NEWARK, NJ – The University of Rochester baseball team dropped a pair of games on Sunday afternoon at Rutgers University-Newark, falling 12-4 and 7-5 in the doubleheader, continuing the Yellowjackets opening weekend of play in 2025.
With the two losses, UR sits at 0-4 after getting swept by William Paterson on Saturday as well. Rutgers-Newark improves to 4-5 so far in the early part of the season.
GAME 1: Rutgers-Newark 12, Rochester 4
After a scoreless opening two innings, Rutgers-Newark notched at least one run in the next six frames to power past the Yellowjackets offensively in the victory. Three of those innings featured multiple runs, including a 4-run eighth and a 3-run fourth. The Scarlet Knights pounded out 18 hits, leading to 12 runs overall.
Senior infielder
Alexander Gonzalo provided the bulk of Rochester's offense, recording a double, home run and three RBI along with a run scored. The rest of UR's lineup mustered just three hits combined, one each off the bat of
Ethan Jaquette,
Josh Leadem and
Sammy Smith.
Rutgers-Newark's top of the lineup had a strong outing in the opening, with Paul Rechhia, Eric Recchia and Michael Weinbel, the Scarlet Knights 1-2-3 hitters, going a combined 9-for-16 with three runs scored and five RBI.
UR's
Thomas Blaydes got the start and allowed four runs in 3.2 innings, striking out four. He was saddled with the loss.
Matt Bradley struck out three in 1.2 innings while
Jack Subramanian also hit that strikeout total over 2.1 innings.
Zach Herzog finished off the game on the mound for UR.
Rutgers-Newark's Matthew King spun seven strong frames for the winners, allowing just three hits and two runs. He struck out seven and walked two.
GAME 2: Rutgers-Newark 7, Rochester 5
Game two was a bit of a back-and-forth affair, with five lead changes taking place over the nine innings.
Rochester got things started in the second, with
Benjamin Garber lacing a double to center, plating Gonzalo who reached via walk.
The score remained 1-0 Rochester until the bottom of the fourth when the Scarlet Knights took the lead, scoring three runs. With one out, two singles and a throwing error loaded the bases.
After a fielder's choice brought in the first run of the frame, Devin Rojas provided a big two-out hit with a double to right, scoring two additional runs.
UR answered bounced right back though, scoring three runs in the top half of the next inning. Four straight singles with one out, coming from
Luke Blozy,
Jackson Reed,
Sammy Besztery and Leadem scored the first of the three in the inning.
Jaquette tied up the game with a sacrifice fly to right field, and later in the inning, Besztery stole home in a first-and-third situation for the Yellowjackets, making the score 4-3.
In the sixth, the Scarlet Knights used a pair of two out hits to regain the lead. E. Recchia doubled to left center, scoring Rojas, to knot the game at 4-4. The next hitter was Weinbel who singled to center, driving in Recchia, giving the hosts the lead once again.
Rochester again fought back in the bounce-back inning, with Reed crossing home plate on a Jaquette infield single during the top of the seventh.
The score remained tied until the bottom of the eighth, when Weinbel launched a two-out, two-run home run to left to provide the final runs of the game, putting Rutgers-Newark ahead 7-5.
UR got the tying run to the plate in the final inning, with Leadem drawing a walk, but a strikeout by closer Vince Taylor sealed the deal for the Scarlet Knights.
On the mound,
Sunil Lindsay tossed the opening five innings for Rochester, allowing three runs, all unearned.
Ryan Arora took the loss, allowing three runs in two innings.
Theo Beckley finished off the contest for Rochester.
Rochester's early season road trip concludes on Tuesday afternoon, with the Yellowjackets playing a single 9-inning game at the University of Scranton. First pitch is slated for 2 pm.
