AURORA, N.Y. — The Keuka College Baseball team swept a North Eastern Athletic Conference doubleheader at Wells College on Saturday.
Keuka College (20-13, 10-3 NEAC) won the opening game 9-5. The Green and Gold then came from behind to defeat the Express 7-6 in game two, sweeping the doubleheader.
Keuka College 9 at Wells College 5 – Game One
The Wolves jumped out to the early lead as Tyler Broderick (State College, Pa. / Saint Joseph's Catholic Academy) hit an RBI single in the top of the first. The Express got the run back in the bottom of the second inning.
The game would remain tied until the fourth inning. Keuka College again took advantage of an error by Wells to start the inning. Nick Brown (Liverpool, N.Y. / Liverpool) broke the tie with an RBI double to left. Brooks Vertoske (Horseheads, N.Y. / Horseheads) was right behind him and singled up the middle to score Brown, making it 4-1. Vertoske moved up on the throw and advanced to third on a groundout. Dan Bamann (Rochester, N.Y. / Irondequoit) plated him with a single as the Wolves took a 4-1 lead.
The two teams traded runs in the fifth, but the Wolves created separation in the sixth. Tyler Broderick and Anthony Brown (Schenectady, N.Y. / Schenectady) each had RBI hits in the inning. Dave Verrett (Cicero, N.Y. / Cicero-North Syracuse) added a sacrifice fly as the lead grew to 8-2.
Wells College scored two in the sixth and each team got one in the seventh. Keuka's run came on an RBI double by Tyler Krowiak (Endwell, N.Y. / Seton Catholic). The Wolves continued onto the 9-5 victory in game one of the doubleheader.
Lead Wolf: Dan Bamann had three hits in the game to lead the Wolves. He tied John Rizzo for fifth on the career hits list with 125 in his 124 career games.
Keuka College 7 at Wells College 6 – Game Two
After a scoreless first two innings, the home team took a 4-0 lead over Keuka College in the bottom of the third. The Wolves got two back in the fifth on an RBI single by Tyler Freedman (Rochester, N.Y. / Aquinas Institute) and an RBI groundout by Dan Bamann, but Wells quickly responded with two in the bottom of the inning to regain their four-run advantage.
Anthony Brown led the sixth inning off with a triple for the Wolves. Next up was Anthony Mashewske who singled up the middle to score Brown. Those hits were the first two of four straight as the Wolves loaded the bases. Keuka College got two more runs as a potential double play ball was thrown away to make it 6-5 Wells.
The Wolves tied the game in the eighth inning. Mashewske led the inning off with a walk. Dave Verrett laid down a sacrifice bunt, but the Wells catcher threw it away, allowing Mashewske to score and advancing Verrett to third. He then scored on a pinch hit single by Nick Boyle (Chenango Forks, N.Y. / Chenango Forks) as the Wolves took a 7-6 lead. Keuka College held onto the lead as they defeated Wells College in game two to sweep the doubleheader.
Lead Wolf: Adam Pankowski (Baldwinsville, N.Y. / Christian Brothers Academy) entered the game to start the sixth inning on the mound and stopped any offense from the Express. The sophomore tied his career-high with 10 strikeouts over just four innings of relief work. In total, Pankowski faced only 15 batters as he finished the game and earned his third win of the season.
KC Notes:
- Keuka College improves to 5-1 all-time against Wells College
- 20 wins for Keuka is the second-most in program history
- The Wolves have won 12 straight, setting a new program record
- Daniel Steve (Cortland, N.Y. / Cortland) improved to 4-0 on the season for Keuka College, getting the win in game one. The sophomore struck out six over five innings for the Wolves
- Brooks Vertoske drove in a run in both games and now has 30 on the season, the most since 2014
- Pankowski combined with starting pitcher K.C. Howe (Mount Morris, N.Y. / Mount Morris) to strike out 14 batters in game two, tying the single-game record at Keuka College
- It was the second time this season that Adam Pankowski has struck out 10 batters in an appearance
Up Next for Keuka College: Keuka College and Wells College will conclude their three-game North Eastern Athletic Conference series on Sunday. The Wolves and Express will face each other in a single, nine-inning game from Aurora, N.Y. First pitch is set for 3pm.