Coming off a tough 14–8 loss from the SUNY Oswego Lakers on March 16, the Ithaca College baseball team bounced back in a doubleheader against the Clarkson University Golden Knights on March 26 at Booth Field.
First Game:
The Bombers gave the nod to junior right-hand pitcher Colin Leyner to open the first game and he did not disappoint, racking up four strikeouts with the first five batters he faced. The Bombers got on a roll in the first inning, leading 3–0 going into the second. Junior center fielder Collin Feeney was able to steal second and advanced to third off a wild pitch before sophomore outfielder Matt Curtis sent him home with a single up the middle. Senior right fielder Colin Shashaty hit a double to right field to send Curtis and another runner home.
After both offenses stalled in the second, third and fourth innings, the Golden Knights were able to get their first run of the game off a sacrifice fly in the top of the fifth inning. Leyner put two runners on base at second and third. After, Golden Knights’ sophomore third baseman CJ Cartier sent a pop fly to center field which allowed a runner to reach home plate and another to advance to third.
For the remainder of the game, it was strictly defense with no runs from either team. In the final two innings, Leyner stepped out and sophomore right-hand pitcher Conor Burns went to the mound. Burns was able to close out the game striking out two batters and only allowing one hit to end in a 3–1 Bombers’ win.
Second Game:
Sophomore right-hand pitcher Jack Colyer started on the mound for the Bombers in the second game. After a scoreless first and second inning, the Golden Knights were able to get the ball rolling when sophomore catcher Joe Figliolino hit a deep single to center field to send a runner home and to take the first lead of the game. The next batter, graduate student infielder Jake Millich sent a runner home to make the Bombers’ deficit 2–0.
Going into the fourth, Colyer continued to struggle, allowing the first batter up, first-year shortstop Beau Vardion, to hit a deep double to left field. A few pitches later, Vardion advanced to third off of a wild pitch. Sophomore second baseman James Mason hit a single through the right field gap to send Vardion home and make the score 3–0.
In the bottom of the fourth with one out, the Bombers got the bases loaded after Shashaty was hit by a pitch. To capitalize, junior second baseman Riley Brawdy hit a single to center field to cut the Bombers’ deficit to 3–1. The next at bat, junior third baseman Connor Pedersen hit a single up the middle in which the opposing shortstop was not able to grasp the ball. Pedersen sent two runners home to tie the score at 3–3. On a wild pitch, Brawdy advanced from second base to home plate to take the Bombers’ first lead at 4–3.
For the next two innings, Colyer held his own, not allowing any hits. In the bottom of the sixth inning, the Bombers had four hits while also bringing in three runs. Senior left fielder Louis Fabbo blasted a ball to left center field and sent two runners home. In the next at bat, Curtis sent Fabbo home to stretch the Bombers lead to 7–3.
The Bombers added even more in the bottom of the seventh inning after sophomore third baseman Lucas Orlovitz sent a ball to left-center field to make the score 8–3. The team continued their dominance getting RBIs from Feeney, Curtis and first-year first baseman Camden Laney resulting in an 11–3 lead going into the eighth inning.
The South Hill Squad was able to bring in 11 runs in between the fourth and seventh inning. Curtis said once one batter starts hitting well, it rubs off on the whole team.
“Once one guy starts hitting it, it kind of gets everybody going,” Curtis said. “I think we’re very good at situational hitting. When we need to get the hits, we do. I just think that one guy sparks it for the next and we just keep it going.”
To close out the game, the Golden Knights started to make a comeback in the top of the ninth inning grabbing two runs to make the score 12–5, however it was no match for the Bombers who came up on top.
Looking ahead:
The Bombers’ record goes to 10–4 on the year, with this being the squad’s first two conference wins of the season. In the next four weeks, the Bombers will play a total of 16 Liberty League games. Senior shortstop Ethan Rothstein said these two wins are a good boost for these next upcoming weeks.
“Winning our first two games, it’s always good to get off on the right foot,” Rothstein said. “Although the bats weren’t exactly where we wanted it to be today, I think we did a great job finding a way to win and that’s what’s most important.”
In both games combined, Curtis went four for six in his at bats, had three RBIs and also got a run. Curtis described what it was behind his hitting performance. Curtis said he felt energized today especially since it has been nine days since the Bombers last saw the field.
“I just felt good today,” Curtis said. “At the end of spring break [I] definitely got tired, so getting a bunch of days off, it was very nice. And then [I was] very locked in today. Trying not to do too much. Sometimes I get in trouble when I do too much, so just keeping things simple.”
For their next matchup, the Bombers will face the St. Lawrence University Saints 3 p.m. March 29 followed by a doubleheader on March 30.
