TROY, NY – The RIT baseball team (21-14, 15-5 Liberty League) earned a crucial doubleheader sweep on the road at Liberty League foe Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (17-17, 13-9 Liberty League) on Saturday. RIT won game one, 5-1 and took game two, 11-2. The two wins ensure that RIT can finish no worse than second in the Liberty League standings.
RIT reached the 20-win plateau for the 11th time in program history, all in the last 21 years. RIT maintains its lead in the Liberty League standings over Rochester. The Tigers have now won eight straight games in league play.
In game one,
Stevie Branche (New Paltz, NY/New Paltz) had a no-hitter through 5 2/3 innings. He allowed just the one hit, one and struck out three batters in six innings to pick up his fifth win of the season.
Michael Campbell (Honeoye Falls, NY/McQuaid Jesuit) pitched a scoreless ninth inning.
Branche lowered his earned run average to 1.71 on the season. Opponents are hitting just .189 against him in 2019.
RIT jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the top of the first inning and upped the lead to 4-0 in the fourth.
Daniel Capra (North Salem, NY/North Salem) hit a solo home run to open the scoring, while
Jason Schulz (Liverpool, NY/Liverpool) was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded later in the inning.
Daniel Zeglen (Scotia, NY/Scotia-Glenville) and
Patrick Mylott (Aurora, OH/Western Reserve Academy) hit back-to-back run scoring doubles in the fourth inning.
Zeglen finished 3-for-4 with two runs scored and an RBI in game one. Mylott added a pair of hits, while
Navada Waterman (Coudersport, PA/Coudersport) also drove in a run.
In game two, RIT scored four times in the top of the fourth inning to snap a 2-2 tie.
Luke McNamara (Harrisburg, PA/Central Dauphin) drove in a pair of runs in the fourth. The Tigers came back in the sixth inning to add five more runs to take a 11-2 lead.Capra started the five run inning with sacrifice fly to score
Ian Libby (Melrose, MA/Malden Catholic).
The Tigers pounded 14 hits in game two. McNamara finished 3-for-4 with three RBI, while Zeglen, Mylott and Terzini added two hits apiece and
Patrick Blackall (Hershey, PA/Hershey) drove in two runs.
Zeglen picked up his third win of the season on the mound throwing six innings only giving up two runs on six hits, two strikeouts and three walks.
Liam Barry (Syracuse, NY/West Genesee) pitched two scoreless innings in relief, striking out one and walking one batter.
Trevor Povlock (Fairport, NY/Fairport) pitched a scoreless ninth inning.
"We are playing our best baseball at the end of the year which is what you want," said head coach
Rob Grow. "Our pitching, fielding and hitting are all clicking right now we just have to keep it rolling."
RIT and Rensselaer wrap up the regular season with a doubleheader that begins at noon on Sunday afternoon.
