By RAEGAN RYAN
HOUGHTON, N.Y. – With the game knotted at two runs a piece, Jared Piper’s (Hillsdale) single to center field in the top of the sixth lifted the Rochester Ridgemen over the Genesee Rapids in New York Collegiate Baseball League action Monday night at Kerr-Pegula Athletic Complex. Piper’s single gave Rochester a 3-2 advantage en route to a 5-2 victory.
Luke Chevalier (Northern State U ) made the lead stick. The right-hander allowed two runs on five hits over seven innings of work. He struck out five, walked four and improved to 1-1 on the young season.
In the bottom of the first inning, Chevalier was up against a two out, runner on third scenario. He was aggressive from the mound and got ahead of the next batter in a 1-2 count, and the Ridgemen defending a likely scoring situation with a putout to the catcher for out number three.
The first run of the game came in the top of the second inning. Joe Done (Skagit Valley) doubled to left field and made his way to home plate on an RBI single from teammate Connor Brown (Ohio Wesleyan).
The Rapids fought back in the bottom of the inning. Mark McKenna (Canisius) led off with a single to third base. McKenna stole a pair of bases and made his way home on a wild pitch, making the score 1-1 at the end of two innings of play.
The Rapids final run would be scored in the bottom of the third inning. Joey Chapman (Cedarville) hit a single to right field to get things started for Genesee. Chapman’s hit amounted to a run after Grant Myers (Monmouth Coll) got a hold of a pitch and put it on a rope to right field taking a 2-1 lead.
The Ridgemen offense found life in the fifth inning. An unorthodox play on a fielder’s choice allowed Cameron Maxwell (Hillsdale) to score the tying run as the side quickly retired after that.
Rochester recorded two hits in the sixth. The first was a double from Ethan Luna (Southwestern U). And the next, an RBI single from Piper, to take the 3-2 lead. They would also tally two hits in the seventh: a single from Brooks Pitaniello (Harding U) and an RBI triple from Bram Wood (Olney Central Coll) to widen the gap to 4-2.
It would take another two hits in the ninth inning for the Ridgemen to score their fifth run. Luna would triple to left field plating Pitaniello to create the eventual final score of 5-2.
Luna and Wood both finished 2-for-5 with an RBI. Piper was 2-for-4 with a run batted in. Maxwell had two hits. Pitaniello was 2-for-2 and scored twice.
Chevalier retired eight straight from the end of the third to the sixth inning.
Joe Done entered the game in the ninth inning to record the save.
The Ridgemen are slated for a 7:00p.m. match up with the Olean Oilers Tuesday night at Bradner Stadium.
Genesee Rapids will continue NYCBL action on the road against the Hornell Dodgers Tuesday night at 7:00p.m.
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