PRINCE ATHLETIC COMPLEX – For the second straight day, the University of Rochester baseball team produced double-digit runs, but it unfortunately wasn't enough as the Yellowjackets dropped a 12-10 non-conference decision to Oswego State on Wednesday evening at Towers Field.
The game was a sloppy one all around, as both squads combined for 9 errors on the night along with 14 walks, 4 hit batters, 3 wild pitches and 3 passed balls. Half of the games 22 runs were unearned.
Rochester's Aaron Whitley led the home team with a 2-for-2 day at the plate, with both hits being home runs. He had an inside-the-park homer in the third and followed with a more traditional round tripper two innings later. He added three walks and two steals while also scoring four runs for the second straight day.
First-year Colton Avera added two hits and two RBI. Jackson Reed was 2-for-4 at the plate with three runs and Colby Cruser added a 2-for-4 game with a double and RBI. Rochester (15-10) as a team combined to steal seven bases.
The win is Oswego's seventh in a row and pulls the Lakers above .500 on the season, moving to 12-11 overall. It snaps a two-game losing streak against the Yellowjackets, as Rochester won both meetings between the squads last season.
Jelani Hamer had two big hits for the Lakers and finished 2-for-5 with a pair of doubles, 6 RBI and two runs. Owen Parliment scored three runs after drawing three walks while Tishawn Featherstone added two hits for the visitors.
Oswego ended up scoring the dozen runs on just six hits, capitalizing on various Rochester miscue throughout the game.
In the top of the first inning, Hamer found the gap in right center with the bases loaded, scoring three runs to open the scoring. Another run came across on a UR error and Oswego was quickly up 4-0.
Rochester responded in the bottom of the inning with a pair of sacrifice flies from Joseph Rende and Cruser, with Avera adding an RBI single.
After the Lakers boosted the lead to 5-3 in the third, Whitley's first home run of the day and another Avera RBI single evened up the score through a third of the contest.
Hamer drove in two more runs with another double in the fifth and came around to score on a UR throwing error, making the Laker lead 8-5.
The Yellowjackets again answered back. Whitley cleared the left center field fence, Cruser doubled in a run and a throwing error on a steal allowed him to come home and the score was tied back up at 8-all.
In the sixth, a walk, single and another walk loaded the bases. An unfortunate error allowed two runs to score and Hamer followed by picking up his sixth RBI of the night with a fielders choice grounder, giving the Lakers the lead for good.
Back-to-back RBI hits from Rende and Reed in the eighth trimmed the lead to one for Oswego, but the Lakers added a key insurance tally in the ninth to go up 12-10.
During Rochester's last time up, John Moses provided a pinch hit single and Dan Tirabassi singled to center to put the tying runs on base with two outs, but Josh Leadem couldn't provide his second straight walk-off hit on his home field and popped out to third to end the game.
Among the UR pitchers, Magnus Sivertson and Matt Casiero had the most success on the mound. Sivertson struck out five and did not allow a hit in 2.1 innings. Casiero added two strikeouts and allowed just one unearned run and one hit during his 2.1 inning outing.
Rochester now looks ahead to four games this coming weekend in Liberty League inter-divisional play. UR plays at East Division-leading Skidmore on Saturday and takes on Vassar on Sunday, with both days featuring doubleheaders.