PITTSFORD, NY — Phil Sammon (Ridgefield, CT/Ridgefield) hit a ninth-inning grand slam, as the RIT baseball team (4-4) erased a 6-0 deficit and scored nine unanswered runs to defeat No. 24 St. John Fisher College (8-6) by a score of 9-6 at Dugan Yard on Thursday afternoon. The Tigers scored five runs in the top of the ninth.
"Today was a great game where the team showed a lot of character," said RIT head coach
Rob Grow. "Our offense got better and better as the game progressed. We had a lot of great at-bats today and by grinding it out we were able to put together a nice comeback win."
St. John Fisher opened up a big lead, piling on four runs in the third inning, off two RBI singles and an RBI double. The Cardinals then added one more in the fourth on an RBI double, and one in the fifth on an RBI single to make it 6-0.
The Tigers chipped away, as they got on the board in the seventh, on an RBI double by
Patrick Mylott (Aurora, OH/Western Reserve Academy), scoring
Daniel Capra (North Salem, NY/North Salem) to make it 6-1. In the eighth,
Brett Kajganich (North Royalton, OH/Holy Name) doubled home
Navada Waterman (Coudersport, PA/Coudersport), Sammon grounded out to score
Will Gorman (Nassau, NY/Columbia), and
Daniel Zeglen (Scotia, NY/Scotia-Glenville) singled in Kajganich, suddenly cutting the deficit to 6-4.
St. John Fisher would bring on All-American closer Loukas Brigham to secure the win, but RIT would take advantage of his control issues. Mylott and
Gianfranco Gentile (San Pedro, CA/Mary Star of the Sea) would both reach after getting hit by a pitch to lead off the inning. Waterman would sacrifice the runners over before Gorman was intentionally walked to load the bases. Kajganich would also walk with the bases loaded, scoring Mylott to make it 6-5. On the seventh pitch of his at-bat, Sammon hit an opposite-field grand slam to right field, giving the Tigers a 9-6 lead.
"We had good at bats at the end of the game and one big swing helped us finish off the comeback," said Grow.
Brett Bouchard (Fairport, NY/Fairport), who entered in the eighth inning, would finish off the Cardinals in the bottom of the ninth with no issues, giving RIT its first win of the season over a ranked opponent (1-1).
Kajganich was the most consistent bat for the Tigers, going 3-for-4, with two RBIs and two runs scored. Sammon drove in five runs, while. Gorman scored twice and reached base three times.
On the mound, RIT used five different pitchers.
Jameson Moran (Geneseo, NY/Geneseo) made the start, allowing just two hits and no runs in two innings, with two strikeouts.
Connor Ewing (Fairport, NY/Fairport) came in and pitched the third inning, striking out two, but allowing four runs.
Tom Dillon (Oswego, NY/Oswego) would pitch the fourth and fifth innings, allowing two runs on four hits, and striking out one.
Kyle Povlock (Fairport, NY/Fairport) came in next, throwing two scoreless and hitless innings, before Bouchard finished off the game, picking up his second win of the season, allowing just one hit.
For St. John Fisher, the offense was balanced throughout the lineup. Evan Ryan led the team, going 2-for-4 with two runs, while four other batters registered hits.
The Cardinals used eight pitchers in the game. Caleb Lee made the start, going a full four scoreless innings, giving up just two hits. Brigham allowed five earned runs on just one hit, two walks, and two hit batters, to take the loss.
RIT and St. John Fisher will meet at Tiger Stadium on April 5 and once again at Dugan Yard on May 3.
RIT will return to action for its first Liberty League contests of the season, in a four-game road trip at Rensselaer (5-9). The Tigers and Engineers with play doubleheaders on both Saturday and Sunday. Action will begin at 1 p.m. Saturday and 12 p.m. Sunday from Troy, N.Y.
