The University of Rochester hung with the #2 ranked team in Division III baseball, but SUNY Cortland rallied for six runs in the final two innings to win 15-11 in non-conference action on Wednesday evening at Towers Field.
The Yellowjackets (4-6) jumped on the board early with five runs in the bottom of the first. Cortland (15-1) would plate eight runs over the 3rd and 4th innings before Rochester would take an 11-9 lead after seven innings of the back-and-forth affair. The Red Dragons would keep the bats alive late, plating three in the eighth and three more in the ninth to cap the win.
Leading the way at the plate was junior Dan Warren who went 3-4 with 2 doubles, 2 RBI and a run. Senior Sam Slutsky was 2-3 with a triple, home run, 4 RBI and 2 runs scored while senior Brendan Garry was 2-4 with a double, triple, 3 RBI and 2 runs. Junior Nolan Schultz added 2 hits, 2 runs and an RBI.
Cortland's top four in the batting order really lifted the Red Dragons. Donny Castaldo was 4-5 with a double, triple and 4 runs scored. Conrad Ziemendorf went 2-3 with a double, 2 runs and 3 RBI while Vinny Bomasuto went 3-4 with a triple, 3 runs and 5 batted in. Cleanup hitter Anthony Simon went 3-6 with a double, triple and 3 RBI.
In the 1st, Rochester first five batters reached base and all came around to score. Gabe Obregon led off and was singled in by Schultz. Brian Munoz drew a walk and scored along with Schultz on a Garry triple. Garry would score on a Slutsky sac fly before Lance Hamilton who also drew a walk then was hit in on a Warren double.
After two strong innings from starter UR Josh Schulman, Cortland would tie the score in the 3rd inning off reliever David Strandberg. Matt Michalski led off with a single and would score on Connor Griffin's triple. A single from Connor Manderson would plate Griffin. Ziemendorf would hit a sacrifice fly, scoring Manderson after Castaldo singled up the middle. After Castaldo scored on a wild pitch, Patrick Schetter would cap the scoring with an RBI ground out.
The Red Dragons would tack on three more in the 4th. After getting the first two outs, Castaldo tripled, Ziemendorf walked and Bomasuto provided an RBI single. Simon then cracked his triple to center field and drove in two more runs.
In the fifth, Rochester would get a run when Garry doubled in Munoz who reached on a double to left center. Cortland would get that run back in the sixth on a Bomasuto sac fly.
UR's rally would continue in the sixth when Slutsky led off with a triple to left. He scored on a Warren double who was then driven in on a Tyler Schmidt groundout.
In the seventh, Slutsky would give the Yellowjackets their first lead since the first inning when he hit a 3-run homer to center field, putting UR ahead 11-9.
The next inning, Cortland would regain the lead scoring three runs on three hits. Bomasuto hit a 2-run triple that just grazed the glove of Schmidt at short and Simon lined an RBI double. In the ninth, Ziemendorf hit a 2-run double and Bomasuto added another RBI with an infield single.
Overall the teams combined to use 12 pitchers in the midweek game. Schulman went two perfect innings for UR to start. Strandberg, Luke Meyerson, Michael Mondon, Michael Lee and Evan Janifer each threw an inning out of the bullpen while Warren got in two innings of work after shifting in from 3rd base.
There were a total of 30 hits in the contest, 14 of which went for extra bases, seven doubles, six triples and one home run.
Rochester returns to action on Saturday and Sunday when they open the Liberty League conference season. UR hosts Bard with doubleheaders on both days.