PRINCE ATHLETIC COMPLEX – The University of Rochester baseball team fell 11-7 to visiting SUNY Cortland on Wednesday evening at UR's Towers Field.
Cortland (16-8-1) saw the Yellowjackets battle back multiple times, getting within run twice after the Red Dragons got off to a quick start, scoring three times in the top of the first inning.
Rochester (12-12) snaps a four-game winning streak and falls for just the second time in the last eight games.
The Red Dragons jumped out to an early 3-0 lead off 'Jacket starter Matt Casiero. Two walks quickly put runners on base and Cortland's top hitter, Mat Bruno laced a double to left to put the Red Dragons up on the scoreboard. Two batters later, Adam Mieczkowski lifted a sacrifice fly to finish the big inning.
Casiero settled in after that on the mound though for the Yellowjackets, facing only one over the minimum in the second and third frames.
Rochester struck for a pair of runs in the third inning to get back into the game. Sammy Besztery was hit by a pitch and Jackson Reed walked to put two runners on with no outs, forcing Cortland starter Cam Darrow from the game.
Josh Leadem provided a sacrifice bunt before Alec Ellison notched his team leading 27th RBI of the season on a sacrifice fly. The next hitter, graduate student Dylan Stezzi ripped a single to left to score Reed, making the score 3-2.
Cortland answered right back with three more runs in the top of the fourth. Two singles were sandwiched around a fly out to put runners on first and second. Nick Marola hit a single to left center to score the first run before Chris Bonacci followed with a bunt single.
On the bunt to the pitcher, a miscue on the basepaths saw Zachary Kringdon thrown out at home trying to score from second on the play for the second out.
A walk loaded the bases, forcing the 'Jackets into the bullpen. The next two batters reached via free pass, one hit batter and one walk, forcing in two more runs to move the Cortland lead to four.
Rochester countered once again, getting three runs of their own in the fourth to again make it a one-run game. Luke Blozy had an RBI double and later scored on a wild pitch, while Leadem also provided an RBI two-bagger.
In the top of the fifth, Cortland again extended the lead back out to multiple runs thanks to a pinch-hit 2-run triple from J.J. DeLawder.
The score remained 8-5 Cortland until the eighth thanks to strong efforts from bullpen pitchers Mark Aaronson for Rochester and Greg Mays for Cortland.
During the top of the eighth, Nolan Smith singled in a run with two outs, providing the Red Dragons a key insurance run.
In the bottom half of the inning, Blozy provided his second RBI double of the day to score Ethan Jaquette. The next batter, Besztery, grounded to short and in trying to get the lead runner at third, Cortland threw the ball away, allowing Blozy to scamper home, unearned.
On the play, Besztery tried to advance to second, but was caught over sliding the bag and tagged out for the key second out of the inning. A harmless ground out on the next batter ended the frame with UR only able to pull within two.
In the ninth, outfielder turned pitcher Leadem took the hill and was solid, but got done in by a pair of UR errors in the field, leading to two runs on a Bruno double to right.
The Yellowjackets went down 1-2-3 in the bottom half, with Justin Patsey closing out his third save of the season.
Blozy and Leadem each finished 2-for-4 for the Yellowjackets, leading the offense. Blozy had 2 doubles, 2 runs scored and 2 RBI, while Leadm drove in a run and added two steals. Jaquette and Besztery also scored twice in the loss for UR.
Aaronson was the most effective pitcher for the Yellowjackets, tossing four innings and striking out four while allowing just one run. Leadem struck out one in his collegiate pitching debut in the ninth. Casiero took the loss after being charged with six runs in 3.2 innings.
Rochester's schedule this weekend now becomes a bit abbreviated, as games at Trinity College on Friday and Amherst College on Saturday were canceled due to forecasted poor weather in the New England area.
Up next, the 'Jackets host Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute on Sunday afternoon in a doubleheader at Towers Field.