IMMACULATA, PA – The RIT baseball team (1-1) opened up an early 4-0 lead, but could not hold off a late flurry, falling to host Immaculata (5-7) 7-6 at the IU Baseball Field on a sunny Friday afternoon. Immaculata scored three runs in the bottom of the eighth inning to handn RIT its first loss of the season.
After trailing 6-4 entering the eighth, the Mighty Macs scored the three runs on three hits to take the lead for good. Justin Dempsey, coming in as a pinch hitter, started the rally with a one-out single to left field. After Rick DiDomenico reached on an error, and a double steal, runners were at second and third. Jason McCormick hit a double down the left field line, scoring two and tying the game. After McCormick stole third, Immaculata would take the lead on a well-executed squeeze bunt by Mike Lascomb.
In the top of the ninth, Taylor Hogan (Rochester, NY/Brighton) singled, and Brett Kajganich (North Royalton, OH/Holy Name) was hit by a pitch, leaving runners at first and second base with one out. A strikeout and groundout ended the RIT threat.
For the second consecutive contest, the middle of the order came up big for RIT. Will Gorman (Nassau, NY/Columbia) went 2-for-4 on the contest, opening up the scoring with a long two-run homer in the first, and added an RBI triple in the third inning. Kajganich drove in two runs, going 3-for-4. Phil Sammon (Ridgefield, CT/Ridgefield) also went 3-for-5 with a run batted in in the seventh. Dom Scialabba (North Brunswick, NJ/North Brunswick), Hogan, and Benjamin Terzini (Liverpool, NY/Liverpool) each added a hit for the Tigers' 11 knocks in the contest.
Rory Little (Burnt Hills, NY/Burnt Hills-Ballston Lake) pitched 6 1/3 innings, allowing four runs on four hits, fanning two batters in the no-decision. Brett Bouchard (Fairport, NY/Fairport), Jake Bianchi (Syracuse, NY/Bishop Ludden) and Brian Sheridan (Trumansburg, NY/Trumansburg) pitched in relief for the Tigers, as Sheridan was credited with the loss.
Seven Immaculata players each recorded a hit, leading to the seven runs. McCormick and Ficca each drove in two runs, while DiDomenico scored three times. Kyle Bacher, Ryan Blough, and Nick Campione pitched 2.2 solid innings of relief, only allowing one hit with five strikeouts. Blough got the win, while Campione recorded the save.
The Tigers offense came alive early in this contest. After Hogan reached base on a throwing error, Gorman unleashed a bomb deep to center field, going over the fence for his first homer of the season and 10th of his RIT career. Gorman led the Tigers with seven home runs last season. In the top of the third, Gorman struck again, driving Hogan in from first after a one-out walk, showing his wheels on an RBI triple. The next batter, Kajganich, rewarded Gorman with a RBI single, to push the lead to 4-0.
Immaculata answered in the bottom of the inning, scoring two runs on a Ficca double to left field. In the next inning, the Mighty Macs scrapped together another run, to reduce the deficit to one, at 4-3.
The Tigers tallied runs in the sixth and seventh innings to try to push the game out of reach. After a pair of singles by Kajganich and Terzinzi, Sammon lined an RBI single through into left field, scoring Kajganich. Three batters later, Scialabba hit a tough chopper that ate up the shortstop, but he recovered in time to throw out a charging Sammon at the plate to end the inning.
In the seventh, after a pair of walks by Zabel and Gorman put runners on first and third, Kajganich put the ball up the middle, scoring Zabel and giving the Tigers the three-run lead at 6-3. Immaculata added a run in the bottom of the inning, as Matt Simon reached on an error, scoring Lascomb, leading to the three-run eighth.
The Tigers will conclude the series against Immaculata with a Saturday afternoon doubleheader. Game one will begin at 11 a.m.
