POUGHKEEPSIE, NY – For the second straight day, the RIT baseball team (13-16, 7-9 Liberty League) dropped a pair of games at Liberty League foe Vassar College (15-15, 10-6 Liberty League) on Sunday afternoon. The Brewers won game one, 2-0 in nine innings and took game two, 6-5.
The Brewers moved into a tie for second place in the league standings, while RIT fell to seventh.
In the opener, RIT hurler
Brandon Cohall (Cortlandt Manor, NY/Walter Panas) and Vassar pitcher Adam Erkis matched zeroes through the first seven innings. Eriks left in the eighth inning for Robert Winkelmann.
RIT looked to break through in the seventh inning, as
Mike Myers (Hamlin, NY/Brockport) hit a one-out double to right field. With two outs,
Zach Zabel (Clarence, NY/Clarence) reached on an error by the shortstop. Myers tried to score from second base, but was thrown out, keeping the game scoreless.
Vassar would break through in the top of the ninth inning with a pair of runs. Bobby Kinne would lead off with a single and come around to score on a triple by Nick Johnson. Johnson would score on a sacrifice fly Eric Strickland.
Cohall pitched a gem for the Tigers, allowing seven hits and two runs while striking out eight batters with zero walks. He fired 97 pitches in the nine-inning complete-game effort.
Erkis and Winklemann combined to strikeout 14 RIT batters. Erlis allowed five hits and two walks with nine strikeouts in seven innings, while Winkelmann strikeout five of six batters in two innings of relief to pick up his second win of the year.
In game two, RIT jumped out to a 3-0 lead after two innings, before Vassar scored three runs in the fourth inning to tie the game and take the lead in the fifth. Both teams would trade runs over the next two innings, as Vassar would get the game-winning run in the seventh.
RIT out-hit Vassar, 10-8.
Taylor Hogan (Rochester, NY/Brighton),
Will Gorman (Nassau, NY/Columbia), and
Jason Schulz (Liverpool, NY/Liverpool) recorded two hits apiece for the Tigers. Gorman drove in two runs, while Hogan doubled twice and scored two runs. Schulz scored once and drove in a run.
On the mound,
Kyle Povlock (Fairport, NY/Fairport) started, allowing five hits and three runs in 3 1/3 innings.
Brett Bouchard (Fairport, NY/Fairport),
Mark Nozzi (Rochester, NY/McQuaid Jesuit),
Jameson Moran (Geneseo, NY/Geneseo),
Mike Cardone (Patchogue, NY/Patchouge-Medford),
Brett DeLola (Baldwinsville, NY/C.W. Baker), and
Daniel Zeglen (Scotia, NY/Scotia-Glenville) came on in relief. DeLola took the loss, walking Johnson in the seventh inning who came around to score on a sacrifice fly by Strickland.
RIT would get the tying and winning runs on base in the bottom half of the inning, but could not get the clutch hit.
Vassar leads the all-time series between the two schools, 11-7. Yesterday, the Brewers earned two wins over the Tigers, 9-1 in game one, and 9-8 in game two. Vassar rallied from an 8-0 deficit in game two.
RIT is back in action on Saturday, April 30 and Sunday, May 1 with a pair of crucial doubleheaders against Liberty League foe Rochester. Saturday's pair from Fauver Stadium gets underway at 1 p.m., while Sunday's twin bill from Tiger Stadium starts at 12 p.m.
