POTSDAM, NY – Head coach
Rob Grow earned his 400th career victory, as the RIT baseball team (13-5, 7-2 Liberty League) split a doubleheader at Clarkson University (14-4, 8-2 Liberty League) on Wednesday afternoon. RIT rallied to win game one, 7-5, while Clarkson rebounded to win game two, 3-1.
Grow is now 400-391 in 23 seasons at RIT. He has guided the Tigers to seven 20-win seasons and has the Tigers fourth in the league standings with a 7-2 mark.
"I will always remember the 400th win," said Grow. "I think the coolest thing about reaching 400 is all of the people who have been part of the program over the years. I have and hope they all have gained life long friends along the way."
The Tigers trailed 5-2 heading into their final at-bat, but exploded for five runs in the top of the seventh to go up 7-5.
Chris Barr (North Wales, PA/North Penn ) led off with a perfectly placed bunt single and moved to second on a single by
Ben Terzini (Liverpool, NY/Liverpool).
Skip Flanagan (Framingham, MA/Bishop Feehan) singled to right field, loading the bases with nobody out. After
CJ Bolorin (Rochester, NY/Rush-Henrietta) was hit by a pitch to score Barr and make it 5-3,
Will Gorman (Nassau, NY/Columbia) unleashed the big blow, a towering grand slam to right center field, giving the Tigers a 7-5 lead.
Freshman pitcher
Kyle Povlock (Fairport, NY/Fairport) shut the door in the bottom of the seventh with a 1-2-3 inning. He retired all five batters he faced over 1 2/3 innings to earn the win, his second of the season.
Brian Reed (Rochester, NY/Penfield) earned the start, allowing five hits and a pair of earned runs over 3 2/3 innings.
The Tigers trailed 1-0 in the top of the fourth inning before scoring twice with two outs on consecutive bases loaded walks by
Zach Zabel (Clarence, NY/Clarence) and Barr.
Clarkson would respond with two runs in the fourth and two more in the sixth to go up 5-2. John Coleman, who would go 3-for-4 with a pair of doubles, drove in three runs. Nolan Driscoll was 2-for-2 with a double and two runs scored.
Gorman's grand slam gives him 25 RBIs on the season in just 17 games. Terzini and
Phil Sammon (Ridgefield, CT/Ridgefield) were both 2-for-4.
"Game one was such a great win," said Grow. "It shows that our team believes we can always win. Watching Will hit that home run was amazing."
In game two, Clarkson, the designated visiting team, scored twice in the top of the third on a two-run single from Chris Miller. After RIT cut the lead to 2-1 in the fourth inning, Miller gave Clarkson a 3-1 edge with a run-scoring double in the seventh inning. He was 3-for-4 with three RBIs and a stolen base.
Joe Rooney was strong for the Golden Knights, allowing five hits and one run, while striking out six batters in five innings, improving to 3-0. Will Coleman recorded the save, striking out five Tigers over the final two innings.
Brandon Cohall (Cortlandt Manor, NY/Walter Panas) started and pitched two scoreless innings for the Tigers.
David Nitsch (Penfield, NY/Penfield) came on in relief and took the loss, allowing six hits and two runs in 3 2/3 innings.
Tom Dillon (Oswego, NY/Oswego) allowed a run over the final 1 1/3 innings.
Bolorin was 2-for-3 with a double, RBI, and stolen base. He drove in Flanagan, who singled in the fourth inning. Terzini was 2-for-3, while Zabel was 1-for-2 with a stolen base and sacrifice.
RIT leads the all-time series between the two schools, 49-36-1.
RIT is right back on the road this weekend with a pair of Liberty League doubleheaders at Skidmore College. Saturday's twin bill starts at 12 p.m., while Sunday's also gets underway at 12 p.m.
