Box Score 1 | Box Score 2

ROCHESTER, NY (April 11, 2015) – The Vassar College baseball team traveled north to Rochester, NY Saturday for the first of two doubleheaders with Rochester Institute of Technology this weekend, where they fell in game one 4-2 before taking the nightcap 6-5.

RIT 4, Vassar 2
The first game of the afternoon witnessed the first comeback of the day, as the Tigers of RIT scored four runs over the final three innings to push past the Brewers. Vassar College took the initial lead in the ball game, scoring twice in the top of the third, as Denis Shanagher (San Francisco, CA/St. Ignatius Prep) singled in two runs with two out to put the Brewers on top.

Up to that point, Vassar College starter Adam Erkis (Villanova, PA/Radnor) had been on cruise control, allowing just one base runner. In the bottom of the third, the Tigers had runners on second and third with two out, but Erkis forced a ground out to get out of the frame. An inning later, Erkis again was able to escape out of a jam, stranding two RIT runners on base.

The Tigers finally got on the board in the top of the fifth, as Will Gorman drew a bases loaded walk to plate the first run of the day for RIT. Vassar was able to hold its lead though, as Erkis left the bases loaded. Rochester Institute of Technology eventually took the lead in the bottom of the sixth though, as senior Chris Barr tripled in two runs with one out, scoring on the next play thanks to a RBI single from Brett Kajganish.

In the seventh, freshman Bobby Kinne (Great Barrington, MA/Mountain Monument Regional) doubled to start the frame, followed by a single by junior Dakota Sagnelli (Rumson, NJ/Rumson-Fair Haven) and hit batter to load the bags for Vassar. Ethan Humbert was able to hold the Brewers offense from there though, as VC left the bags packed to end the game.

Kinne finished with two hits for the Brewers, marking his team-leading fifth game with two or more hits in a contest. Shanagher added a stolen base for VC, his second of the season, and Erkis went five and a third innings, striking out five Tiger batters and allowing three earned runs.

Vassar 6, RIT 5
The Brewers posted three runs in the top of the ninth in game two, escaping Saturday with a 6-5 victory. The Vassar ninth started with a pinch-hit single by Sagnelli, followed by a Matt Hernandez (Corona, CA/Eleanor Roosevelt) walk to put runners at first and second.

Senior Dan McCormack (Nashua, NH/Nashua) bunted the runners up, and freshman Eric Strickland (Round Rock, TX/Round Rock) did his job by plating pinch runner Bennett Nagurka (Arlington, VA/Yorktown) and Hernandez with a triple to tie the game at five. Two batters later with two outs junior Brooks English (Milton, MA/Milton Academy) came through with the eventual game-winning RBI, driving a single to left center to plate Strickland.

In the bottom of the ninth, the Tigers put runners on first and second with one out, but senior CJ Bolorin was thrown out at third trying to steal by Cory Wuenschell (Pittsburgh, PA/Mt. Lebanon) for the second out. After an error put runners at the corners, junior Connor Cucalon (San Francisco, CA/St. Ignatius Prep) got another ground ball to close it out for Vassar.

The Brewers for the second straight game led early on, as VC scored three in the top of the first, two coming on a single by senior Kyle Casey (San Diego, CA/Vista). The Tigers scored once in the fourth and fifth innings, and then took the lead in the sixth on a three-run homer by Skip Flanagan.

The bullpen from that point held the Tigers off the board, setting the ninth inning heroics for the Brewers. Vassar had just six hits in game two, as English reached three times while scoring once. Strickland drove in two and scored two runs, and Shanagher extended his hitting streak to eight games with a first inning single.

Vassar College starter Trent Berg (Milton, MA/Boston College) went five complete, striking out nine Tiger hitters while allowing two earned runs, and Johnny Mrlik (San Francisco, CA/St. Ignatius Prep), Shanagher and Cucalon all posted scoreless outings.

--

The Brewers return to the diamond tomorrow as the home team at RIT, finishing the four-game set with the Tigers with another Liberty League doubleheader starting at noon in Tiger Stadium.