DAVENPORT, Fla. — The Keuka College Baseball team had to escape the New York weather to finally begin their season. They opened 2023 with a doubleheader split with SUNY Poly in sunny Florida.

The Wildcats won the opener on an extra-inning walk-off, but Keuka College (1-1, 0-0 Empire 8) rebounded for a 5-4 victory in game two.

SUNY Poly 4 vs. Keuka College 3 – 8 innings – Game One

The Wildcats took advantage of a pair of Keuka errors in the first inning to score a run and take the early lead over the Wolves. Keuka College responded in the third.

Tyler Lewandowski (Milltown, N.J. / Spotswood) led off the inning with a double to left. He then promptly scored as Samuel O'Neil (Macedon, N.Y. / Ruben A. Cirillo) followed with an RBI single to right.

The game would remain 1-1 until the bottom of the fifth as a single, bunt, balk, and single gave SUNY Poly a 2-1 lead.

Keuka had their first four batters reach in the top of the sixth. Josh Tryon (Elmira, N.Y. / Thomas A. Edison) struck out but reached on a passed ball. He then moved to third on a single by Nolan Quinn (Aurora, Ohio / Walsh Jesuit) and scored on a double by RJ Murphy (Syracuse, N.Y. / West Genesee) to tie the game. Derek Novicki (North Haven, Conn. / North Haven) was hit by the pitch to load the bases with no outs. SUNY Poly went to their bullpen and quickly got a pair of strikeouts. Lewandowski worked a two-out bases-loaded walk to give Keuka College the lead, but the work of the Wildcat bullpen limited the damage from the Wolves.

SUNY Poly got a two-out RBI of their own to tie the game in the bottom of the frame, but reliever Spencer Brown (Feura Bush, N.Y. / Ravena-Coeymans-Selkirk) got a strikeout to strand the bases loaded.

Neither team got a hit in the seventh. Brown stuck out a pair in his half of the inning and the game would go to extras tied 3-3.

The Wolves garnered only a walk in the top of the eighth. In the bottom, SUNY Poly got a two-out single. However, the next batter reached on an error and the ball bounded far enough away to allow the runner to score from first as SUNY Poly defeated the Wolves 4-3 in game one.

Lead Wolf: Sophomore Anthony Laurinitis (Philadelphia, Pa. / Father Judge) got the season-opening start on the mound. He pitched into the sixth inning without walking a batter and struck out seven. In total, Laurinitis allowed just two earned runs, three total, on five hits.

Keuka College 5 vs. SUNY Poly 4 – Game Two

The Wolves took the lead right away on an RBI single by RJ Murphy in the bottom of the first. The Green and Gold extended their lead to 3-0 an inning later on a bases-loaded double by Josh Tryon to score a pair.

Starting pitcher Jared Beckley (Windsor, N.Y. / Windsor) kept the Wildcats off-balanced and off the scoreboard for the first four innings. SUNY Poly got their first run in the fifth, but Keuka matched it in the bottom of the inning.

SUNY Poly used a walk, two singles, and an error to score three runs in the top of the sixth to tie the game. Josh Tryon hit a one-out double to start a Keuka rally in the bottom of the sixth. The Wolves would load the bases and Derek Novicki worked a walk to score Tryon and give the Wolves a 5-4 lead.

Kole Schmerder (Vestal, N.Y. / Vestal) entered the game in the sixth and cleaned up the seventh for the Wolves. The sophomore struck out a pair of batters and then got a flyout for a 1-2-3 inning as the Wolves defeated SUNY Poly 5-4.

Lead Wolf: Senior Josh Tryon left his mark on four of the five Keuka College runs. Tryon drove in a pair and scored two runs himself. He had a pair of doubles in the win for Keuka.

KC Notes:

• Keuka College saw their seven-game winning streak over SUNY Poly snapped in game one, but answered right back in game two. Overall the Wolves are 14-16 all-time against the Wildcats
• The two teams have now played in three straight one-run games
• Spencer Brown had four strikeouts in two innings of work out of the bullpen. He moved into a tie for eighth on the Keuka College career strikeout list
• RJ Murphy posted a two-hit game in both ends of the doubleheader
• Jared Beckley's final line included six strikeouts over 5.1 innings pitched
• Nolan Quinn and Shane Helmstadt (Schoharie, N.Y. / Schoharie) each recorded their first career hits
• It was the first time that the Green and Gold played a game on St. Patrick's Day

Up Next for Keuka College: The season is now off and running for the Keuka College Baseball team. The Wolves are back in action on Saturday as they play a single nine-inning game against Westminster College. It will be the first time that the Wolves and Titans have ever met on a baseball field.