POUGHKEEPSIE, NY – The RIT baseball team (13-14, 7-7 Liberty League) dropped two contests against Vassar (13-15, 8-6 Liberty League) in conference play on Saturday afternoon. After the Brewers took game one 9-1, they scored nine unanswered runs, including four in the ninth inning, leading to a 9-8 comeback victory in game two.
With the Tigers up 8-0 after five innings in game two, the Brewers chipped away from there. Vassar scored three runs in the bottom of the sixth inning, to get on the board. In the seventh, Vassar added two runs, before a spectacular diving catch by
Taylor Hogan (Rochester, NY/Brighton) in foul territory with two outs stopped the bleeding.
With one out in the ninth inning down three runs, Taylor Smach walked to begin the rally. Mike Koscielniak then singled, as the Tigers brought out
Brett Bouchard (Fairport, NY/Fairport) to close the game out. He picked up a big out with the first batter he faced, a close play at second to tag out Koscielniak on the grounder. With two outs, Vassar had three consecutive hits, including the game winning single by Matt Schwartz, to grab the victory.
The RIT offense was potent early on, scoring five runs in the first two innings.
Brian Battaglia (Sliver Spring, MD/James Hubert Blake) opened the scoring with a single down the left field line, scoring Hogan from second base. With
Dom Scialabba (North Brunswick, NJ/North Brunswick) at the plate, a wild pitch drove home
Will Gorman (Nassau, NY/Columbia) from third, giving the Tigers the 2-0 advantage.
In the second inning, Zabel singled through the right side, scoring Schulz for the third run. An RBI single by Gorman in center field, followed by a RBI double down the line in left field, gave the Tigers the 5-0 lead.
In the top of the fifth, after consecutive singles by Scialabba and
Daniel Zeglen (Scotia, NY/Scotia-Glenville),
Benjamin Terzini (Liverpool, NY/Liverpool) singled home Scialabba, giving RIT a 6-0 lead. Hogan then drove in Zeglen on the fielders choice, and Gorman hit a two out RBI single to give the Tigers the 8-0 lead.
Gorman led the Tigers offensively, going 4-for-5, driving in two runs and scoring two of his own. Zeglen went 2-for-4, adding a walk, and
Jason Schulz (Liverpool, NY/Liverpool) recorded a hit and two walks. Eight RIT batters recorded at least a hit.
On the mound,
Brian Reed (Rochester, NY/Penfield) was solid early on, pitching five scoreless innings, before running into trouble in the sixth. He struck out seven for the no-decision. Bouchard and
Jameson Moran (Geneseo, NY/Geneseo) pitched 2 2/3 innings of relief.
Bobby Kinne grabbed four hits and drove in two runs to lead the Brewers, who were out-hit by the Tigers 12-10.
In the first game, Zabel provided a big lift for the Tigers, leading off with a triple deep into right field, just missing a homer. In the next at-bat,
Taylor Hogan (Rochester, NY/Brighton) got RIT on the board, with the groundout bringing in Zabel.
Early mistakes got the Brewers on the board. Two hit batters and an error on the mound led to a four run inning by Vassar to take the lead. With the lead, the Brewers turned it on offensively, with a five-run fourth inning, led by a RBI triple by Koscielniak and a solo shot by Nick Johnson.
Rory Little (Burnt Hills, NY/Burnt Hills-Ballston Lake) started on the mound and took the loss for RIT.
Jonathan Hong kept the Tigers scoreless after the first, pitching a complete game in the victory. He forced the Tigers to leave a runner stranded at third base in the third inning, and forced RIT to ground into two crucial double plays in the fourth and fifth innings to get out of jams.
Schulz led the Tigers with two hits, and Gorman added a single to increase his hitting streak to six games. RIT had seven total hits.
The Tigers and Brewers will close out the series on Sunday, with game one of the doubleheader beginning at noon.
