Courtesy of UofRAthletics.com
University of Rochester baseball took a pair from the Skidmore College Thoroughbreds on Saturday at Castle Diamond in interdivisional Liberty League play. The Yellowjackets took game one, 4-1, behind a tremendous performance from Nolan Sparks on the hill, before finishing up the sweep with a 6-2 victory in game two.
With the two wins, Rochester moves to 17-10 (9-2 LL) on the year, while Skidmore falls to 16-8 (7-4 LL).
GAME ONE: Rochester 4, Skidmore 1
Joseph Rende picked up UR’s first hit of the afternoon in the top of the first, but the Yellowjackets wouldn’t score till an inning later.
Meanwhile, on the mound for Rochester, Sparks got rolling with a strikeout to start the bottom of the first, as the junior retired nine of the first 10 hitters he faced.
In the top of the second, Colton Avera and John Moses led off with back-to-back singles, and after Alec Ellison moved the pair over with a sacrifice bunt, Jacob Matzat brought home the game’s first run a batter later with an RBI single scoring Avera from third to give the ‘Jackets a 1-0 lead.
Sparks worked around a leadoff walk in the second, and struck out the side in the third, as the Aurora, CO native racked up 12 strikeouts on the day.
Rochester added another run in the top of the fourth on another Matzat RBI single, scoring Ellison from second after a leadoff walk, before Skidmore scratched out a run against Sparks on Jackson Hornung’s solo home run to left center, cutting the Yellowjackets’ lead to 2-1.
That would be all the Thoroughbreds could muster against Sparks though, as Sparks struck out Max Mello to end the inning and keep Rochester in front by a run, and proceeded to retire the next six in order, working 1-2-3 frames in the fifth and sixth.
After driving in UR’s first two, Matzat this time scored a run, leading off the top of the sixth with a single. Josh Leadem moved Matzat over to second with a sacrifice bunt, before a wild pitch allowed Matzat to take third, and after Aaron Whitley drew a one-out walk, Rende brought Matzat home with a sacrifice fly, extending the lead to 3-1.
Ellison would then make it 4-1 with a solo home run in the top of the seventh, while Sparks worked around a two-out error in the seventh, and a two-out hit-by-pitch in the eighth, before Mark Aaronson came on to pitch the ninth.
Up 4-1, Aaronson got the leadoff batter to groundout to short, and while Hornung, next up, singled to right, the Philadelphia, PA native struck out the next two batters to lock down the save and finish off the 4-1 Rochester victory.
Sparks (5-0) earned the win, allowing one run on one hit, and striking out 12 over eight innings pitched. Aaronson picked up the save, his sixth of the year, striking out two in the bottom of the ninth.
Ameer Hasan (4-1) took the loss for Skidmore, allowing all four Yellowjacket runs on 11 hits over 7.0 innings pitched.
Avera and Matzat each tallied three hits, with Avera going 3-for-5 with a run scored, while Matzat went 3-for-4 with a run scored and two RBI. Ellison also added two hits, going 2-for-2 with a double, home run, two runs scored and RBI.
GAME TWO: Rochester 5, Skidmore 2
After two scoreless innings to start game two, the Thoroughbreds struck first in the bottom of the third. A pair of singles put runners on first and third for Danny Melillo, who beat out a potential double-play ball to allow Brendan O’Neill to score and give Skidmore a 1-0 lead.
The lead would be short-lived though as Rochester answered with four runs in the top of the fourth. Avera led off the inning with a solo shot, quickly knotting the score at 1-1. Jackson Reed then legged on an infield, bunt single, and Moses walked before a wild pitch moved the pair to second and third.
Ellison then picked up where he left off in game one, lacing a single down the third-place line to score both Moses and Reed and give the Yellowjackets a 3-1 lead. And after Dylan Stezzi moved Ellison up with a sacrifice bunt, Leadem made it 4-1 with a single up the middle.
The Thoroughbreds would look to answer with a pair of singles in the bottom of the frame, but Trevor Van Allen got Eddie Galvao to ground out to strand both baserunners and keep UR in front, 4-1.
Van Allen would work around a one-out single, striking out a pair in the bottom of the fifth, before Rochester scored a couple of insurance runs in the top of the sixth. A walk, single and hit-by-pitch loaded the bases for Whitley, who punched a single through the left side to score Stezzi and make it a 5-1 lead.
And after the Thoroughbreds made a pitching change, Rende added another with an RBI groundout, scoring Matzat to extend the lead to 6-1.
Van Allen again worked around a baserunner in the bottom of the sixth, before Thomas Blaydes came in to finish things off in the bottom of the seventh. Ewen Donald led off against Blaydes and nearly made it 6-2, but Whitley robbed Donald with a spectacular catch, putting an out on the board instead.
Then Cameron Pedemonti did make it 6-2 with a solo home run, but Blayes got a groundout and then worked around a two-out walk to finish things off and nail down the 6-2 UR victory.
Van Allen (3-1) earned the win, allowing one run on five hits, walking and striking out two over 6.0 innings pitched. Quinn Hocom (2-2) took the loss for Skidmore, allowing four runs on four hits over 4.0 innings pitched.
10 different Yellowjackets scored or drove in a run, led by Ellison’s two RBI. Reed led UR with a pair of hits, going 2-for-3 with a double and run scored, while Avera went 1-for-3 with a home run, walk, run scored and RBI.
Rochester will wrap up its weekend with another interdivisional matchup against Vassar College on Sunday, April 16 in Poughkeepsie, NY, with a doubleheader beginning at 12:00 p.m.
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