Lexington, SC – Rochester's late inning rally against Roger Williams wasn't enough in the season opener for the Yellowjackets as they fell by a 6-8 score. UR trailed 6-1 going into the bottom of the seventh before plating five runs in the last three innings.
It took Rochester until the late innings to get their bats going, scoring just one run in the first six innings and Roger Williams scored two insurance runs in the eighth to secure the victory. The Hawks jumped out to a 5-1 lead by the fourth inning forcing U of R to chip away for the remainder of the contest.
The Yellowjackets got it to 6-3 in the seventh but a two run homer by Roger Williams Justin Stone extended it to an 8-3 margin. Rochester made one more push in the final innings with two RBI's from senior SS
Tyler Schmidt and another from
Aiden Finch but it wasn't enough.
Schmidt was 1-4 for Rochester with an RBI single and a sacrifice fly. Justin Herman went 2-4 with two singles, a walk and one run scored.
Owen Gabbey was 2-3 with a double and one RBI on the day.
Steve Pickering chipped in two hits and an RBI for the Yellowjackets while Finch also added two hits, an RBI and one run scored for Rochester.
Garrett Renslow got the nod on the mound for UR going 4 2/3 while giving up three earned runs on seven hits and walking two. Renslow (0-1) struck out six before Rochester went to the bullpen with two outs in the fifth.
Brendan Shamieh came on for the Yellowjackets, pitching 3.0 innings and giving up two earned runs on five hits. First-Year
Jon Turk came on in relief for the final 1 1/3 giving up no hits and striking out one.
Roger Williams was led by a big day from sophomore outfielder Justin Stone going 3-5 with five RBI's and a two run home run. Chris Bosco scored two runs for the hawks and went 1-5 with a triple and an RBI on the day. Centerfielder Bryan Goodwin added two hits and an RBI for Roger Williams.
Justin Garcia (1-1) took the W or Roger Williams going 7.0 innings with seven strikeouts and three runs allowed. Michael Farrell came on in relief for the hawks in the eighth going one inning while giving up two hits and one earned run. Matt Vernactola came on for Roger Williams in the ninth to close out the game. Vernactola gave up two runs, allowing Rochester to make it an 8-6 game but was able to get
Grant Kilmer to pop one up to first base and end the game.
Roger Williams picks up its first victory of the season improving to 1-5 while Rochester falls to 0-1. The Yellowjackets will look for a win against Trinity College of Connecticut tomorrow morning at 10AM in Lexington.
