ROCHESTER, NY (April 9, 2017) – The Vassar College baseball team dropped both ends of a Liberty League doubleheader with the Tigers of Rochester Institute of Technology Sunday afternoon, falling in game one 11-4 before coming up short in the nightcap with a score of 6-3. With the losses, Vassar drops to 5-12 overall and 0-5 in the Liberty League, while RIT moved to 10-6 and 6-1 in conference play.

Game 1: RIT 11, Vassar 4
A six-run fourth inning was the Brewers undoing in the first game of the day, as the Tigers turned a 4-3 deficit into a 9-4 lead, adding on two more in the sixth for the extra cushion. The Brewers trailed 1-0 after the second inning, but got on the board in the third after sophomore Alex Hartnett doubled and was scored on a RBI single from freshman Daniel Bonfiglio.

The Tigers plated two in the bottom of the third inning to make the score 3-1, but the Brewers would take their first lead in the top of the fourth on one big swing. Freshman Matt Martino singled down the left field line, followed by an Evan Trausch walk. The next batter, sophomore Taylor Smach, hammered a 0-1 pitch over the left field wall to put the Brewers ahead. For Smach, it was his first career homer for the Brewers.

In the bottom half of the fourth though, RIT pushed across six runs, capped by a two-run double by Mike Myers to take the lead for good. Vassar finished with six hits on the game, as Smach was 1-2 with the homer and a hit by pitch, and senior Denis Shanagher upped his hit streak to eight games with a single. Trausch also doubled in two plate appearances for VC. Junior John Madsen continued to pitch well for Vassar, as he allowed just one run in a scoreless inning of relief.  

Will Gorman was 3-for-4 with three RBI and two runs to lead RIT, while Dom Scialabba was also 3-for-4 and Phil Sammon added three hits in as many at-bats.

Game 2: RIT 6, Vassar 3
Another big inning by the Tigers was the story, as RIT plated five runs in the top of the fifth to help secure the weekend sweep. VC jumped out in front in the bottom of the second, as junior Bobby Kinne and Trausch both walked with one out. After a strikeout, sophomore backstop Jake Doyle singled to center field to score Kinne.

VC nearly added to its tally in the third inning, as Martino doubled to left center to send Shanagher to third base with two outs but RIT got out of the jam with a strikeout. The Brewers added another though in the bottom of the fourth, as Trausch touched off his first career big fly to left center to make the score 2-0.

That's when the Tiger's bats came to live, as Navada Waterman started the rally with a RBI single and Myers finished the inning with two-run single to make the score 5-2. The Tigers tacked on another run in the sixth inning to make the game 6-2. VC pulled to within three runs in the eighth, getting three hits in the frame and a run scoring fly ball from Smach, but RIT got out of the jam to keep VC at bay. That would be as close as the Brewers would get, as RIT got Vassar 1-2-3 in the ninth.

Trausch had his best game as a collegiate player, as he was 3-for-3 with a walk, while Martino was 2-for-4 with a double. Vassar starter Trent Berg allowed five runs over his 4.1 innings of work, striking out eight RIT hitters. Sophomore Bryan Rubin came on in relief and was strong, allowing just three hits and one run over 4.2 innings, striking out seven. Vassar finished with eight runs, and left eight on base. Shanagher's hit streak would end at eight, as he went 0-for-3 in game two.

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Vassar will return home for three straight games on Prentiss Field this week, hosting CCNY (5-8) Wednesday afternoon at 4 p.m. in non-conference play before welcoming in Union College (10-6, 7-1 Liberty League) for a pair of conference contests Friday at 2 p.m. in Poughkeepsie.