MARIETTA, OH – The University of Rochester baseball team ran into a buzzsaw on the mound in the form of Penn State Behrend pitcher Thomas Zbezinski, and saw its season come to a close in an NCAA Division III Tournament Marietta Regional elimination game on Friday afternoon, falling by an 11-1 score at Pioneer Park.
 
Rochester completes its 2021 campaign with a 24-10 record overall, while the Lions survive to play another day in the regional, improving to 26-12.
 
Zbenzinski went the distance for the Lions, throwing 144 pitches in the victory, allowing just three Yellowjacket hits while striking out 11. The three hits and one run were the fewest by Rochester in a game this season, attesting to the impressive pitching from the Behrend left-hander.
 
Rochester's leader on the day was sophomore Aaron Whitley who finished 2-for-3 with a solo home run in the sixth to account for the Yellowjackets only run.
 
Josh Leadem was the only other UR player to record a hit, doubling in the second inning. Leadem's double was the 97th of the season for Rochester as a team, setting a new program single-season record.
 
For the second straight day, Rochester's surrendered multiple runs in the first inning, with the home hitting Lions striking for three. The first run crossed the plate following a wild pitch from UR starter Trevor Van Allen, with the next two coming on a double from Juston Jones.
 
After three innings, it was 5-0 Lions, as Isaac Stouffer and Jones each added RBI base hits.
 
Four straight Behrend batters reached to start the fifth inning, leading to two more runs, making the score 7-0 before Whitley broke the shutout in the top of the sixth with his solo blast to left.
 

Whitley ends the 2021 campaign having one of the best seasons in school history, logging a .475 batting average with a school-record 19 doubles, adding 5 home runs, 33 RBI and 28 stolen bases. He ranks second in UR single-season history in average and slugging, becoming just the third player in school history to amass 100 total bases in a season.
 
Following the home run, Behrend answered with one run in the bottom of the sixth, two in the seventh and one in the eighth to reach the final score.
 
On the mound, Zbezinski, a 1st Team All-AMCC selection this year, didn't seem to tire over the final innings, holding Rochester without a hit for the last three frames.
 
Rochester used four pitchers in the loss. Van Allen went 2.1 innings and took the loss, dropping to 3-2 on the year, giving up five runs on six hits. Dillon Bevan tossed 2.2 innings and gave up two runs on five hits.
 
Nathan Slenska tossed two innings and surrendered three runs, while Nolan Sparks completed the game and gave up one unearned run in his one inning.
 
Leading the offense for the Lions was Jones who finished 4-for-5 with four RBI and run scored. Five others had two hits, while four Behrend players scored twice.
 
NOTES: This was the first ever meeting in baseball between Rochester and Penn State Behrend…Rochester was making its fifth ever appearance in the NCAA Division III Tournament…UR softball won a regional at Penn State Behrend last week, advancing to the NCAA Finals in Salem, VA…Rochester's team finished 1st in school history this season in doubles (97), 2nd in slugging percentage (.533) and top-5 in average (.347), on-base percentage (.435) and runs (320).