IMMACULATA, PA – The RIT baseball team (1-3) was unable to slow down the hot bats of Immaculata (7-7), as the Tigers were swept in a Saturday afternoon doubleheader. RIT fell 5-1 in game one and 10-5 in game two, dropping three games against the Mighty Macs over the weekend after a 7-6 loss on Friday.
After a strong outing at the plate in the first two games, the Tigers bats were quieter in game one, drawing six walks, but only managing three hits.
Taylor Hogan (Rochester, NY/Brighton),
Will Gorman (Nassau, NY/Columbia), and Brett Kagjanich, the 2-3-4 hitters, were the only Tigers to record hits, and Kagjanich drove in the lone run. On the mound,
Brandon Cohall (Cortlandt Manor, NY/Walter Panas) took the loss, allowing five runs on eight hits in four innings of work, striking out five Immaculata batters.
Kyle Povlock (Fairport, NY/Fairport) and
Jameson Moran (Geneseo, NY/Geneseo) each pitched a scoreless inning for RIT.
Six different Immaculata players recorded a hit, as the Mighty Macs recorded nine in the victory. Eddie Decker pitched 3 2/3 innings, giving up the lone run and the three hits. Kyle Bacher got the win, as he and Ryan Blough pitched 3 1/3 no-hit innings to stymie the Tiger offense.
Immaculata jumped on the Tigers early, getting on the board with a two-run single by Justin Dempsey at the top of the frame, and adding another in the bottom of the second, on a Jason McCormick RBI single up the middle.
In the fourth, down 3-0, the Tigers struck back. After a leadoff double by Gorman, Brett Kagjanich brought him home a few pitches later with an RBI single up the middle. A
Mike Myers (Hamlin, NY/Brockport) walk put the go-ahead run at the plate, but Bacher forced
Daniel Zeglen (Scotia, NY/Scotia-Glenville) to pop out to the shortstop to end the rally. In the bottom of the frame, Immaculata put the game away with two insurance runs on an RBI single by Mike Lascomb, and an RBI double by Ryan Ficca.
The Tiger pitching was efficient in the beginning of game two.
Brian Reed (Rochester, NY/Penfield), getting his sixth career start, had two strong innings before running into trouble in the third. He pitched six innings of work, striking out four batters and allowing six earned runs as the pitcher of record. Six RIT pitchers came into the contest, with
Brett DeLola (Baldwinsville, NY/C.W. Baker),
Jake Bianchi (Syracuse, NY/Bishop Ludden),
Brett Bouchard (Fairport, NY/Fairport),
Kyle Povlock (Fairport, NY/Fairport), and Zeglen picking up the slack.
On offense, Kajganich went 2-for-5, hitting his first homer of the season, and third of his career, in the fifth inning. He has hit safely in all four contests this season, and has a 13-game hitting streak dating back to last season. Hogan led the Tigers with three hits, scoring twice. Zabel,
Dom Scialabba (North Brunswick, NJ/North Brunswick), Gorman, Kajganich, and
Gage Blasi (Baldwinsville, NY/C.W. Baker) each knocked in a run.
In this game, the Tigers struck first. After consecutive singles through the infield by Blasi and Zabel, Gorman hit a ball safely in to shallow left-center field, scoring Blasi to give the Tigers the 1-0 lead in the top of the third.
Immaculata would respond with a big four-run inning in the bottom of the frame, all with two outs. Matt Simon hit a run scoring single, and Howie Kalamets scoring two on a deep triple and scoring on the sacrifice, to give the Mighty Macs a 4-1 lead.
The Tigers mounted another comeback. In the top of the fourth, Zabel's good eye at the plate with the bases loaded walked in a RIT run, and Scialabba struck a few pitches later with a run scoring single. In the top of the fifth, Kajganich took the first pitch he saw yard over the right field fence to tie the game at four.
Immaculata would take the lead for good in the bottom of the fifth. With Jason McCormick at third, Ficca hit a grounder towards Reed. McCormick, seemingly stuck on an island, evaded the tag down the line, scoring at the plate, before Ficca was tagged out going to second. Immaculata would add another run in the sixth, three in the seventh, and one in the eighth for insurance.
The Tigers would have one more opportunity in the top of the eighth. After another bases loaded walk with one out, this time by Blasi, RIT had a chance to tie the game. Immaculata pitcher Trevor O'Brien struck out Zabel and Scialabba, closing the door.
The Tigers will get set for their spring break trip, travelling to Florida for six contests. RIT will start with a 4:15 p.m. contest against Eastern Connecticut State on March 18 in Auburndale.
