PRINCE ATHLETIC COMPLEX – The University of Rochester baseball team picked up its fourth straight win in Liberty League play, defeating visiting Clarkson University 5-2 on Friday afternoon at Towers Field.
Four Yellowjacket pitchers combined to allow just five hits on the day, led by starter Nolan Sparks who was terrific through seven innings, earning his fourth win of the season. The junior right hander struck out a career-high tying nine batters and allowed just two hits and one run in his outing.
Thomas Blaydes and Thomas Karpishin combined to pitch the eighth inning, with Karpishin getting two outs with runners on base to end the inning, and sophomore Mark Aaronson needed just five pitches in earning his fifth save of the season in the ninth.
Graduate student Joseph Rende paced the Yellowjackets (13-8, 5-2 Liberty League) with a 3-for-4 day at the plate, finishing a double shy of the cycle. Rende scored three runs, notched and a triple, home run and one RBI.
First-year Colton Avera extended his hitting streak to nine games with a 2-run double to open the scoring in the fourth inning and both John Moses and Colby Cruser recorded sacrifice flies in the victory.
In the first inning, Sparks walked the leadoff batter and after a stolen base and wild pitch, found himself in a little trouble out of the gate. After two strikeouts, the UR starter stranded the runner at third, getting a ground out to end the threat.
After the walk, the junior was terrific on the hill, retiring 16 straight batters, taking a no-hit bid into the sixth inning. Sparks struck out the side in the third and finished off his outing with two whiffs in the seventh.
Rochester was held hitless through the first three innings by Clarkson starter Mateo Sarabia, but was able to break through in the fourth.
Rende singled up the middle and on a sacrifice bunt attempt, Cruser reached on an error. After Jackson Reed was hit by a pitch to load the bases, Avera hit a fly ball to right which carried away from the right fielder and dropped in for a 2-run double. Moses added his sacrifice fly and Rochester held a 3-0 lead after four.
In the fifth, Rende laced a 1-out triple just inside the bag at first base, seeing the ball run all the way to the wall in right. Cruser scored the run in his next plate appearance, lifting a sacrifice fly to center.
Clarkson got on the board in the sixth with a single tally to break up the shutout. Joe Pagano reached on an infield single to break up the no-hitter. After Pagano moved to second on an wild pitch, Clarkson's leading hitter, Caleb Doyle singled just out of the reach of right fielder Josh Leadem to drive in the opening run for the Golden Knights (5-12, 4-2 Liberty League).
Rochester got that run back in the seventh when Rende launched a solo home run over the right field wall to make the score 5-1. The round-tripper was the graduate students first of the season and 10th of his Yellowjacket career.
Clarkson scraped another run across in the eighth off of Blaydes, getting a double from Kent Wilson and single from Doyle to put runners at the corners. After a wild pitch scored Wilson, a walk brought the tying run to the plate, forcing Karpishin into the game on the mound. The senior reliever got a big strikeout and ground out to end the threat, keeping Rochester in front by three.
Aaronson's ninth inning was efficient as he struck out the leadoff batter, allowed a pinch hit single that was immediately followed by a game-ending 6-3 double play.
The same two teams meet to wrap up the series on Saturday afternoon with a doubleheader starting at noon.