WINTER HAVEN, FL – The RIT baseball team (3-4) used a huge eighth inning, scoring five runsto break a 6-6 tie and bounce back with a 12-6 victory over Cornell College (2-6) at Chain of Lakes Park Thursday afternoon.
"Today was a great way to finish up the trip," said RIT baseball coach
Rob Grow. "We played a very good game, responding late with runs after they tied it in the seventh. We have been looking to get better at the end of games and today we did a great job of that."
Navada Waterman (Coudersport, PA/Coudersport) led the Tigers with two hits, two RBIs, and three runs scored.
Will Gorman (Nassau, NY/Columbia),
Gage Blasi (Baldwinsville, NY/C.W. Baker), and
Patrick Mylott (Aurora, OH/Western Reserve Academy) scored two runs apiece, while
Daniel Capra (North Salem, NY/North Salem),
Phil Sammon (Ridgefield, CT/Ridgefield), and
Joey Mylott (Aurora, OH/Western Reserve Academy) each crossed the plate once.
Dom Scialabba (North Brunswick, NJ/North Brunswick) also drove in two runs in the win.
On the mound,
Daniel Zeglen (Scotia, NY/Scotia-Glenville) made the start for the Tigers, going for six innings and allowing just one earned run on five hits.
Kyle Povlock (Fairport, NY/Fairport) and
Brett Bouchard (Fairport, NY/Fairport) came in for RIT in relief. Bouchard picked up his first win of the season, pitching 1 2/3 innings of hitless baseball.
Nick Claver (Liverpool, NY/Liverpool) came in for the ninth inning, allowing just one hit.
For the Rams, six different batters scored a run apiece, while eight different players registered a hit. Joe Orisek led the way for Cornell, going 3-for-4 with three RBIs and a run scored. The Rams used six different pitchers in the game, with Tyler Samson getting credit for the loss. Samson allowed four runs in the eighth inning, while propelled RIT to the victory.
The Rams opened the scoring with two runs in the second inning, but the Tigers struck right back. RIT tied the game in the third, as Blasi and Waterman scored on back-to-back hits. Gorman hit Blasi home on a single to right, before
Brett Kajganich (North Royalton, OH/Holy Name) hit Waterman home on a sacrifice fly.
The fourth, fifth, and sixth innings showcased even more success from RIT's bats. Sammon, Waterman,
Joey Mylott (Aurora, OH/Western Reserve Academy), and
Patrick Mylott (Aurora, OH/Western Reserve Academy) all crossed home plate during that stretch, putting the Tigers up 6-2.
The seventh inning is when the Rams' bats heated up again, and Cornell tied the game with four runs to tie the game. Alex Schwartz, Aaron Cameron, Orisek, and Eric Daubach all scored in the seventh for the Rams.
RIT and Cornell entered the eighth inning tied at 6-6. The flood gates opened for the Tigers, as they exploded for five runs in the frame. Waterman hit
Patrick Mylott (Aurora, OH/Western Reserve Academy) and Blasi home with a tie-breaking single. Waterman scored on an error, which allowed Gorman to get on base. Scialabba promptly singled to deep left field, scoring Gorman and making the score 10-6. RIT added one more in the inning, when Blasi was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded.
The Tigers added one more in the top of the ninth, and had no problems closing out the game in the bottom of the inning
With the win, RIT finishes the RussMatt Central Florida Invitational with a 2-3 record, and returns home for its next games, a doubleheader against No. 16 Oswego State on Saturday, March 25. The Tigers and Lakers will begin game one at 1 p.m. from Tiger Stadium.
