AUBURNDALE, FL – The RIT baseball team (1-4) dropped its first game in the six-game, Florida road trip, falling to Eastern Connecticut State (4-1), 12-5 at Lake Myrtle Park on Friday evening.
The Tigers amassed five runs on 13 hits in the game, while Eastern Connecticut State scored 12 runs on 15 hits.
Phil Sammon (Ridgefield, CT/Ridgefield) led RIT with a 3-for-4 performance at the plate, driving in a run.
Taylor Hogan (Rochester, NY/Brighton),
Gage Blasi (Baldwinsville, NY/C.W. Baker), and
Zach Zabel (Clarence, NY/Clarence) each tallied two hits, while Blasi,
Dom Scialabba (North Brunswick, NJ/North Brunswick), and
Will Gorman (Nassau, NY/Columbia) each drove in a run.
On the mound,
Rory Little (Burnt Hills, NY/Burnt Hills-Ballston Lake) pitched six innings, allowing five earned runs on nine hits, striking out seven batters.
Brett Bouchard (Fairport, NY/Fairport),
Tom Dillon (Oswego, NY/Oswego), and
Brian Sheridan (Trumansburg, NY/Trumansburg) pitched the rest of the way for the Tigers, giving up six hits and striking out three batters.
Despite eight hits in the first six innings, the Warriors kept the Tigers off the board, as Eastern Connecticut State was able to jump out to a 6-0 lead in the first ever game between the two squads. Patrick O'Neil, picking up the victory for the Warriors, struck out six Tiger batters, without giving up a walk in six innings of play.
In the seventh inning, RIT made its move with the change on the mound. With the bases loaded, Blasi singled to center field, scoring Sammon to get on the board. With Zabel at the plate, a wild pitch scored
Mike Myers (Hamlin, NY/Brockport) to cut the lead in half. Scialabba laced a one out single to left field, scoring
Daniel Zeglen (Scotia, NY/Scotia-Glenville), and advancing Blasi to third. Gorman, the seventh batter in the inning, made it 6-4 with the sacrifice fly to left field, scoring Blasi.
In the bottom of the inning, the Warriors struck back for three runs. With one out, Alex Parkos and Alexander White singled in runs, and Tim Budd drove in a run on a sacrifice fly, to hold a 9-4 lead. The Tigers would strike with one more run, as Sammon doubled to left center field in the top of the eighth inning, scoring a flying Hogan from first base. Eastern Connecticut State would increase its lead again in the bottom of the frame, when Parkos completed his four RBI afternoon with a two out, bases clearing double.
The Tigers will continue play in Florida, as they take on St. Norbert in a doubleheader starting at 1:30 p.m. in Winter Haven.
