PRINCE ATHLETIC COMPLEX – The University of Rochester baseball team took over first place in the Liberty League West Division after completing a doubleheader and series sweep over Clarkson University on Saturday afternoon at Towers Field.
Rochester won game one in a 12-1 landslide, while game two needed some late game heroics, with Josh Leadem clubbing a walk-off home run in the bottom of the 10th to earn a 7-6 victory.
The Yellowjackets are now 15-8 overall on the season and is 7-2 in the Liberty League, claiming their fifth and sixth straight wins in conference play. Clarkson falls to 5-14 and 4-4 in the Liberty League.
Game 1:
Rochester 12, Clarkson 1
Starting pitcher Trevor Van Allen and relief pitcher Sammy Rosenfield were terrific on the mound for Rochester, combining to allow just four hits and one unearned run in the 12-1 victory.
Van Allen struck out eight and surrendered the four hits over five innings, picking up his second win of the season. Rosenfield meanwhile tossed two perfect frames to close out the win.
Offensively, John Moses smacked three hits, scored twice and drove in a run to lead the 'Jackets. Colton Avera drove in three during his 2-for-3 effort and Joseph Rende kept his strong series going with a 2-for-3 effort with 2 doubles, 2 runs and 2 RBI.
Aaron Whitley added two hits, Luke Gregory had 2 hits, 2 runs and 2 RBI, and Jacob Matzat also drove in three and finished with two hits.
The difference was a huge 9-run outburst in the fourth inning for Rochester. UR sent 14 batters to the plate, breaking open what was a 2-1 UR advantage.
In the big inning, Gregory and Matzat each recorded multiple RBI's across two plate appearances. Gregory tripled in Moses and later drew a bases loaded walk. Matzat singled in Gregory from third and after UR batted around, laced a single to left scoring two more later in the frame.
Rende added a 2-run double and Avera followed with a 2-run single to keep the inning rolling.
Moses completed the scoring with an RBI single in the fifth, boosting the score to 12-1.
Game 2:
Rochester 7, Clarkson 6 (10 innings)
Leadem's walk-off provided a fitting end to a game that featured a 6-run ninth inning, with each team scoring three times to force extras.
Clarkson's Joe Figliolino clubbed a 2-run home run in the top of the ninth to break a 3-3 tie, with James Mason adding an RBI on a bases loaded walk to put the Golden Knights up three runs heading to the bottom half.
Rochester fought back to force extras with a Rende RBI single, Avera sacrifice fly and Moses infield single which forced a throwing error to allow the tying run to cross home.
Pitcher Mark Aaronson tossed a 1-2-3 tenth inning to keep the momentum on Rochester's side, setting up Leadem's blast which cleared the center field fence. It was the junior's third home run of the season.
Aaronson earned the win, his second of the year, pitching as one of seven hurlers in the game for the Yellowjackets. Matt Casiero provided a steady presence in the middle of the game for Rochester, striking out three in 2.2 innings. Teammate Thomas Karpishin also pitched well, throwing two scoreless frames.
Clarkson started out with the early lead, scoring a run on an Aidan Kuefner single to left, driving in Colby Brouillette.
Rochester responded right away with two runs in the bottom of the inning, grabbing a 2-1 lead after Whitley doubled in Matzat and Rende singled in Whitley. Rende finished the 3-game series with 8 hits, 6 runs and 5 RBI.
The Golden Knights bounced right back in front with two runs in the fourth. Caleb Doyle smacked a double to right center scoring a run, and Brouillette chipped in a sacrifice fly to move Clarkson ahead 3-2.
In the seventh, Avera kept his hitting streak alive with an RBI single down the left field line, scoring Leadem who reached after getting hit by a pitch. Avera's hitting streak is now 11 games, while Leadem continues to be among the Division III leaders in hit by pitches, getting plunked for 15th time on Saturday across just 22 games.
Rochester has a busy week upcoming with six games slated for the next eight days. UR plays at Hamilton on Tuesday, hosts Oswego on Wednesday and plays doubleheaders at Skidmore and Vassar next weekend.