PRINCE ATHLETIC COMPLEX – The University of Rochester baseball team met one of its oldest rivals in program history on Saturday afternoon, completing a sweep over visiting Hobart College, winning 11-0 and 9-3, in a pair of Liberty League games at Towers Field.
Saturday's twinbill was the first matchup between the schools since 1995, as Hobart recently reinstated the program as a varsity sport in the fall of 2021. Rochester and Hobart had met a total of 111 times entering the doubleheader, with the inaugural meeting taking place back in the 1895 season, a span of 128 years.
The pair of wins move Rochester to 11-7 on the season and 3-2 in the Liberty League, stretching the teams win streak to three games. Hobart falls to 2-11 and is still winless in the conference, sitting at 0-5.
GAME 1:
Rochester 11, Hobart 0
Pitchers Nolan Sparks and Jason Cobert combined on Rochester's first shutout of the 2023 season on the mound, allowing just five hits in the 11-0 victory over the Statesment.
Sparks (3-0) struck out nine and walked three over five innings of work, surrendering just four hits on the day. Cobert finished off the mercy-rule contest allowing just one hit over the final two frames, striking out a pair.
Offensively, the Yellowjackets pounded out 15 hits, getting a base knock from eight of the nine starters and multiple hits from five players. Colby Cruser finished 3-for-3 with 2 doubles, 2 RBI and a run. John Moses stayed hot at the played with a 3-for-4 effort, including a double and RBI, while Jackson Reed drove in three and had two doubles, also scoring twice.
Josh Leadem added two hits, three runs and an RBI while Joseph Rende chipped in a 2-for-4 game with a triple, RBI and two runs.
Rochester got up early, plating two runs in the first. Reed doubled in Cruser, reaching second after his hard grounder up the middle caromed off the second base bag into the gap in right center. First-year Colton Avera laced a triple to right, scoring Reed, to put UR up 2-0.
Hobart threatened in the top of the third against Sparks, getting the bases loaded with a pair of walks and a single with just one away, but the UR junior struck out back-to-back hitters to end the scoring chance.
UR used some small ball in the bottom half of the inning to score three more runs boosting the lead to 5-0. Leadem and Rende both reached on bunt singles, with Cruser bunting them over to second and third with a sacrifice. Reed stepped up and drove in two with another double, and Moses drove in UR's shortstop with an RBI single to left.
Sparks stranded two more Statesmen runners on in the fourth, striking out the size in the frame.
Afterwards, Rende provided an RBI triple and Cruser added an RBI two-bagger to increase the Yellowjacket lead to 7-0 through four.
Rochester completed its scoring in the fifth. Aaron Whitley and Moses singled to start the inning and both came across the plate on Dan Tirabassi's two run triple. After a ground out, Leadem singled to left scoring Tirabassi and eventually came around to score on another Cruser RBI hit.
GAME 2:
Rochester 9, Hobart 3
The Yellowjacket pitching staff provided a strong effort to complete the sweep in the nightcap, as Trevor Van Allen, Thomas Blaydes and Mark Aaronson combined to allow just three hits while striking out ten Hobart hitters in the victory.
Van Allen (1-1) picked up the win, the 14th of his career, to move into a tie for ninth place all-time in UR history. The tall right-hander struck out seven over five innings, allowing two hits and two walks.
Blaydes worked a scoreless sixth inning and struck out one, while Aaronson closed the game out in the seventh, pitching around one hit, striking out a pair in his inning.
Once again, the Yellowjacket bats provided double-digit hits, lacing 13 in the game, hitting that milestone for the third straight contest and tenth time in 2023.
Eight of the hits went for extra bases, led by Avera's 2-run home run which capped a 5-run third inning that opened up the game for the Yellowjackets. Leadem and Whitley each added two doubles, with Jacob Matzat and Reed adding one. Luke Gregory also had a triple and finished 2-for-3, scoring twice to lead the Yellowjackets.
Reed again opened the scoring in the bottom of the first, doubling to right, scoring Rende.
Hobart tied the game in the second inning without the aid of a hit, as Jackson Fowle crossed home on a Jeremy Sanchez ground out.
In the third, Reed and Whitley had RBI hits, Moses added a sacrifice fly and Avera blasted a long home-run, his second of the season, to put the Yellowjackets up 6-1.
An attempted double steal in the fourth inning caught Leadem at second base, but allowed Gregory to scamper home, building on the Rochester lead.
The breezy April day played a factor throughout the doubleheader, and helped out Hobart's Johnny Hill in the fifth, carrying a 2-run home run over the fence in right field, cutting the UR lead to four.
Rochester got those runs back in the bottom of the sixth though, with Gregory driving in Matzat with a triple and Leadem sneaking a ball inside the right field line for an RBI double.
The two takes are taking Sunday off due to the projected cold temperatures, and are slated to conclude the 3-game weekend series on Monday afternoon at Hobart's McDonough Park in Geneva. First pitch is set for 5 pm.