By ABIGAIL SCHMIDT
HOUGHTON, N.Y. — The Genesee Rapids emerged with a tight 6-5 victory in their first season meeting with the Rochester Ridgemen Sunday afternoon at the Kerr-Pegula Athletic Complex in New York Collegiate Baseball League action.
There were four lead changes in the first five innings. The Ridgemen took an early 2-0 lead only for the Rapids to answer back in the bottom of the second with three runs to take the lead 3-2.
The Ridgemen retook the lead IN the top of the fifth as Michael DiViesti (Butler) hit an RBI single to bring Alexander Stack (Dallas) home.
Cole Metcalfe (Bellarmine) recorded a double and a triple on the day.
The Rapids answered again and tied the score at five in the fifth inning off a two run RBI triple from Dan Crozier (Cazenovia).
Crozier also had a double and a single on the afternoon.
“We swung the bat a lot better today,” said Rapids manager Tyler Rost. “We were able to hit the gaps and get guys home.”
The Rapids scored the winning run in the seventh as Ryan Dickt (Virginia-Wise) hit an RBI double to bring Joey Chapman (Cedarville) home.
“This is our fifth game where we’ve lost by one run,” said Ridgemen manager Joe Shallenburger. “Someone has to come up with a big hit sooner or later. We were swinging the bats hard just right at somebody. So hopefully those will start falling our way.”
Jason Collingwood (Greenville) got the win for the Rapids. He allowed no runs on two hits and struck out one in 2.2 innings.
“I was able to keep the ball down,” said the Illinois native. “But all the credit to God and the defense. They hit a couple balls but luckily my defense was there. It was a great team win.”
“I don’t throw the hardest but if I can keep that ball down that’s where I do well,” he continued.
“Our defense was much tighter tonight,” said Rost. “We had a couple mental mistakes that we need to clean up but other than that I thought we did well.”
The Rapids mound saw two additional pitchers on the day. Brett St. Clair (Walsh) got the start and pitched the first five innings, while Breton LaRose (Sacred Heart) was credited with the save in the ninth.
The Rochester mound also saw three pitchers. Nick Jensen (Grays Harbor) started and threw 4.1 innings. Luke Brown (Rollins) received the loss. He gave up one run on four hits and struck out one. Jacob Purcell (Clearwater Christian) also came out the bullpen.
Timely hitting is a key for the Ridgemen moving forward.
“Someone needs to come up with a hit when we need it, said Shallenburger. “We’re getting hits but they’re not coming when we need them.
“We scored five runs, which should be good for a baseball game, he continued. “It seems like either the pitching is down or the hitting is down. We need to be more together.”
The Ridgemen fall to 6-10 on the season with the loss.
The Rapids ended their three game losing streak and improve to 11-7 on the season, sitting in second in the NYCBL’s Western Division.
The teams will face off again tomorrow at the Kerr-Pegula Athletic Complex at 7 p.m.
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