Box Score 1 | Box Score 2 UTICA, N.Y. – The Ithaca College baseball team scored a combined 12 runs in their final at bats of a doubleheader sweep at Utica on Saturday. Ithaca won the opener, 9-5, and took Game Two, 10-8, to improve to 10-9 on the season.

With the two wins, head coach George Valesente now has 1,100 career victories in his 42 seasons as a coach. Valesente reached his 1,000th win as Ithaca's coach earlier this year.

Game One: Ithaca 9, Utica 5

Ithaca trailed for the entire opener until the Bombers strung together seven runs in their final at bat. The Bombers capitalized on three walks and two errors with three hits during the seventh.

During the rally, sophomore Josh Savacool led off with a single and was followed by a walk to senior Brian Burns. Junior Zach Pidgeon drew a walk to load the bases and then another free pass was issued to junior Stephen Yanchus to push across the first run.  Senior Matt Connolly drove in the next run on a single, and then the Bombers took the lead on a fielder's choice and error which allowed Yanchus and Pidgeon to score. With runners now on second and third, freshman Domenic Boresta singled to score Connolly to make the score 7-5. Another error would be committed by Utica to push the final two runs across.

Prior to the comeback, Utica jumped out to a 3-0 lead after the first inning on a three-run home run, but the Bombers answered right back in the top of the second with one run.

In the frame, Pidegon started things off with a single, stole second, and then came around to score on a double off the bat of Yanchus.

After Utica regained a three-run lead at 4-1 through three innings, Ithaca brought it back to within two runs as sophomore Ryan Henchey scored on a wild pitch in the fifth. The Bombers had a chance to tie things up later in the inning with two runners in scoring position, but a strikeout ended the threat.

The Pioneers responded in the bottom of the fifth with an RBI double to go back up by three runs at 5-2 and held onto that lead until Ithaca's seven-run seventh inning.

Senior Andrew Sanders earned his fourth win of the season in a near complete game. Sanders gave up five earned runs on 12 hits, but also struck out seven batters. Fellow senior Jimmy Wagner came in to retire the final out of the game on a strike out with the bases loaded for his fourth save.

Yanchus and Savacool both collected two hits in the opener. Yanchus also doubled twice and drove in two runs with a run scored, while Savacool scored a run.

Game Two: Ithaca 10, Utica 8

In the nightcap, sophomore Trevor Thompson dealt the big blow to complete the doubleheader comeback sweep with a three-run homerun in the top of the ninth inning to give the Bombers a 10-8 victory. Sophomore Josh Savacool and freshman Brennan McCormack were on base after reaching on an error and as a pinch runner – McCormack for senior Brian Burns after a base hit.

Ithaca capitalized all game on sloppy defensive play by Utica. In the second inning, the Pioneers committed two errors in the inning which led to a 3-0 lead for the Bombers.

Pidgeon began the inning by reaching on an error and the Yanchus singled. Brown sent a double to left field to clear the bases and senior Cooper Belyea followed with an RBI on another error to score Brown.

Utica would score twice in the bottom of the third to make the score, 3-2, but Ithaca tacked on another run in the fifth on two more Pioneer errors.

In the bottom half of the fifth, Utica captured its first lead in the game, 5-4, on three unearned runs. Back-to-back singles drove in the first two runs and the third came around to scoring on a throwing error on an attempted pick off.

The Pioneers extended their lead to 8-4 in the bottom of the seventh on another three-run homer with one out to force junior Brandon Diorio out of the game. Diorio lasted 6.1 innings in his third start of the season and allowed eight runs (three earned) on eight hits with two strikeouts and four walks.

Ithaca got one back in the eighth on a throwing error that allowed Pidgeon to score from second base. Pidgeon reached on a single and moved up to second on a wild pitch before scoring on the errant throw off a groundball from Yanchus.

In the ninth, the Bombers scored five runs. The first run came in on a single from Burns before Thompson's round-tripper. After a single from Connolly and stolen base, Brown picked up an RBI base hit to cap off the frame.

All 10 of Ithaca's runs scored in Game Two were unearned.

Junior Ryan Contegni picked up the win in victory in 1.2 innings of relief with two strikeouts. Wagner snatched his second save of the day, striking out two in the ninth.

Ithaca and Utica will be back at it tomorrow for another doubleheader starting at noon.