By PAUL GOTHAM
ROCHESTER, N.Y. — Brennan Hileman (Cincinnati, OH/St. Xavier) went the distance in Game 1, and host Monroe Community College Baseball completed a doubleheader sweep (6-1/6-3) of Finger Lakes CC in National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) action, Thursday from Tribune Field.
Hileman improved to 5-1 on the season. The redshirt freshman struck out 10 and allowed one run on five hits and two walks in the 6-1 victory.
“I just got ahead of batters with strike one and used the defense,” the right-hander said. “If you pitch to contact, strike outs are going to come.”
After allowing three hits to start the second when FLCC scored its lone run, Hileman settled in and retired 16 of the last 18 batters he faced.
“He’s ultimately one of the leaders of our clubhouse,” said MCC head coach Dave Brust. “He backs it up with his work ethic and accountability for his own game.
“Coming from Cincinnati with very good high school baseball and really good travel programs where winning is important, he understands how to manage the game and work behind the scenes. He does all of that. He’s made a good impression on our young players. It’s hard to believe he’s a freshman. He’s a redshirt freshman, but he’s a freshman.”
Monroe sent eight to the plate in a four-run second when the Tribunes took a lead they did not surrender.
Ben Buxton (Marysville/ON./St. Theresa Catholic Secondary), Evan Brock (Rochester, N.Y./Rush-Henrietta HS) and Carter Higgins (Truro, Nova Scotia/Cobequid Educational Centre) started the frame with consecutive singles to load the bases.
Paul Fiene (Ronkonkoma, N.Y./Sachem HS North) followed with an RBI single. One out later, Braedon Reina (Rochester, N.Y./Churchville-Chili HS) brought in another run with a sacrifice fly, and Miguel Matos (Rochester, N.Y./East HS) capped the inning with a two-run single.
“Our hitters are going to produce,” Hileman said. “You leave it up to them. It’s definitely nice (to have the run support).
Parker Zeiser (Victor, N.Y./Victor HS) finished 2-for-4 with an RBI in the win. Brock was 2-2 with a walk. Higgins went 2-3. Michael Sardou (Rochester, N.Y./Churchville-Chili HS) walked and scored twice. Reina accounted for a triple.
Brock and Higgins both finished 2-for-2 with three RBI to lead a 6-3 win in the nightcap.
Higgins plated two in a three-run first with his first of two doubles in the game.
The duo connected on back-to-back two baggers in a three-run third as MCC ran its lead to 6-0.
Chuckie Sobaszek (Rochester, N.Y./Rush-Henrietta HS) started and struck out two over three scoreless innings to pick up the win. The left-hander allowed two hits and a walk to run his record to 2-2. Jackson Hubbard (Sayre, PA/Sayre HS) fanned five over two scoreless innings of relief.
“The theme of mental effort is something we’ve been working on a lot,” Brust said. “We got enough of it today. I thought we did a good job of it. We scored the runs that we needed to win the game. I’m happy.”
The wins came five days after Monroe dropped a pair at FLCC last Saturday. The Lakers took a 10-3 decision in Game 1 of that twin bill before rallying to score five unanswered in a 5-4 win over Monroe in Game 2.
“You leave those games on Saturday with a bad taste in your mouth,” Hileman said. “You’re ready to come out and beat them. We came ready to play today.”
Thursday’s wins also capped a 30-hour period in which MCC won four games.
The Tribunes traveled to Falcon Park on Wednesday and swept host Cayuga CC (8-6/11-3).
Matos paced a 12-hit attack in Game 1 with a 2-for-2 effort including a two-run home run that sparked a five-run first to give the Tribunes a lead they did not surrender.
Reina went 2-4 with a triple, a walk and two runs scored. Higgins doubled and drove in two runs. Fiene and Zeiser both singled and scored. Brock went 3-4 with an RBI and a run scored. Buxton was 2-3 with a walk, two RBI and a run scored.
Jack Keagle (Pittsford Mendon/Pittsford Mendon HS) improved to 4-2 on the season with the win in Game 1. The sophomore southpaw struck out nine and allowed four runs on five hits and eight walks. Sobaszek allowed two runs (one earned) on three hits and a walk over two innings of work for his first save of the season.
Brock, Matos and Sardou had two hits apiece in the nightcap.
Brock homered as part of a 2-4 effort with two RBI and two runs scored. Sardou doubled twice and finished 2-3 with two RBI and two runs scored. Matos was 2-3 with a walk and four RBI.
Reina walked twice and scored twice.
“Yesterday, we played really good baseball,” Brust said. “We hit situationally. We bunted well. We ran well. We had a lot of energy situationally with good, disciplined at-bats.”
Higgins doubled, drove in a run and scored twice. Jadon Wanat (East Amherst, N.Y./Williamsville North HS) singled and scored.
Tristan Pappas (Richmond Hill, ON./St. Theresa of Lisieux CHS) hurled 2.1 scoreless innings of relief to register his first win of the season. Hubbard fanned two and retired all six batters he faced in two innings of relief work.
MCC (20-12) travels to face Lackawanna College on Sunday. A 2 p.m. first pitch is scheduled for Game 1.
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