WAYNE, NJ – The University of Rochester baseball team dropped a pair of close contests to host William Paterson University on Opening Day of the 2025 season, falling 11-9 and 5-4 in a doubleheader on Saturday afternoon at Jeff Albies Field.
 
The host Pioneers had a little bit of playing experience this season, moving to 6-3 after the sweep, while Rochester falls to 0-2 to start the year.
 
Game 1: William Paterson 11, Rochester 9
After a scoreless opening frame, Rochester graduate student Josh Leadem got things started for the Yellowjackets in the top of the second inning, blasting a solo home run to center to put the visitors up 1-0. The round-tripper was Leadem's 14th of his career at Rochester.
 
Later in the inning, a fielding error by the Pioneers on a Sammy Smith infield hit allowed Alexander Gonzalo to score, making it 2-0 Rochester.
 
UR starting pitcher Mark Aaronson followed with a 1-2-3 bottom of the second inning, putting the Yellowjacket offense right back up to bat. In the third, after Ethan Jaquette led off with a triple, Jackson Reed grounded out to short, allowing Jaquette to score and putting Rochester up 3-0.
 
The Pioneers chipped away in the bottom of the inning though, getting two runs back on a single from Angel Colon and fielders choice by Stephen Kubis. The damage was limited by Aaronson though, as William Paterson stranded the bases loaded.
 
After Rochester boosted the lead back to a pair on a Jaquette RBI single to score Smith, William Paterson exploded for seven runs on six hits in the bottom of the fourth to race in front 9-4.
 
The big hits for the Pioneers in the 7-run frame were a 2-run single by Austin Jack and a 3-run double by Thomas Jova.
 
UR chipped away at its deficit in the next two innings, getting single runs to cut the lead down to three, trailing 9-6. Luke Gregory singled in Leadem in the fifth and Colby Cruser grounded out, but drove in a run in the next inning for UR.
 
In the seventh, William Paterson scraped another run across to hit double-digits, but in the top of the eighth, UR answered with three runs, all with two outs, to make in a 1-run game.
 
Leadem and Gonzalo provided back-to-back RBI doubles, and after a pitching change, Gregory laced a single to left to move the score to 10-9 Pioneers. Two hit batters later, the bases were loaded, but Pioneer pitcher Neel Telidevara escaped the jam, getting a pop out.
 
A bases loaded walk pushed William Paterson's final run across in the bottom of the eighth before the Yellowjackets threatened, but ended up leaving the tying runners on base in the ninth inning.
 
Rochester pounded out 19 hits in the game, with four players, Jaquette, Cruser, Gregory and Smith all finishing with three knocks. Leadem had 2 hits, 2 RBI and 3 runs scored.
 
On the mound, Aaronson suffered the loss, surrendering nine runs in 3.2 innings, striking out two. Matt Casiero pitched three innings of relief, allowing just one earned run, while Matt Bradley and Cruser also saw time on the bump.
 
Game 2: William Paterson 5, Rochester 4
The nightcap saw a quartet of Rochester pitchers limit the Pioneers to just four hits all game, but the hosts did just enough on offense to earn the sweep, hanging on again in the ninth for a 1-run triumph.
 
UR scored first once again, notching the games opening run in the top of the first. Jaquette led off with a single and moved to second on a base hit by Sammy Besztery. After a wild pitch moved the runners up, Leadem lifted a sacrifice fly and the Yellowjackets held the early lead.
 
Rochester starter Sammy Rosenfield faced the minimum after the opening three frames, with that run being highlighted by a three strikeout inning during the second.
 
Rosenfield allowed back-to-back singles to open the bottom of the fourth, but escaped the jam allowing no runs, keeping the score 1-0 UR.
 
In the fifth, Jaquette singled to center, driving in Gregory to double the Rochester lead to 2-0.
 
William Paterson answered right away though, tying the game in the bottom half of the inning on a 2-run single by Colon.
 
Reed led off the top of the sixth for Rochester with a triple, but the Yellowjackets were unable to scrape the run across, keeping the game tied a two.
 
The Pioneers put up a 3-spot in the bottom of the seventh to take the lead for good. After a strikeout to open the inning, UR pitchers allowed two hit batters and a walk in the next three plate appearances, loading the bases.
 
Colon grounded out for the second out of the inning, but the go-ahead run came home in the process. The next hitter, Devin Daproz, the singled up the middle to score two more, boosting the lead to three.
 
UR quickly got two runs back to make in a 1-run contest after eight innings. In the eighth, Leadem drove in a run on an infield single, and later was a part of a 1st-and-3rd, double-steal attempt which netted another run for Rochester, with Besztery touching home plate.
 
Rochester threatened in the ninth for the second game in a row, with Smith getting hit by a pitch and then stealing second, but Nick Durso got three strikeouts in the inning to pick up his second save of the day.
 
UR's top of the order, Jaquette, Reed and Besztery did most of the damage in game two, combining for six hits and three runs. Leadem drove in two runs.
 
Rosenfield went five innings and struck out six, allowing two runs. Theo Beckley took the loss allowing three runs. Jake Del Vecchio and Derek Llanes also throwing innings for the Yellowjackets.
 
Rochester's opening weekend of the season continues on Sunday with UR playing a pair of games at Rutgers University-Newark on Sunday starting at 11:30 am.