s single, also up the middle.
The Tiger’s again could not hold the lead, as the Yellowjackets pushed across seven runs, four of which were earned, in the bottom of the fifth inning, to take a 13-8 lead. Freshman Schild delivered a huge blow in the top of the sixth when he stepped to the plate with the bases loaded and delivered his first collegiate home run, a Grand Slam, to bring the Tiger’s within one run. Freshman pitcher Dan Philipp (Rochester, N.Y.) was able to shut Rochester down in the bottom of the sixth, setting the table for Jeff Ware (Orchard Park, NY/St. Francis) to step to the plate with one out in the top of the seventh inning. Ware was able to drive a pitch over the centerfield wall for a dramatic game tying home run. Senior Matt Knodel (Orchard Park, N.Y./Orchard Park) (Orchard Park, N.Y.) took the mound in the bottom of the seventh and shut the Yellowjackets out to force extra innings. In the top of the eighth, the Tiger’s scored the eventual game winning run when Gerentine reached on an error, moved to second on Colin Bradley (Barre, VT/Spaulding High School)’s (Barre, VT) single up the middle, advanced to third when Hauser walked to load the bases, and scored when Ware scorched a shot that the third baseman could not handle. Knodel (5-1) pitched a scoreless eighth to record the victory.
In the second game, RIT again jumped out to an early lead. The Tiger’s scored a run in the third when Hauser singled and came around to score on Ware’s double to left field. RIT pushed across two more runs in the fourth when Maynard singled and scored on Schild’s fielder’s choice. Schild would then steal second base and score on Gerentine’s single to left.
Senior Paul Diedrich (Hilton, N.Y./Hilton) (Hilton, N.Y.) was on the mound for the Tiger’s, and held Rochester scoreless through the first five innings. In the bottom of the sixth, with the score 3-0 in favor of RIT, the Yellowjacket bats woke up, when they pushed across five runs to take a 5-3 lead. The biggest blow of the inning occurred when third baseman Adam Braveman (Syracuse, N.Y.) drove in the fourth and fifth runs with a single down the left field line.
The Tiger’s were not to be denied on this day, and managed one more late inning rally to overcome the deficit. The RIT seventh inning started with Feldman singling to center. Ware then chipped in with a single to the left side, and Feldman scored when Bradley grounded into a fielder’s choice. Sapienza then drove a huge single up the middle, advancing Bradley all the way to third, while Sapienza advanced to second on the throw. This brought senior captain Maynard to the plate with two outs and RIT down by one run. Maynard managed to pull a ball past the second baseman, driving in both Bradley and Sapienza, and giving RIT the lead. The University of Rochester was able to load the bases off of Knodel, making his second appearance of the day, in the bottom of the seventh, but Knodel (6-1) was able to pick up his second victory of the day when he was able to get Ryan Hanley (Nassau, N.Y.) to ground into a fielder’s choice to end the game.
RIT returns to action tomorrow, Wednesday, April 30, when the host Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. RPI, who is ranked 18th in the nation, travel to Rochester to play a doubleheader, starting at 2:00 pm.
