PRINCE ATHLETIC COMPLEX – A trio of pitchers spun a six-hit shutout as the University of Rochester baseball team earned a 4-0 victory over St. John Fisher College on Thursday evening at Towers Field.
The Yellowjackets (10-1) push their winning streak to eight games, while St. John Fisher falls to 4-6 on the season. Rochester with the win, breaks the tie in the all-time series with the Cardinals, leading 31-30. The same two teams meet two more times this weekend, starting with a 4 pm matchup on Friday at Towers Field.
Sophomore Nolan Sparks tossed six strong innings for the Yellowjackets, allowing just four hits and two walks while striking out six. Teammate Jason Cobert threw two scoreless in relief while Jake Larson completed the shutout with a perfect ninth.
Offensively, Brian McKinsey finished 2-for-3 with two RBI and a stolen base. Colby Cruser went 3-for-5 with a run scored and Aaron Whitley went 2-for-5.
For the Cardinals, the eight and nine hitters in the lineup, Luke Duffy and Patrick Kravitz provided most of the offense, each getting two hits. Tim Geissel took the loss for SJFC, allowing three runs (2 earned) and seven hits over 4.1 innings.
Sparks got off to a strong start on the mound, striking out three of the first four batters he faced. In the second, the Cardinals got back-to-back runners on with one out, but Sparks got a flyout and groundout to end the threat.
The Yellowjackets struck for their first run in the bottom of the second with two-out RBI single from McKinsey, scoring Jackson Reed.
In the fourth, McKinsey delivered again, boosting UR's lead to 2-0. This time he drove in Joseph Rende who led off the frame with a single and advanced to second on a passed ball.
The next inning, Sparks got a flyout with the tying runs aboard in the top half, and Rochester built its lead to 3-0 when Matt Cappelletti singled in Cruser.
St. John Fisher threatened in the sixth, getting runners on the corners with one out after Justin Murphy tripled and Brian Norsen walked. Sparks dug in though, keeping the shutout alive with a big strikeout looking and a flyout.
Rochester scored for the third straight inning in the bottom half, with McKinsey scampering home after throwing error following a Whitley infield single, completing the scoring for the night.