The Ithaca College baseball team swept its doubleheader against the St. Lawrence University Saints on April 3 on Valesente Diamond at Freeman Field, completing a three-game sweep.
In the first game of the doubleheader, the Bombers led the majority of the game until St. Lawrence came roaring back in the later innings.
The Bombers wasted no time taking an early lead. After two walks from senior center fielder Mike Nauta and graduate student right fielder Garrett Callaghan, first-year student designated hitter Matt Curtis was able to double down the line for the first run of the game. It was also the first of his three hits in the game.
The Bombers tacked on more runs in the third inning. Sophomore second baseman Riley Brawdy led off the third inning with a solo homer to right field, and made the score 2–0. Curtis then followed up with a double for his second hit of the game. Junior third baseman Ethan Rothstein had a two-out single to bring home Curtis for the third run of the game.
The Bombers continued the attack in the fourth inning with Nauta getting a leadoff single and stealing second base. He was then brought to third on a sacrifice fly, and brought home by a single from Callaghan. Curtis then got a single for his final hit of the game to plate another run, giving the Bombers a 5–0 lead.
Then things started to go south for the Bombers in the top of the fifth inning. The Bombers were able to get two quick outs, but the Saints were able to string together multiple hits to bring the score to 5–2. Then a passed ball made it 5–3.
In the bottom of the fifth inning, the Bombers got a run back off a homer from sophomore first baseman Ryan Laubscher to make the score 6–2, which proved pivotal later in the game.
In the top of the sixth inning after a hit by pitch, St. Lawrence was able to put together several hits to tie the game at 6–6. They also chased senior pitcher Kyle Lambert after 5.2 innings. Lambert gave up six runs and five of them were earned. Senior pitcher Matt Chase came in to end the nightmare inning for the South Hill squad.
In the bottom of the sixth inning, a hero emerged for the Bombers. Junior left fielder Louis Fabbo hit a home run to make the score 7–6 in favor of the Bombers. Chase finished the game in the seventh to give his team its first win of the day.
The second game in the doubleheader was an enormous team effort with the Bombers plating 10 runs in a 10–3 win and senior pitcher Garrett Bell throwing six scoreless innings.
The Bombers yet again plated the first runs of the game with three coming in the first inning. Nauta, Callaghan, Curtis and senior third baseman Matt Fabian all recorded a hit in the first inning, and Fabbo walked to contribute to the three runs. The hit was the first of a great game for Nauta who went 2-for-2 and walked twice.
The game then went scoreless until the bottom of the fourth inning when senior catcher Gil Merod singled, Rothstein was hit by a pitch, and Nauta walked to load the bases, and finally, a Fabbo sacrifice fly to bring in another run to make it 4–0.
In the fifth inning, the Bombers added on two more runs to improve the score to 6–0. The Bombers recorded multiple two-out hits to score the two runs. Laubscher started with a double and advanced to third on a wild pitch, then a Merod single scored Laubscher and a Rothstein double brought home Merod to increase the Bomber lead.
After the top of the sixth inning Bell’s day came to an end. He gave up only two hits and two walks to go with seven strikeouts.
“I wanted to keep the ball on the ground,” Bell said. “I just wanted to trust my process”
The bottom of the sixth inning was the biggest inning for the Bombers. They were able to bring home four more runs to make the score 10–0 and really put the game out of reach. Callaghan, Curtis, and sophomore shortstop Connor Pedersen all singled to load the bases with one out. Laubscher then cleared the bases with a double. He then advanced to third on a groundout and scored on a Rothstein double. The inning ended with Rothstein in a rundown between second and third after his hit.
St. Lawrence broke the shutout in the final frame of the game after putting together a few hits to make the score 10–3, but it was not enough.
The Bombers’ next game is at 3:30 p.m. April 5 at home against Alfred State College.
