ITHACA, N.Y. – The Ithaca College baseball team improved to 19-12 overall and 10-3 in the Empire 8 Conference with a 9-2 victory over Houghton College on Sunday at Freeman Field. Four different players produced multi-hit games and senior
Brandon Diorio gave up just two hits over 6.2 innings to lead Ithaca to its sixth straight win.
Diorio allowed just one run and struck out three batters en route to his fourth win of the season. He needed just 84 pitches to maneuver through the Houghton lineup. It is Diorio's third start this season in which he has pitched into the seventh inning and allowed fewer than two runs.
The Bombers jumped out to a 3-0 lead after the first inning on three hits. Junior
Josh Savacool led off with a walk and moved up to third on a double from freshman
Webb Little. Fellow junior
Trevor Thompson drove in Savacool with a sacrifice fly and then W. Little scored on a groundout by freshman
Matt Carey. A bunt single by senior
John Stanley led to a throwing error, which allowed freshman
Sam Little to score from second.
Ithaca scored three more runs, with two outs, in the second inning to increase its advantage to 6-0. A double from Thompson brought in Savacool to start things off, and then S. Little followed with a single through the left side to score Thompson. Singles from Carey and Stanley loaded the bases, which set up an RBI walk to senior
Cameron Oathout.
After Houghton put up its first run of the game in the third, Ithaca got it back as Cole came home on a sac fly from W. Little.
In the fourth, Ithaca plated two more runs as Stanley scampered home on a sac fly from freshman
Adam Gallagher and Oathout crossed on a wild pitch for the Bombers' final runs of the contest.
The final run of the game came in the top of the ninth inning for the Highlanders.
Stanley paced the offense with a 3-for-4 day at the plate. Thompson doubled twice in four at bats with two RBI and a run scored. Cole and S. Little also notched two hits in the victory.
Savacool walked three times and scored twice, while Oathout drew two walks in a 1-for-3 afternoon with a run scored and an RBI.
Junior
Logan Barer, freshman Chris Marinaccio and junior
Jean Germosen combined to throw the final 2.1 innings.
The Bombers travel to nationally-ranked No. 4 SUNY Oswego on Tuesday for a 4 p.m. contest. Ithaca will then return home for a non-conference tilt against SUNY Brockport at 4 p.m. on Wednesday.
