After inclement weather caused a doubleheader against Elmira College on April 6 and a game against SUNY Brockport on April 7 to be postponed, the Ithaca College baseball team returned to action three days later.
The team swept SUNY Canton in a three-game series to improve to 12–9 on the season. The Blue and Gold beat the Kangaroos by scores of 3–2 and 16–5 in a doubleheader on April 10, then added a third win April 11 with a 16–0 shutout.
Starting pitching was the story of the first game of the series, as sophomore Tyler Hill threw seven strong innings while only allowing two hits and two unearned runs. The two runs came early, but the Bomber offense found a way to clinch a victory.
With only six hits in the game, the Blue and Gold relied on timely hitting and solid base running. Freshmen Sam Little and Andrew Bailey each stole one base, while Little also scored a run while going 1–3 on the day.
Junior Ryan Henchey and freshman Matt Carey each collected two hits and both batted in one run each. The Bombers secured the win after an RBI single from senior John Stanley.
In the second game of the doubleheader, the Bomber offense jumped quickly to put the Kangaroos away early in the game. Seven players finished the game with at least one hit. The Blue and Gold scored five runs in the first inning.
The offense continued pouring it on in the fourth inning, as junior Trevor Thompson and sophomore Brennan McCormack each picked up RBIs.
The Canton offense managed to blast three home runs in the game, but it wasn’t enough to keep up with the Bombers. Henchey sealed the game with a three-run home run in the seventh 7th inning to put the Blue and Gold up 16–5.
Senior Benji Parkes went seven innings and gave up five runs, but the bullpen, led by junior Jean Germosen, shut things down with two scoreless innings.
During the final game of the series, the Bombers quickly put up seven runs in the first four innings after singles from McCormack and Thompson got things started. Little then blasted his fifth home run of the season and finished the day with four RBIs.
Henchy, Stanley, junior Josh Savacool and Thompson led the offense in the fifth inning, as they both collected RBI singles. The team led 15–0 after just five innings. To cap things off, junior Ryan Dougherty hit an RBI triple in the eighth inning to extend the Bomber lead to 16-0.
Senior starter Brandon Diorio was in top form, as he pitched seven shutout innings while striking out seven. With the win, Diorio is now 3–1 on the season. Freshman Cam Fuoti made his first pitching appearance of the season and went two innings while only giving up one hit.
With the sweep, the Bombers are now 5–1 in Empire 8 Conference play and have won their last five consecutive games.
The team returns to action at 6 p.m. April 12 to take on the University of Rochester in Rochester, New York.
