PRINCE ATHLETIC COMPLEX – The University of Rochester baseball team smacked around a season-high 23 hits and scored 21 runs for the first time in almost three years, defeating visiting St. Lawrence University 21-8 in the Liberty League conference opener on Monday evening at Towers Field.
Rochester (6-9, 1-0 Liberty League) saw seven of its nine hitters in the lineup finish with multiple hits as the Yellowjackets scored the most runs in a game since May 2, 2019 when UR also topped St. Lawrence by a 21-13 score.
UR's leading hitter on the night was senior Alec Ellison who finished 5-for-6 at the plate with 3 runs scored and 2 RBI. Ellison's five hits match the UR school record.
Colby Cruser finished 4-for-4 with a double, 3 RBI, 2 walks and 5 runs scored, becoming just the fifth Yellowjacket in team history to score five or more runs in a single game.
Graduate student Dylan Stezzi also had a monster game, ripping 4 hits, including 3 doubles, to go along with 2 runs and a career-best 5 RBI. Rochester as a team finished with eight two-baggers, ranking as the second most in a single-game in team history.
The Saints (5-6, 0-1 Liberty League) were led by catcher John Donnellan who launched a pair of home runs and ended up 2-for-4 with 2 runs and 5 RBI. Only leadoff hitter Jackson Brinker added another multi-hit day for SLU, going 2-for-4 with a run.
UR opened the scoring in the first with three runs. Cruser, Rochester's cleanup hitter, laced a single to right to score Jackson Reed. The next batter, Josh Leadem doubled to right center, scoring Cruser and Ellison for the 3-0 advantage.
St. Lawrence got two of those runs right back in the top of the second off of Rochester starting pitcher Nolan Sparks as Donnellan left the yard for a 2-run home run, scoring Sean Desjardins.
The Yellowjackets were able to respond back with three more runs in the bottom of the second. Ellison, Cruser and Stezzi all drove in runs with base hits in the frame.
After both teams were shutout in the third, Rochester's third 3-run inning came in the fourth. Luke Blozy had a 2-run single through a drawn in infield to make the score 8-2, and later in the inning, Quincy Jaksch scored one of his two runs in the game on a wild pitch to boost the lead to seven.
Rochester kept the bats going in the fifth with four more runs, making the lead 13-2.
In the sixth, the Saints made things interesting, batting around and scoring six runs. Donnellan homered off the first pitch he saw from reliever Matt Casiero to score three runs and Brett Federico and John Gannon added RBI hits for St. Lawrence.
Not to be outdone, the 'Jackets regained their big lead, and then some in the bottom half of the inning. UR sent 14 batters to the plate and scored eight runs to reach the final score of 21-8. Stezzi provided a bases-clearing 3-run double in the inning, while Jaksch, Henry Jamieson, Ellison and Cruser also had RBI base knocks.
On the mound, Sparks picked up his first win of the season, going 5.1 inning while allowing 4 hits, 4 runs and 3 walks. He struck out a season-high nine batters in the victory, his 16th over his career, moving the senior into a tie for sixth all-time in Rochester baseball history.
In the seventh, first-year Zach Herzog struck out the side, pitching around a walk to close out the win.
SLU's Michael Hutchins was saddled with the loss, yielding 11 hits and 9 runs over his 3.1 inning outing.
The same two teams meet on Tuesday to close out the series, with a doubleheader starting at noon.