MEADVILLE, PA – University of Rochester baseball dropped a pair to the Allegheny College Gators on Saturday afternoon at Robert M. Garbark Field, falling in game one, 3-0, and 6-5 in game two. With the two losses, the Yellowjackets drop to 4-8 on the year, while Allegheny not stands at 6-5.
 
Game 1: Allegheny 3, Rochester 0
Nolan Sparks took the ball in game one for the Yellowjackets and worked around baserunners in each of the first two frames. After allowing a pair of baserunners via a walk and hit-by-pitch in the first, Sparks got JD Robinson to groundout to end the inning, while in the second after a dropped fly ball, Sparks got two more groundouts to keep Allegheny off the scoreboard.
 
The Gators' starter, Brent Herrmann, matched Sparks' output through the first two frames, striking out a pair in the second, and after both pitchers set the side down in order in the third, Allegheny pushed a run across against Sparks in the bottom of the fourth.
 
Brady Nolin drew a leadoff walk, and the Gators quickly moved him to second on Robinson's sacrifice bunt. An infield single and hit-by-pitch loaded the bases, and while Sparks struck out Tommaso Floro, Nolin stole home to score the game's first run and give Allegheny a 1-0 lead.
 
UR then looked to answer in the top of the fifth, as Robert Constantine laced a one-out double down the right-field line for the Yellowjackets' first hit of the game, but Herrmann got the next two batters to groundout, stranding Constantine at second base.
 
Allegheny again threatened against Sparks in the bottom of the frame, loading the bases on a pair of walks and a single, but this time, Sparks escaped the jam without any damage, keeping the Gators' lead at just one run.
 
Matt Casiero relieved Sparks to start the sixth, and the Gators would tack on two more on Tyson Bryant-Dawson's two-run single, extending their lead to 3-0, and that'd be all Herrmann needed, as the Gators' starter went the distance, pitching a complete-game shutout.
 
The Yellowjackets would threaten in both the seventh and ninth, putting two baserunners on in both frames against Herrmann, but each time, Herrmann got out of the inning without any damage, getting Luke Blozy to fly out to end the top of the ninth and finish off the 3-0, game-one victory.
 
Herrmann (2-0) earned the win, allowing just two hits, walking three and striking out six over 9.0 innings pitched, while Sparks (0-2) took the loss, allowing one run on two hits, walking four and striking out five over 5.0 innings of work.
 
Casiero pitched three innings of relief for UR, allowing two runs on five hits while striking out two.
 
Constantine and Quincy Jaksch tallied Rochester's two hits, with Constantine going 1-for-1 with a double and two walks.
 
Game 2: Allegheny 6, Rochester 5
Dillon Bevan stranded a pair in the bottom of the first inning, striking out Robinson and getting Nick Banez to ground out to first. But after the Yellowjackets' leadoff baserunner was left stranded in the top of the second, Allegheny again took the early lead in the bottom of the frame.
 
Back-to-back fielding errors put runners on first and second with just one out for Grant Dowden, whose grounder advanced the runners to second and third. Bryant-Dawson then laced a single to left, scoring both baserunners to give the Gators a 2-0 lead.
 
And after the 'Jackets left the bases loaded in the top of the third, the score would stay that way till the sixth. Bevan settled down after the second, striking out two batters in the third, fourth and fifth innings, as the senior struck out 10 Gators, one shy of his career high.
 
In the top of the sixth, Rochester finally got its offense going, as Alec Ellison laced a two-out single to right center, and with one swing of the bat, Quincy Jaksch slugged a two-run homer to left, tying the score at two-all. The Yellowjackets then took their first lead of the afternoon, as Dylan Stezzi and Dan Tirabassi hit back-to-back doubles, scoring Stezzi to give UR a 3-2 lead.
 
With the lead in hand, Bevan came back out for the sixth, and although the right-hander allowed a pair of one-out singles, he struck out two more batters to leave the game-tying run at second base and send UR to the seventh, up 3-2.
 
However, after Rochester couldn't add to its lead in the top of the frame, Allegheny scored a pair to retake the lead in the bottom of the inning. Matthew Grier relieved Bevan to start the inning, and the Gators would quickly put two on with just one out. A wild pitch then put runners at second and third before a throwing error allowed the game-tying run to come around to score.
 
Matt Jennings followed with an RBI single up the middle to make it 4-3, but Grier got Nolin to ground into a double play to end the inning and keep the Gators' lead at just one, 4-3.
 
Allegheny would add an insurance run in the bottom of the eighth to make it 5-3 before Rochester came to the plate in the top of the ninth down to their final three outs. UR quickly put the game-tying run on base though, as Sammy Besztery drew a hit-by-pitch to lead off the inning, and Luke Blozy singled to center, putting runners at first and second with nobody out.
 
Jackson Reed moved the runners over with a sacrifice bunt, and then Constantine tied the game at five with a two-run single to center, forcing the Gators to make a call to the bullpen. Dawson Thomas relieved Preston Pierce, and while Josh Leadem reached on a fielder's choice and stole second, Thomas stranded the potential go-ahead run with a strikeout, sending Allegheny to the plate in the bottom of the ninth.
 
And while Zach Herzog retired the first two Gators he faced in the bottom of the frame, Nolin's two-out single put the game-winning run on base for Robinson, whose RBI double gave Allegheny a 6-5 walk-off win.
 
Thomas (2-1) picked up the win for the Gators, while Herzog (0-1) took the loss for UR. Bevan got the start for the 'Jackets and struck out 10 over 6.0 innings pitched, allowing two unearned runs in the no-decision, while Mark Schweicket allowed three runs on six hits over 6.0 innings pitched for Allegheny.
 
Ellison led UR with three hits, going 3-for-4 with a run scored, while Constantine went 1-for-4 with a home run, walk and two RBI. Tirabassi also added two hits, going 2-for-4 with a double and an RBI.
 
The Yellowjackets will look to bounce back when they open their home slate against St. John Fisher on Sunday, March 17 at Towers Field with a doubleheader beginning at 1:00 p.m.