PRINCE ATHLETIC COMPLEX – The University of Rochester baseball team piled up 17 runs in just five innings and earned a series sweep of St. Lawrence University, winning by a 17-4 score on Saturday afternoon at Towers Field.
The 17 runs are second most scored by the Yellowjackets this season, with Rochester winning its 14th straight game, moving to 24-4 on the year. UR remains perfect in Liberty League play as well, jumping to 11-0.
St. Lawrence falls to 13-11 overall and 4-8 in the conference with the loss.
Rochester's offensive output was more than enough for senior starter Trevor Van Allen who was terrific on the mound. Van Allen (6-0) tossed seven innings of 1-hit ball, striking out eight and walking three.
Van Allen's sixth win puts him just outside the top-10 in the Rochester record book for single-season victories. Saturday's game also lowered his ERA to just 2.08 over 39 innings this season.
Offensively, Jackson Reed paced the way for the second straight game, going 5-for-5 with a double, two runs and two RBI. Saturday's numbers come on the heels of earning the walk-off hit and driving in all three runs in Friday's game two win over the Saints.
Additionally, Joseph Rende went 4-for-5 with a double and two runs, while Harper Sy went 3-for-3, had three RBI and two runs. He also was hit twice and reached base safely in all five plate appearances.
Colby Cruser drove in three runs and scored twice, while Brian McKinsey and Matt Cappelletti each had two runs and two RBI. John Moses chipped in two hits and two runs.
St. Lawrence was able to avoid the shutout with four unearned runs in the top of the ninth inning. Brett Federico had the big hit for the Saints, driving a double to left field with the bases loaded, scoring three runs. He finished as the lone SLU hitter with multiple hits.
Rochester's hot start featured crooked numbers in the first two frames, scoring five in the first and six in the second to put the game out of reach early.
In the first, Cappelletti had the big hit, driving in two with a line drive up the middle. Cruser and McKinsey added RBI groundouts and Moses singled in a run to complete the scoring.
The next inning, Cruser provided an RBI double to right, Reed singled him in and McKinsey added an RBI base hit. In addition, three other runs crossed home plate due to a pair of St. Lawrence fielding errors.
UR heads on the road for a stretch of three straight games next week, taking on SUNY Brockport on Tuesday and SUNY Cortland on Wednesday. The Yellowjackets next conference matchup is a home-and-home series with Ithaca on April 23-24.