POUGHKEEPSIE, NY - The University of Rochester baseball team stretched its school record win streak to 16 games by sweeping a Liberty League doubleheader at Vassar College on Saturday afternoon.
Rochester won game one 6-0 behind a complete game shutout from junior Evan Janifer and squeezed out a 4-3 victory in game two. The Yellowjackets are now 21-7 overall and 13-1 in the Liberty League, sitting atop the conference standings. Vassar is now 4-14 and 3-13 in conference play.
The Yellowjackets rode the arm of Janifer in the opener as the junior preseason All-American scattered eight hits and one walk while striking out two in his 2nd shutout (7 innings) of the season. He lowered his season ERA to 2.29 and has allowed only two earned runs in his last 29 innings.
All of Rochester's scoring came in the 2nd, 3rd and 4th innings of the game. Josh Ludwig provided an RBI double in the 2nd and then drove in another run in the 3rd inning. Sam Slutsky added an RBI double in the 2nd inning while Lance Hamilton did it in the 4th inning to cap UR's scoring.
In game one, Slutsky, Hamilton, Ludwig, Jake Meyerson and Tyler Schmidt all had two hit games. Slutsky had a double, triple and a run scored.
Game two saw UR get all of its runs in the first two innings of the nine inning contest. In the first inning, Slutsky used his speed, stealing two bases and eventually scored on a Vassar wild pitch. Senior Brendan Garry then smashed his team leading 7th home run of the season in the 2nd, a solo shot to right giving UR a 2-0 lead. Later in the second, Steve Eychner capped the Rochester scoring, driving in two runs with a single down the left field line.
Vassar would chip away over the next three innings, scoring one run in the 3rd, 4th and 5th. Denis Shanagher drove in a run in the 3rd, Kyle Casey did the same in the 4th and Nick Johnson ripped an RBI double in the 5th, pulling the Brewers within one.
But UR starter Dan Warren and reliever Luke Meyerson settled in and didn't allow the tying run to score for the remaining four innings. Warren finished going 7 innings, allowing 9 hits, 3 runs (2 earned) and 1 walk while striking out 5. The freshman Meyerson picked up his 2nd career save going two scoreless innings with one strikeout.
In the nightcap, Slutsky finished 2-5 with two stolen bases and a run. Garry also was 2-5 with a home run and Eychner was 2-3 with 2 RBI.
The same two teams play another doubleheader on Sunday at Vassar's Prentiss Field with Rochester batting as the home team on the second day of the conference weekend.