PRINCE ATHLETIC COMPLEX – The University of Rochester baseball split its midweek, non-conference doubleheader against the Hamilton College Continentals on Tuesday at Towers Field, winning game one, 11-8, before dropping game two, 16-11. With the doubleheader split, the Yellowjackets now stand at 14-13 on the season, while Hamilton remains at .500 at 14-14.
 
Rochester next kicks off its final Liberty League series of the year, beginning with its Senior Day matchup vs RIT on Friday, April 25 at 4:00 p.m. at Towers Field. UR then makes the short trip to Henrietta, NY to wrap up the three-game set against the Tigers with a doubleheader on Saturday, April 26 at 12:00 p.m.
 
Game 1: Rochester 11, Hamilton 8
Andrew Lenhard toed the rubber in game one for the Yellowjackets, and worked around a leadoff single in the top of the first, as well as two baserunners in the second before the 'Jackets struck first and gave the first-year a lead to work with in the bottom of the frame.
 
UR plated four runs in the bottom of the second, all coming with two outs. Back-to-back, one-out singles by Sammy Besztery and Benjamin Garber put two runners on base for Jake Goldberg, but Mark Kovach struck out the first-year for the second out of the inning. Sammy Smith followed with a six-pitch walk, though, and Matt Reith then poked a two-run single through the left side to score a pair.
 
Jackson Reed then cleared the bases with a two-run triple to center, doubling the 'Jackets' lead to 4-0.
 
Hamilton would get one back in the top of the third on Greg Kopp's RBI double, but Rochester would answer back in the bottom of the frame.
 
Josh Leadem led off the inning with a single to left, and after Alexander Gonzalo followed with a single of his own, Leadem came around to score on Besztery's fielder's choice and a throwing error, putting UR back up by four. Garber then made it 6-1 with Rochester's second triple of the day, scoring Besztery from first to extend the Yellowjackets' lead to five.
 
Lenhard got the first out of the fourth before being relieved by Zach Herzog, and the Continentals would plate four in the inning against the Rochester right-hander. Four-straight infield singles loaded the bases and brought home three runs, but the Yellowjackets threw out Gianni DiCerbo trying to stretch his single into a double, preventing the Continentals from getting any closer.
 
Then in the top of the fourth, Rochester responded with three runs against a pair of Hamilton relievers, extending their lead to 9-4. The 'Jackets took advantage of a trio of defensive miscues by the Continentals, as Rieth led off the inning and reached on an error, and then a batter later, came around to score as Colby Cruser reached on another error to make it 7-4.
 
After the Continentals made a pitch change, an error on a failed pickoff attempt brought another run home before Besztery's RBI double scored another run to make it a 9-4 ballgame.
 
Hamilton, though, would again answer back and pull within one in the top of the seventh, stringing together back-to-back RBI base hits after Ryan Arora walked the bases loaded. Jeremy Diaz's three-run double cleared the bases and pulled the Continentals within two, while Alfonso Rada followed with an RBI single to cut Rochester's lead down to one, 9-8.
 
Arora got out of the inning with a strikeout of DiCerbo, and Reed tacked on three more runs for UR in the bottom of the fifth with a mammoth, three-run blast to left center.
 
Reed's run scored on his three-run homer also moved the Yellowjacket graduate student into sole possession of Rochester's career run scored record, surpassing Andy Cannon `10 with 164 runs scored over five seasons with UR.
 
With Rochester in front, 11-8, Matthew Grier relieved Arora and worked around a two-out walk to pitch a clean sixth, while Aidan Watts, in his first career appearance on the mound for the Yellowjackets, closed out the 11-8 victory with a 1-2-3 seventh to nail down the save.
 
Lenhard (2-1) earned the win, allowing one run on three hits, walking one over 3.1 innings pitched. Watts (1) picked up the save, striking out one. For Hamilton, Kovach (1-2) took the loss, allowing six runs on seven hits, walking one and striking out five over 3.0 innings of work.
 
Reed led UR at the plate, going 2-for-3 with a triple, home run, run scored and four RBI. Besztery and Garber also each tallied two hits, with Besztery going 2-for-4 with a double, two runs scored and an RBI, while Garber went 2-for-4 with a triple, run scored and an RBI.
 
Game 2: Hamilton 16, Rochester 11
UR and Hamilton would each string a run across in the first, with the Continentals taking the lead on DiCerbo's ground-rule double, while the Yellowjackets answered back on Randy Davis' infield single, scoring Besztery from third.
 
But Hamilton would come back with a five-spot in the top of the second, jumping in front once again on DiCerbo's grand slam, and adding another on Kopp's RBI single to left center.
 
After a couple of scoreless frames, Rochester left two runners on in the bottom of the second, while Sammy Rosenfield needed just six pitches to set down the Continentals in the third, UR would pull back within two with three runs on just one hit in the bottom of the third.
 
Besztery led off with a single and took third on another failed pickoff attempt by the Continentals, and scored on a wild pitch, before back-to-back walks, another wild pitch and a double steal pulled UR within three, 6-3.
 
With Gonzalo at third base after a sacrifice bunt by Davis, Garber brought the run home with an RBI groundout to make it 6-4, but Luke Beyer relieved Colin McMahon and kept UR from getting any closer.
 
And then in the top of the fourth, the Continentals would send 15 men to the plate, scoring 10 runs on six hits, taking advantage of four walks in the inning. Hamilton twice loaded the bases in the inning and faced a trio of Yellowjacket relievers, turning a 6-4 lead into a 16-4 advantage.
 
Lucas Herman's two-run single capped off the 10-run frame, and through Rochester responded with five runs in the bottom of the fourth, in the end, the deficit would prove to be too much to overcome.
 
Joe Siciliano reached on an error to start the bottom of the fourth, and Reed followed with a single to center to put runners at the corners with nobody out. Besztery's fielder's choice brought the first run of the inning home, while UR would load the bases two batters later on Davis' six-pitch walk.
 
Garber brought home two more with a two-run single off Daniel Jirgal and Goldberg and Nathan Carpenter-Holmes each followed with RBI singles of their own to make it 16-9. But despite loading the bases again on Siciliano's walk, Jirgal got Reed to fly out to keep UR from getting any closer.
 
Rochester would add another run in the bottom of the fifth on Garber's RBI groundout but leave two more on base, while Jack Subramanian settled things down on the mound, working 3.0 innings out of the bullpen.
 
After Theo Beckley worked around a leadoff walk in the top of the seventh, Colby Cruser gave the 'Jackets some life with a two-out, RBI ground-rule double, pulling Rochester within five. But Ethan Righter struck out Carpenter-Holmes to finish off the inning and victory, clinching a split for the Continentals.
 
Justin Grossman (0-1) took the loss for UR, allowing five runs on two hits and three walks over an inning of work, while McMahon (2-1) picked up the win, allowing four runs on three hits, walking three and striking out one over 2.2 innings pitched.
 
Rosenfield pitched a scoreless inning of relief for UR, while Subramanian allowed just one run on two hits, walking and striking out two over 3.0 innings out of the bullpen.
 
At the plate, Garber plated a team-high four runs, going 1-for-4 with a walk, run scored and four RBI, while Davis went 2-for-3 with two walks, two runs scored and an RBI.
 
Rochester next hosts RIT for its Senior Day matchup on Friday, April 25 at 4:00 p.m. at Towers Field.