PRINCE ATHLETIC COMPLEX – University of Rochester baseball earned a split in its doubleheader against the Ithaca College Bombers on Saturday at Towers Field, battling back from an early deficit to take game one, 5-4, but the Bombers would rally late to take game two, 9-4, to take the weekend series against the 'Jackets. With the split, Rochester opens Liberty League play at 8-5 (1-2 LL), while the Bombers move to 8-5 (2-1 LL) with the split and series victory.
 
GAME ONE: Rochester 5, Ithaca 4
Andrew Lenhard toed the rubber in game one for the Yellowjackets and worked around a one-out double in the top of the first, but the Bombers would break through in the top of the second.
 
Lucas Orlovitz led off the inning with a double, took second on Isaiah Smith's groundout to second, and scored on Nate Rodriguez's RBI single to give the Bombers a 1-0 lead.
 
Ithaca then made it 2-0 in the top of the third, again bringing the leadoff runner home after Sheldon Jay Walker III got the inning started with a single. Walker III stole second and came home on Camden Laney's RBI single, but Lenhard prevented any more damage with a strikeout of Orlovitz and a lineout to center.
 
Walker III again got the Bombers' offense going in the top of the fifth, helping stretch Ithaca's lead to 3-0. Walker III tripled down the right-field line to get the inning started, and a batter later, Ethan Fantel made it 3-0 Bombers with a single to center. Lenhard retired the next batter before James Nelson finished the inning with a groundout, and Rochester's bats would get going in the bottom of the frame.
 
Luke Blozy led off the bottom of the fifth with a single, and the 'Jackets quickly moved him to second with a sacrifice bunt. Owen Andreatta followed with a single to right to put runners at the corners to bring up George Farley IV, whose RBI double scored Blozy and got the Yellowjackets on the board.
 
Carlos Barajas then cut Ithaca's lead to just one, 3-2, with a sacrifice fly to right to score Andreatta, before Sammy Besztery tied the score at three with an RBI single to center.
 
The Bombers, though, would come right back to retake the lead with two swings in the top of the sixth. Despite retiring the first two batters of the inning, Ethan Daddabbo roped a two-out single off Nelson, and Liam Ternan followed with an RBI double to left to score Daddabbo and put Ithaca back up, 4-3.
 
And while Tiernan stole third as the Bombers looked to continue their two-out rally, Nelson struck out Walker III to keep the lead at just one, and an inning later, the 'Jackets would tie things up.
 
Farley IV's one-out single got Rochester going in the bottom of the seventh, as the first-year stole second and took third on Barajas' single to right, coming home on Besztery's sacrifice fly to level the score at four-all.
 
Then, after Nelson worked a scoreless eighth, Rochester took advantage of a defensive miscue by the Bombers to take the lead. Benjamin Garber led off the frame with a single up the middle and was pinch-run for by Jake Goldberg. Looking to move Goldberg to second, Jake Bentivenga laid down a sacrifice bunt, but the Bombers airmailed the throw, allowing Goldberg to come all the way around to score and give URochester a 5-4 lead.
 
That'd be all Rochester needed, as Jake Del Vecchio needed just 14 pitches to pitch a perfect ninth, nailing down the save to give Rochester a 5-4 victory.
 
Nelson (2-0) picked up the win, allowing one run on three hits, walking one and striking out three over 3.1 innings out of the bullpen. Del Vecchio (3) earned the save, striking out one, while Lenhard took a no-decision, allowing three runs on seven hits, striking out three over 4.2 innings pitched.
 
For Ithaca, Cooper Albert (1-1) took the loss, allowing one unearned run on one hit over 1.0 inning pitched.
 
Garber went 3-for-4 to lead Rochester at the plate, while Besztery went 2-for-3 with two RBI, and Farley IV went 2-for-3 with a double, an RBI and two runs scored.
 
GAME TWO: Ithaca 9, Rochester 4
The Bombers would again score first in game two, pushing across a pair in the top of the second inning. Owen Callahan drew a hit-by-pitch to lead off the frame, and after Smith followed with a single to put runners at second and third, Matt Curtis brought home the Bombers' first run with a sacrifice fly to left.
 
Orlovitz kept things rolling with another single through the infield, while a batter later, Walker III made it 2-0 with another single, scoring Smith from second base.
 
Sunil Lindsay, though, would settle down after allowing a pair in the top of the second, working around a pair of base runners in the third before URochester tied things up in the bottom of the frame.
 
Three-straight singles by Farley IV, Barajas and Besztery loaded the bases for Teddy Monahan, who reached on a fielder's choice, erasing Farley IV at home. With the bases still loaded, though, Garber slashed a two-run single up the middle to tie the score at two; however, Richard Zangara would escape without any more damage, getting Jake Bentivenga to ground into a double play.
 
Both starters would settle down with the score now tied, cruising through the fourth, while Theo Beckley relieved Lindsay midway through the fifth and stranded a pair to keep the game tied at two.
 
Zangara worked 1-2-3 frames in the bottom of the fourth and fifth, while Beckley kept the Bombers off the scoreboard in the sixth, stranding two more base runners, before Rochester chased Zangara and took the lead in the bottom of the inning.
 
Two walks and two wild pitches put runners on second and third with nobody out, forcing Ithaca to make a call to the bullpen. Danny Drotos relieved Zangara, and gave up a sacrifice fly to Bentivenga to give URochester the lead, but a pair of strikeouts kept Rochester from extending its lead any further.
 
Beckley, though, worked another scoreless frame in the top of the seventh, while Drotos matched the Yellowjacket sophomore reliever, stranding a pair in the bottom of the seventh.
 
URochester then brought in Aidan Watts to start the eighth, but the sophomore quickly ran into some trouble, walking a pair. The 'Jackets made another call to the bullpen, bringing in Del Vecchio to try to escape the inning, but another walk and a hit-by-pitch helped Ithaca tie the game at three, before Fantel's two-run single gave the Bombers a 6-3 advantage.
 
Ithaca would score six runs on just two hits in the top of the eighth, as the 'Jackets used four pitchers in the inning, finally sending things to the bottom of the stanza, on Curtis' flyout to left.
 
Now trailing 8-3, Rochester would get one back in the bottom of the eighth on Bentivenga's RBI single, but with runners at second and third and just one out after Will Webster's sacrifice bunt, Luke Zelinko struck out a pair to escape the inning without any more damage.
 
The Bombers tacked on one more in the top of the ninth on Walker III's RBI double, before Zelinko closed out the win, striking out a pair to finish off the 9-4 win.
 
Watts (0-1) took the loss for UR, allowing two runs on two walks. Drotos (2-0) earned the win for Ithaca, pitching two scoreless frames, while Zelinko (4) notched the save, striking out four over 2.0 innings pitched.
 
Lindsay took a no-decision with his start, allowing two runs on three hits, walking and striking out four in 4.1 innings pitched.
 
At the plate, Besztery went 3-for-5 with a double and a run scored, while Garber went 2-for-3 with two walks, a run scored and two RBI.
 
Rochester will be back at Towers Field on Tuesday, March 24, hosting SUNY Brockport at 4:00 p.m.