TROY, NY – The University of Rochester picked up two wins over the host Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Liberty League baseball action on Friday at RPI's Robison Field at Karl Steffen Ballpark.
Rochester took game one 8-5, scoring three runs in the top of the seventh inning to break a 5-all deadlock and followed with a 10-5 triumph in game two.
The wins put Rochester's record at 14-5 overall and 8-2 in the Liberty League. RPI, who was playing its first games since before the pandemic, is 0-2 overall and 0-2 in conference play.
In game one, two scoreless innings started the contest before Rochester's offense put up four runs in the top of the third. Joseph Rende got the scoring going with a double, plating Aaron Whitley. Harper Sy followed with an RBI single and Steve Pickering had the big blast of the inning, a 2-run homer to right.
UR added a single run in the fifth on a John Moses single to score Pickering, and Rochester led 5-0.
The host Engineers were able to get on the board in the bottom of the inning on a Jimmy Jankowski ground out.
A slew of base hits in the bottom of the sixth allowed RPI to tie the score with four runs. With one out, four straight batters recorded hits to make it 5-3, chasing UR starter Jon Turk from the game.
Thomas Karpishin relieved and got the first batter he faced to strike out, but the next two, Jankowski and Jake Defayette each singled to drive in a run and tie the game.
Rochester regained the lead quickly in the top of the seventh and final inning of game one though. Sy led off with a walk and Moses hit a laser 2-run home run to left to put the Yellowjackets on top. Jacob Matzat followed right after with a solo shot, his team leading fourth home run of the season and the Yellowjackets led 8-5.
Rensselaer was unable to rally in the bottom of the inning as Karpishin set the Engineers down in order.
Pickering and Moses each went 2-for-4 at the plate in game one. Moses drove in three and scored once, while Pickering had two runs and two RBI. On the mound, Turk threw 5.1 innings and allowed five runs on seven hits while striking out four and walking one. Karpishin allowed two hits with one strikeout in his 1.2 innings, earning the victory.
RPI's Thomas Neuman took the loss in relief for the Engineers. Ryan Yerby started and went five innings, allowing five runs while fanning five. At the plate, Defayette was 2-for-3 with an RBI and Joe Curci recorded two doubles.
In game two, the Engineers struck first, scoring one in the bottom of the first on a Jack Vaccari double to right.
Rochester's Rende singled in a run in the third to tie the score and Matzat lifted a sacrifice fly in the fourth to give Rochester the lead.
In the sixth, UR plated four runs to jump ahead 6-1. Luke Piontek drove in two with a single, Matzat had an RBI triple to center and an RBI error allowed the fourth run to score.
RPI's Curci got one run back for the Engineers in the bottom of the inning, but UR's Moses accounted for three runs in the top half of the next inning, answering for UR, who was now ahead 9-2.
In the bottom of the seventh, RPI capitalized on four walks from the Yellowjacket bullpen to score three times, cutting the deficit to four at 9-5. Jankowski, Defayette and Richard Drum each had RBI's in the frame for the Engineers.
Pickering completed the scoring in the ninth inning with an RBI single for Rochester. He finished 3-for-4 with a run scored in the nightcap.
Moses was 2-for-5 with two triples, three runs and two RBI for Rochester while both Piontek and Matzat finished with two driven in from the heart of the Yellowjacket lineup.
On the mound, Dillon Bevan started and earned the win for UR, tossing six innings of 2-run ball, allowing five hits and one walk while striking out three. Spencer Rojahn tossed two scoreless innings of relief with one strikeout to close out the ballgame for the Yellowjackets.
RPI's Drum was the lone multi-hit batter in the lineup, going 2-for-3 in game two. Four of the six hits by RPI went for extra bases, as Defayette, Drum, Vaccari and Hudson Livesey each had doubles.
Chris Grome picked up the loss for Rensselaer, allowing six runs (four earned) over 5.1 innings. He allowed six hits and two walks while striking out one.
The same two teams meet for another doubleheader on Sunday, with the venue switching to Rochester's Towers Field.