TROY, N.Y. - Rochester staged a late-game rally to pull out the nitecap and sweep 22nd-ranked RPI, 3-2 and 6-5, in a baseball twinbill on the road Sunday.
In game one, the Yellowjackets got a strong outing on the mound from Jon Menke and a clutch save from Corey King. Four men worked game two. Nick Cacciola picked up the win in relief with Ned Chanatry getting the save. Yellowjacket pitchers worked out of bases loaded situations in the last inning of each game.
The four weekend wins put Rochester at 12-0 in the Liberty League, 18-4 overall. Skidmore stands in second place in league play with a 6-2 mark. St. Lawrence (7-5) is third, Clarkson (6-6) is fourth, RPI (2-6) fifth, Vassar (2-10) sixth, and Union (1-7) eighth. RPI is 11-9 overall.
Rochester led 3-1 heading into the top of the seventh in the opener. Menke gave up a leadoff single, then retired two straight on flyouts to center. A hit-batsman and single brought home a run, cutting Rochester's lead to 3-2. King came on. Pinch-hitter Noah Poissant walked, loading the bases. King ended it, striking out Patrick Reardon.
Menke gave up five hits, two runs (one earned), walked two, and struck out three in six and two-thirds. He is 3-0. King earned his third save, giving up a walk and getting the game-ending strikeout.
Dan Duval took the loss for RPI. He allowed 10 hits, three runs (all earned), walked one, and struck out two in 5.1 innings. Mike Cieszko worked the final two-thirds with a walk and strikeout.
Nate Stein was 3-for-4 in the opener with two RBIs. He hit an RBI single in the bottom of the third to score Brian Bezek and tie the game at 1-1. Bezek was 2-for-3 with one run scored. Casey Storme was also 2-for-3 with a run scored. In the fifth, Andy Cannon singled, moved up on a sacrifice by Alex Caghan, andf scored on Stein's double.
The Yellowjackets added what turned out to be the winning run in the sixth. With one down, Storme doubled. Bezek singled him to third. Blayne Fuke singled, scoring Storme and sending Bezek to third. Duval left, replaced by Cieszko. Fuke stole second. Cannon was walked intentionally before Cieszko struck out Caghan and got Stein on a flyout to center.
In the nitecap, Rochester fought back from a 4-1 deficit after six innings. The Yellowjackets chased RPI starter Andrew Mondo with three runs - two unearned - in the seventh to tie it.
Steve Just singled and was bunted to second by Matt Francis. Alex Parker reached on an error that got Just to third. A wild pitch moved Parker to second. Bezek doubled (3-for-4, 3 runs scored, 2 RBIs), scoring Just and moving Parker to third. Fuke was hit by a pitch to load the bases. Cannon singled, scoring Parker with an unearned run. Mondo left and Cieszko came on. Caghan struck out. Stein walked, forcing homer Bezek with the tying run. Storme bounced out.
Rochester went ahead, 6-4, with two runs in the eighth. Just doubled and was replaced by Dominic Caruso as a pinch-runner. Francis sacrificed him to third. Parker lined to second with Caruso holding. Bezek doubled, getting Just home, and when the ball was misplayed in the outfield, Bezek took third. He scored on Fuke's single.
King started the ninth in relief of Cacciola. He walked Reardon. Camden Mamigonian singled him to second. Scott Robinson struck out. Sujith Murali flied to right. Noah Poissant was announced as a pinch-hitter. King left, replaced by Chanatry.
He got the ground ball he wanted, but it was booted. Reardon scored, cutting the lead to 6-5. Mamigonian raced to third. The Engineers used a pinch-runner for Poissant and he promptly stole second. Chanatry earned the save by retiring Andrew Krushelny, who had homered earlier, on a flyout to left.