ITHACA, NY – Host Ithaca College won a key Liberty League West Division series over the University of Rochester baseball team, capturing a Sunday matinee by a 5-1 score at Freeman Field.
The win keeps the Bombers in first place in the Liberty League West Division at 21-9 overall and 9-2 in the division. Rochester drops to 14-14 on the season and is now 8-4 in conference divisional matchups, sitting comfortably in second place.
Ithaca's pitching staff held Rochester to just one run for the second straight game, only allowing the Yellowjackets to earn seven hits in the loss. The Bombers ended up earning only five total hits, but benefitted from nine walks and four wild pitches from the Yellowjacket pitching staff.
Host Ithaca was able to get on the board first, tallying an unearned run in the bottom of the third off 'Jacket starter
Mark Aaronson. Riley Brawdy walked and advanced to second on a failed pickoff attempt. After a pop out, Louis Fabbo singled to right, driving in Brawdy for the lead.
After Ithaca starter Danny Drotos was perfect through three innings, UR's
Jackson Reed reached on an error to leadoff the fourth. A sacrifice bunt by
Colby Cruser moved Reed to second and
Alec Ellison provided an RBI single to left to level the score.
But Drotos got out of the inning getting two strikeouts to end the frame, stranding Ellison and
Luke Gregory on base.
Ithaca regained the lead in the fourth. Collin Feeney led off with a single before a throwing error put two runners on. A fielders choice got one out, but a wild pitch allowed Feeney to score, making the score 2-1. Reliever
Matt Casiero ended the scoring threat though, getting Ithaca batters to ground out and strikeout.
The score remained 2-1 Ithaca until the bottom of the sixth when another wild pitch allowed the Bombers to add to the lead. Ithaca missed an opportunity though, leaving the bases loaded in the frame.
Ithaca's lead ballooned to four in the seventh inning. A foul out started the inning, but back-to-back walks put two runners on base, forcing Casiero from the game. A ground out against
Sammy Rosenfield moved the runners to second and third, but another wild pitched allowed two more runs to score, with the ball ricocheting around the backstop.
Rochester's offense threatened in the eighth inning.
Luke Blozy led off with a walk and after a line out, Cruser laced a single to left to put two runners on. The Bomber bullpen did its job though, getting out of the jam with a strikeout and ground out.
It was nearly the same scenario in UR's last time up in the ninth inning, with Gregory and
Sammy Besztery reaching on singles, sandwiched around a strikeout. Ithaca's Conor Burns once again got out of the inning though, preserving the series win with a strikeout and ground out.
Three players finished with two hits for the Yellowjackets, Cruser, Gregory and Besztery. Besztery's 2-for-4 performance extended his season-long hit streak to 13 games, while Ellison's RBI was the 14th time in the last 16 games he drove in a run for Rochester.
Aaronson took the loss, his first of the season on the mound for UR, going 3.1 innings while giving up 3 hits, 2 runs (0 earned) with 2 walks and 2 strikeouts. Casiero struck out four, but allowed three runs in his three innings. Rosenfield and
Thomas Blaydes finished off the game for Rochester.
Drotos tossed 6 innings while giving up 3 hits and 1 run (0 earned) for Ithaca, striking out 5. Two Bomber relievers, Dan Allard and Burns, combined for five more strikeouts and did not allow a run the rest of the game.
Rochester's next game is set for Tuesday afternoon at Hamilton College.
