Game One Box Score

Game Two Box Score

ROCHESTER, NY (April 18, 2010) – Taking an 11-8 lead into the final inning of the second game of Sunday's Liberty League doubleheader, the Vassar College baseball team nearly pulled off an upset of No. 23 nationally ranked University of Rochester, but a big ninth inning from the Yellowjackets kept their league record unblemished as they completed the sweep with a 13-11 win to complement their 7-3 victory in the opener.

The Brewers fall to 6-19, 2-14 in the Liberty League and will look to snap a five-game losing skid when they host a non-league contest against Purchase College on Wednesday at 4:00 p.m. The Yellowjackets, ranked No. 23 in the Division III coaches poll and No. 25 by D3baseball.com this week, improve to 24-4 overall and have yet to drop a league game, at 16-0.

Vassar matched Rochester with 19 hits in two games, but similar to yesterday, the Yellowjackets had one big inning in both games that proved the deciding factor.

Game One
In game one, the Yellowjackets took a 6-0 lead into the fifth inning as Alex Caghan tripled home a run in the first and scored on a Nate Stein double, and Rochester tacked on four more runs in the third. A bunt single by Matt Francis scored one and another came home on a throwing error after the bunt. Casey Storme hit a sacrifice fly for the third run and Caghan was hit by a pitch with the bases full to make it 6-0.

The Brewers responded with three runs in the fifth, an RBI single from freshman shortstop Mike Perrone, a steal of home by sophomore first baseman Liam Lee, and an RBI single from junior second baseman Joe Castilla.

However, Nick Cacciola entered to pitch the final two innings and held the Brewers at bay, allowing just one hit and one walk with two strikeouts to earn his third save. Rochester starter Jon Menke worked five innings allowing six hits, three runs (all earned), and walked four with no strikeouts to improve to 4-0.

Sophomore John MacGregor pitched the first six innings for Vassar and took the loss, falling to 0-4. He allowed eight hits, six runs (five earned), walked five, and struck out four. Freshman Zander Mrlik gave up one hit, one walk, and one earned run in his one inning of work.

No Vassar hitter recorded multiple hits, as the Brewers got five of their seven hits from the bottom of the lineup.

Game Two
The Brewers looked poised to steal a game from the Yellowjackets in the second game, with an 11-7 lead after seven innings. After entering the game with two outs in the fourth inning and Vassar trailing 7-3, sophomore reliever Zachary Prudoff was nearly untouchable for three innings while his offense provided him eight runs during that span. In the fifth and sixth innings, Prudoff allowed just one walk, and in the eighth the Yellowjackets just managed to push across a run, as Andy Cannon drew a two-out walk and scored on a single from Stein.

Heading into the top of the ninth (Vassar was the home team on Sunday) with an 11-8 lead, Prudoff got two quick outs with just one runner on base. However, after recording four strikeouts to that point, Prudoff lost his control, and a walk and hit batman loaded the bases with another walk pushing a run in, and bringing sophomore Scott Allen in to pitch. Caghan welcomed Allen with a bases-clearing triple, and an ensuing double from Stein scored Caghan to complete the five-run inning for Rochester. Although the Brewers put runners on second and third in the bottom of the inning, they were unable to mount a comeback.

The Brewer bats looked sharp in the game, responding to a 2-0 lead after the first half inning with three of their own in the bottom of the frame. Perrone led off with a hit, junior outfielder Devon Luongo followed with a walk, and senior outfielder Ari Glantz singled in Perrone for Vassar's first run. Sophomore designated Sal Costanzo added a two-run single to score Luongo and Glantz and give the Brewers a 3-2 lead.

Although Rochester added three in the second and two in the fourth, Vassar tied the game 7-7 with four runs in the bottom of the fourth. Junior third baseman David Ringold hit a one-out single, and advanced to third after Lee and Perrone drew walks to load the bases. A sacrifice fly from Luongo scored Ringold, and Lee then stole home on a delayed double steal, his second steal of home on Sunday. Glantz tied the game with a two RBI home run.

Vassar scored two runs in the fifth off Phil DiLorenzo as junior first baseman Joe Bubar singled home one run and scored the other – on a single to right center Ringold. The Brewers stretched the lead to 11-7 in the seventh with a pair of unearned runs, one coming on a failed pickoff throw and the other when a drawn-in infield couldn't hold a bouncer by Perrone.

The Brewers had 12 hits in the loss, led by Castilla who was 3-for-4 with one run. Glantz had two hits, three RBIs, two runs, and a stolen base, while Costanzo added two hits and two RBI. Perrone was a terror on the base paths, nabbing four bags, while adding one hit, one RBI, and two runs. The Brewers stole seven bases in the game, with one apiece from Luongo, Glantz, and Lee.

Caghan was 2 for 4 in game two with six RBIs and three runs scored. He hit a three-run home run in the top of the second inning in the nitecap. In game one, he was 2 for 3 with one run scored and two RBIs.

Corey King, the fourth Rochester pitcher, earned the win in relief. In one and two-thirds, he allowed one hit and one walk with one strikeout. Prudoff took the loss for Vassar. He relieved junior Daniel Berkowitz in the fourth inning with Vassar trailing, 7-3. He shut down the Yellowjackets for the middle innings and carried an 11-8 lead into the ninth.