AUBURNDALE, FL – Taylor Hogan (Rochester, NY/Brighton) drove in the winning run with a single in the 15th inning, leading the RIT baseball team (3-5) to a 7-6 victory against No. 7 Southern Maine (4-1) in 15 innings at the Lake Myrtle Sports Complex on an unusually cold Monday afternoon.
Both RIT and Southern Maine recorded 14 hits, as the Tigers beat a ranked team for the first time since 2013, when they beat No. 25 Farmingdale State in the season opener.
"That was one of the best games in RIT history," said RIT baseball head coach
Rob Grow, "Playing 15 innings with great defensive plays, and in extra innings, chances for both teams. Ultimately, our two seniors,
Zach Zabel (Clarence, NY/Clarence) and
Taylor Hogan (Rochester, NY/Brighton) came up big for a huge win."
It was a five-hour classic that had its fair share of twists and turns. The seventh ranked team in all of Division III, Southern Maine jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the top of the second inning. The Tigers responded, tacking on two runs off hits by
Dom Scialabba (North Brunswick, NJ/North Brunswick) and
Gage Blasi (Baldwinsville, NY/C.W. Baker) in the bottom of the frame, eventually tying the score in the third on a
Phil Sammon (Ridgefield, CT/Ridgefield) RBI, driving in Gorman.
The RIT pitching staff controlled the contest in the middle innings. Coming on in relief for
Brett DeLola (Baldwinsville, NY/C.W. Baker),
Jameson Moran (Geneseo, NY/Geneseo) shut the door on the Huskies, allowing no hits through the seventh inning, striking out three batters. In the eighth, three straight hits, including an RBI double by Sam Stauble, brought Moran out of the game, with
Brett Bouchard (Fairport, NY/Fairport) in to replace him. Southen Maine continued its inning as Nick DiBiase beat out the throw by Hogan for an infield hit, getting the RBI. Nick Bowie then reached on an error, scoring Sam Stauble to tie the contest.
Bouchard settled down, pitching seven effective high-pressure innings in relief, allowing just three more hits and striking out seven total batters. Both teams traded zeros for the next several innings, as the game headed into extras.
In the bottom of the 13th inning, the Tigers loaded the bases up with two outs, with
Joey Mylott (Aurora, OH/Western Reserve Academy) at the plate. He smacked a shot up the middle, as the Tigers celebrated what looked like a walk-off victory. But the umpire correctly called Zabel out at second, after the hard-hit ball unfortunately clipped his foot as he was diving to get out of the way, and the marathon game continued.
In the top of the 15th inning, it was the Huskies with a chance to take the lead. With the bases loaded and no men out,
Tom Dillon (Oswego, NY/Oswego) and the Tiger defense battled back.
Jason Schulz (Liverpool, NY/Liverpool) recorded the force out at the plate for the first out, then Dillon struck out Kip Richard for the second out. Dillon then forced DiBiase to ground into a fielder's choice, with the force out at second, to end the inning.
In the bottom of the frame, Zabel singled up the middle, then stole second to put himself in scoring position. The next batter, Hogan, lined a single up the middle, as Zabel ran to home to the waiting arms of his jubliant teammates and the celebration was on.
That game-winning hit was the only one in a program-record eight at bats for Hogan. Scialabba had a great day at the plate, going 2-for-5, driving in four RBIs. The 56 at bats for the Tigers also broke a school record, smashing the previous mark at 52 against Bard in 2014.
