AMSTERDAM, NY – The University of Rochester baseball team saw its season come to an end with a 6-3 loss in an elimination game at the Liberty League Championships to Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute.
The game originally started at 10 in the morning and got through four innings prior to the rains coming and delaying the end of the game until later in the evening, with play resuming at 7:30 pm.
UR ends the season with a 22-19 record while RPI stays alive in the double-elimination conference tournament and sits at 15-26 overall.
Part one of the contest saw the Engineers hold a 5-3 lead and after play resumed in the evening, RPI was the only one to be able to push a run across, getting a solo home run to reach the 6-3 final score.
In the first inning, the visiting Engineers would capitalize on three Yellowjacket errors to score three runs, jumping out to a very early 3-0 lead. Sam Lawrence and Jason Ramos provided RBI hits for RPI.
The Yellowjackets looked to get on the board in the second, loading the bases with two outs following a single and back-to-back walks, but RPI starting pitcher Brendan McNerney was able to get Grant Kilmer to pop out, keeping the Yellowjackets scoreless.
UR senior starter Evan Janifer got into a groove after the first, setting down seven batters in a row, but that streak was stopped in the third when J.T. Sawyer was hit by a pitch. The next batter, Ethann Meister then clubbed the first home run of the tournament, clearing the left field wall to give RPI a 5-0 lead.
Janifer ended up going four innings, allowed six hits, five runs (2 earned) while striking out four in his final Yellowjacket appearance.
Rochester would respond in the bottom of the third, sending nine batters to the plate and scoring three runs. Matt Todd would scamper home on a wild pitch and then senior Jake Meyerson would single up the middle scoring two more, pulling the Yellowjackets within two at 5-3.
Meyerson's hit would chase McNerney from the game. RPI's freshman hurler would end up going 2.2 innings, allow 3 runs and 2 hits while struggling with his command a bit, in the form of five walks. Reliever Charles Parslow would come in and load the bases, allowing a single and walk, but would leave the go-ahead run on base, getting a groundout to end the inning.
A scoreless fourth inning on both sides then brought the rain, forcing the postponement. When play resumed, both teams changed pitchers with RPI's Stephen Sciavione dancing around trouble in five shutout innings of relief, earning the victory. He allowed four hits and a walk while striking out two.
Meister would then launch his second home run of the day, a solo shot in the 8th to add an insurance run off of Rochester reliever Jack Denzer. That run was the only run allowed by the freshman pitcher who went four innings, gave up 2 hits, 1 run, and 1 walk while striking out 4.
The ninth inning saw UR's Steve Eychner record his third hit of the game to lead off the frame. The next batter the grounded into a double play, erasing that threat. Nolan Schultz then walked and Dan Warren singled to bring the tying run to the plate, but Sciavione would strikeout Meyerson to end the game. Overall the Yellowjackets left 12 runners on base in the contest, a season high.
Eychner finished the day going 3-4 with a double and a run scored while Meyerson added a 3-5 day at the plate with a double and 2 RBI. Schultz drew three walks and scored a run while all three were playing in their final game in a UR uniform.