COBLESKILL, N.Y. - The Gallaudet University baseball team completed its 2018 season here Sunday on a cool and rainy day against SUNY Cobleskill in a North Eastern Athletic Conference (NEAC) doubleheader. The Bison (9-29-1, 6-12 NEAC) swept the Fighting Tigers (3-28, 2-14 NEAC), a resurgent program after a six-year hiatus, 9-8 in the first game and 23-14 in the second game. The nine-run win is the largest for Gallaudet this year.

Game 1: Gallaudet 9, SUNY Cobleskill 8
The teams headed to the last inning tied 6-6 after GU jumped out to an early 3-0 lead only to watch the host Fighting Tiger score five times in the bottom of the fourth inning. 

Gallaudet tied the game in the sixth inning on a double steal as sophomore Winston Lane (Brooklyn Center, Minn.) raced home while senior Dylan Hayes (Endicott, N.Y.) swiped second.

In the seventh, the last inning of the first game, senior outfielder Kyle Gumm (Dallas, Texas) reached on an error to lead things off while freshman Darren Drolsbaugh (Lansdale, Pa.) recorded a bunt single to place runners on the corners. Junior Cameron Upton (Vicksburg, Miss.) stepped to the plate and delivered a two-run double to give GU its first lead since the fourth. Upton stole third before junior Ryan Gilbert (Mount Dora, Fla.) drove him home with a single to give Gallaudet a 9-6 lead. After a walk was issued to Lane, SUNY Cobleskill retired the next three batters to end the top of the seventh.

The Fighting Tigers started the bottom of the seventh with back-to-back singles before they hit into a double play. Gallaudet commited its second error of the inning which allowed SUNY Cobleskill to score its seventh run. The next batter singled to bring home the second run of the inning. SUNY Cobleskill had runners on first and second before its final batter struck out looking.

Freshman pitcher Ethan Denson (Huffman, Texas) got the win while Hayes picked up his second save of the season.

SUNY Cobleskill starting pitcher Devin Lewis (1-8) suffered the loss as he allowed nine runs (four earned) on nine hits, two walks and five strikeouts.

Upton led the offense going 4-for-4, three RBI, one run and one double.

Game 2: Gallaudet 23, SUNY Cobleskill 14
Gallaudet's Cameron Upton hit for the cycle in the second game as he went 6-for-7 at the plate, drove in five runs and scored four times as the Bison waltzed to a 23-14 victory over SUNY Cobelskill in the nine-inning game.

The Bison recorded a season-high for runs (23), hits (22), RBI (16) and extra-base hits (8). GU had six different batters with multi-hit games led by Upton's six hits and Gumm's 5-for-6 game where he scored a game-high five times, drove in three runs, stole three bases and was a home run shy of his own cycle.

A player must record a single, double, triple and home run to earn a cycle.

Drolsbaugh led the Bison with two doubles as he scored three times and drove in two runs. 

Hayes (1-5) got the start on the mound in his final collegiate appearance and got GU into the sixth inning before ending his day. Upton and senior Kenneth Gentzke III (Honeoye, N.Y.) pitched the rest of the way in relief. 

SUNY Cobleskill starting pitcher Dalton Stevens (0-1) took the loss. 

GU scored runs in seven of the nine innings as the Bison plated eight runs in the eighth to put the game out of reach. 

SENIOR CLASS
This marked the final collegiate games for Gallaudet's senior class of Gentzke III, Jake Grindstaff (New Market, Md.), Gumm and Hayes. In the past four years, Gallaudet has won 35 games and 17 conference games. 

Gentzke appeared in 25 games in two seasons and logged 35.2 innings pitched where he struck out 20 batters and won one game. Grindstaff played in 93 games in four years and tallied 32 hits, 29 runs, 23 RBI, 34 walks and six stolen bases in 210 at bats. Gumm finished with a .286 batting average in 145 games (514 at bats) in four seasons where he collected 147 hits, 96 runs, 65 walks, 48 stolen bases, 46 RBI, 18 doubles, 10 triples and one home run. Hayes played in 135 games in four seasons as he batted 419 times, recorded 123 hits, 61 runs, 42 RBI, 18 stolen bases, 16 doubles and three triples. He also pitched in 43 games (26 starts) and won five times, made two saves, three complete games and  logged 162.2 innings and struck out 60 batters. 

BISON TRACKS

• Gallaudet won six of its last eight games to end the season
• The Bison went 4-4 in away games this year
• The six conference wins are the most since the 2014 season
• This is the third straight nine-win season for Gallaudet
• Gallaudet scored 214 runs as a team, the most in four years

UP NEXT
This concludes the 2018 season for the Bison.