AMSTERDAM, NY – The RIT baseball team (9-9, 4-2 Liberty League) returned to action on Saturday and dropped a pair of tough Liberty League contests against Union College (9-4, 5-1 Liberty League) at Shuttleworth Field on Saturday afternoon. Union won game one 6-0 and rallied late to sweep the Tigers, 3-2.
In game one, Union pitcher Jake Fishman was the story, shutting down the potent RIT offense. He allowed just four hits and one walk, while striking out six batters in a complete-game, 114 pitch effort.
The Dutchmen would score twice in the first inning and four times in the bottom of the sixth. Jamie Faber and Eric Egan were both 2-for-3 with a run batted in.
RIT starting pitcher
Rory Little (Burnt Hills, NY/Burnt Hills-Ballston Lake) fired just 84 pitches in his six inning complete game, but allowed seven hits and three earned runs, while striking out five batters.
Taylor Hogan (Rochester, NY/Brighton),
Phil Sammon (Ridgefield, CT/Ridgefield),
Daniel Zeglen (Scotia, NY/Scotia-Glenville), and
Dom Scialabba (North Brunswick, NJ/North Brunswick) singled in the loss. RIT loaded the bases with two outs in the sixth inning, but could not push any runs across.
The second game featured a strong pitching duel between RIT's
Brian Reed (Rochester, NY/Penfield) and Union's Adam Ashenfarb. Reed threw a career-high 7 2/3 innings, taking a 2-1 lead into the bottom of the eighth inning before the Dutchmen rallied with a pair of runs.
Union would get on the board first in the fourth inning, as Faber hit an infield single that drove in Jake Vesling. RIT would answer right back in the fifth, as
Patrick Mylott (Aurora, OH/Western Reserve Academy) would ground out to drive in Zeglen, who reached on an infield single. In the sixth, RIT would take the lead, as Zeglen was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded, scoring
Phil Sammon (Ridgefield, CT/Ridgefield), who reached on an error.
In the eighth inning, Union would take the lead, as Sam Kirschenbaum would lead off with a single and be pinch run for by Zack Twitchell. A sacrifice bunt and ground out advanced Twitchell to third with two outs. Faber would single in Twitchell to tie the game. Two batters later, Harrison Glatt would drive in Faber for the game-winning run.
RIT would threaten in the ninth inning, as Zeglen led off with a double and
Patrick Mylott (Aurora, OH/Western Reserve Academy) was hit by a pitch, giving RIT runners on first and second with nobody out and the top of the lineup. Unfortunately for the Tigers, the next three batters could not get the tying run home.
Zeglen was 3-for-3 with a double and hit by pitch in game two. Reed would take the tough loss, striking out seven batters on 102 pitches over the 7 2/3 innings, allowing nine hits with zero walks.
Faber was 2-for-4 with two RBIs for Union, while Ryan Kuchar earned the win in relief, firing 2 1/3 scoreless innings.
The two teams will conclude the regular season series with a doubleheader on Sunday afternoon, also at Shuttleworth Field that begins at 12 p.m.
