Box Score 1 | Box Score 2

POUGHKEEPSIE, NY (April 19, 2015) – The Vassar College baseball team allowed no earned runs over 15 innings of play Sunday afternoon, as the Brewers split a Liberty League doubleheader with the University of Rochester in action from Prentiss Field. Rochester played as the home team Sunday, and picked up game one 1-0 in eight innings before VC earned the series finale 5-2.

Rochester 1, Vassar 0
Senior outfielder Josh Ludwig delivered a two-out, bases loaded walk-off single up the middle in the bottom of the eighth, as the Yellowjackets posted their 17^th straight victory with a 1-0 win over Vassar in the first game of the day.

The pitching on both sides was outstanding, as Vassar's Adam Erkis (Villanova, PA/Radnor) and UR's Josh Schulman matched one another pitch-for-pitch. Neither team could muster much off the opposing starter until Vassar loaded the bases in the top of the fifth win no outs.

Schulman was able to induce a 3-2 ground ball double play to get the first two outs of the inning, and escaped the jam by getting an inning-ending strikeout. Erkis held Rochester hitless through the first four and two-thirds, but Tyler Schmidt broke up the no-hit bid in the fifth with a hard ground ball off the glove of a diving Kyle Casey (San Diego, CA/Vista) at second base.

Each starter continued to cruise right along, as neither team could push across a run, sending the game into extra innings. In the top of the eighth, the Brewers had a run in scoring position with two outs, but could not get the clutch hit they needed. In the bottom of the frame, Erkis got the first two batters but Brian Munoz singled to start the rally.

The inning was prolonged by a throwing error by Vassar, and after an intentional walk to load the bases, Ludwig laced a hard hit ground ball right past Erkis to clinch the victory for Rochester. Erkis earned the hard luck loss in the game, as the righty went 7.2 innings of work, striking out five hitters and allowing just five hits and no earned runs.

Schulman finished with the complete-game shutout, holding the Brewers to five hits while striking out seven and walking three hitters. Casey had three of Vassar's five hits, and junior Dakota Sagnelli (Rumson, NJ/Rumson-Fair Haven) and Bobby Kinne (Great Barrington, MA/Monument Mountain Regional) each singled as well for Vassar.

Vassar 5, Rochester 2
The Brewers (5-15, 4-14 Liberty League) got another start, this time from freshman Derek DeMild (Peabody, MA/Peabody Veteran's Memorial), and Robert Winkelmann (Wappingers Falls, NY/Beacon) was solid in relief as VC ended the 17-game win streak with a 5-2 victory to close the series.

The Brewer offense took some pressure off of the young righty starter, scoring three times in the top of the first to take an early lead. Junior Brooks English (Milton, MA/Milton Academy) singled to left-center to start the rally, and Kinne was hit in the helmet two pitches later to put runners on first and second.

Junior Nick Johnson (San Francisco, CA/St. Ignatius Prep) gave the Brewers a 2-0 lead seconds later, as he ripped a 1-1 pitch for a double. Johnson came around a batter later, as Sagnelli plated the junior with a single to left.

The Brewers extended their lead to 5-0 in the fourth inning, as Casey walked and went to third on a double down the right field line by freshman Eric Strickland (Round Rock, TX/Round Rock). Senior Dan McCormack (Nashua, NH/Nashua) scored Casey on a sacrifice fly, and senior Jason Garfinkel (Encino, CA/Harvard-Westlake) drove in Strickland with a single with two outs to give VC a five-run cushion.

DeMild had worked out of jams in two of his first four innings of work, stranding five Yellowjackets, but got into trouble in the fourth. UR (22-8, 14-2 Liberty League) scored two runs on an error after loading the bases, and continued the rally with no outs and runners on second and third. Winkelmann came on for VC and did the job in relief, not allowing either of his inherited runners to score.

Vassar College couldn't do much off of Rochester reliever Luke Meyerson, but Winkelmann was great out of the bullpen, earning his first save of the year after tossing three innings of scoreless baseball.

Six different Brewers had hits in game two Sunday, as Strickland and Johnson each had extra-base hits. All but one of the nine Vassar offensive starters had at least one hit, RBI or run scored in the game, as VC went 4-for-8 with runners in scoring position. DeMild got the win due to the game being scheduled for seven innings, allowing no earned runs over four-plus innings, walking five and striking out two.

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The Brewers will continue their home stand on Wednesday afternoon, hosting a non-conference tussle with The College of Old Westbury at 4 p.m. on Prentiss Field.