ROCHESTER, N.Y. – The Ithaca College baseball team split a Liberty League doubleheader with RIT on Sunday and had its eight-game winning streak snapped in Game Two. IC won the opener, 3-2, in 10 innings and fell to RIT in the second game, 5-3. The Bombers are now 16-5 on the season and 7-1 in the Liberty League.
GAME ONE: Ithaca 3, RIT 2 (10 Innings)
IC and RIT got locked into another low-scoring contest to open Sunday's doubleheader as the Bombers would eventually prevail, 3-2, in 10 innings.
RIT took a 2-0 lead early in the game as the Tigers scored once in the top of the first inning and plated another run in the third. A sacrifice fly brought in the first run of the day and then the Tigers pushed another run across on a base hit to right-center.
Ithaca answered with two runs in the bottom of the fourth to knot the game up at 2-2, but neither team would score again until the Bombers walked-off on a bloop double to right by
Louis Fabbo that scored
Riley Brawdy.
In the fourth,
Collin Feeney led off with a double and Fabbo followed with a single. With one out,
Ryan Laubscher drove in Feeney with a sac fly to left and an error allowed Fabbo to score from second after he moved into scoring position on a stolen base.
In the bottom of the 10th,
Ethan Rothstein led off with a single and then moved up on an error off the bat of Brawdy. Both runners moved up on a wild pitch, but Rothstein would then be thrown out at home on a ground ball to short by
Connor Pedersen. After a strikeout, Fabbo ended the game.
Jack Picozzi started on the mound for the Bombers and struck out four in 5.0 innings. Picozzi allowed two runs on five hits and two walks.
Sean Kelly picked up the win in 5.0 scoreless innings of relief with one strikeout and three hits.
GAME TWO: RIT 5, Ithaca 3
Ithaca scored first in the nightcap as
Matt Curtis drove in
Colin Shashaty on a double down the left field line to build a 1-0 lead. Shashaty led off with a walk and scored all the way from first on the extra base hit by Curtis.
The Tigers tied things up in the top of the third by stringing together three singles to push in a run. RIT then took a 2-1 lead in the fourth on a base hit up the middle as the Tigers once again used three singles to produce a run. RIT continued to add to its lead in the fifth as a one-out single moved up to third on an error and then a single through the left side made it a 3-1 game.
IC knotted the game at 3-3 in the bottom of the fifth on an RBI double by
Camden Laney and a single by Laubscher. Pedersen scored on the Laney hit and
Colin Dunn came home on the Laubscher single, but on the play, Laney was thrown out at home to end the inning.
In the top of the eighth inning, RIT put its first two runners on the at bat on by way of a base hit and error. After a sac bunt moved the runners up,
Conor Burns got IC out of the inning with a strikeout and flyout to preserve the tie game.
The Tigers finally came through in the top of the ninth with two runs to take a 5-3 lead and eventually won the contest. RIT's first two batters reached on base hits and then moved up on a passed ball. Both runs came home on a single up the middle with no outs.
Danny Drotos started on the mound for IC and lasted 4.0 innings and allowed two runs on nine hits with four strikeouts.
John Griffin entered in relief in the fifth inning and tossed 3.0 innings and gave up one unearned run on four hits and two strikeouts. Burns took the loss as he surrendered two runs on three hits in 2.0 innings pitched.
The Bombers host Hamilton College at Freeman Field on Tuesday at 4 p.m.
