AUBURNDALE, FL – After taking a one-score lead in the sixth inning, the Vassar baseball team rattled off five runs in the eighth to win 9-4 over Cazenovia on Thursday evening. The Brewers move to 5-2 overall, while the Wildcats slip to 2-5.

In the first, Cazenovia's Miguel Rivera batted first and walked. Kam Cassidy got the Wildcats rolling right after, hitting a line drive up the middle to bring Rivera to second. The next batter flew out to left fielder Jason Salerno (Dix Hills, NY). Then Nick Santoro doubled, allowing Rivera to reach home.

The pitch hit Salerno in his first at-bat, and then he reached second after senior Daniel Bonfiglio (New York, NY) grounded out to first. A quick two outs followed to end the inning.

Vassar kept the Wildcats scoreless in the second inning, going 1-2-3 against the Cazenovia batters. Jack Lees grounded out to second baseman Gunnar Wildercrantz (Selden, NY), and then pitcher Sam Brinster (Long Beach, NY) struck out Andrew Kellenbenz. Bonfiglio scooped up the ground ball for the third out.

Cazenovia added another run at the top of third with runners on first and second. Nick Santoro singled to plate one runner and give the Wildcats a 2-0 lead. A sacrifice bunt by Joe Brisson advanced Wildcats' runners to second and third. Brinster kept calm, striking out Castrello to end the inning.

The Brewers' bats heated right after, picking up three hits and two runs in the third. With two outs, Bonfiglio hit for a single. Senior Matt Martino (Hauppauge, NY) then launched his first home run of the season to tie the game. Cazenovia responded in the fourth, adding one score to go up 3-2.

A Wildercrantz sacrifice bunt allowed Pinataro to reach second, and then Salerno was hit by the pitch. A one-run RBI single from Bonfiglio brought Pinataro to tie the game. After three scoreless frames, the Brewers took their first lead in the sixth. After the first out, Martino walked, reached second on a balk, and then advanced to third on a wild pitch. Senior Evan Trausch (San Diego, CA) doubled to bring Martino home.

Senior Billy Mathiesen (Rancho Palos Verdes, CA) struck out two batters in the seventh and then two more in the eighth to hold the 4-3 lead. The Brewers offense exploded at the bottom of the eighth capitalizing on three hits and three Wildcats' errors. First, Salerno scored off a Bonfiglio double. Martino was then intentionally walked, and a pitcher error allowed Bonfiglio to score. Trausch reached first following a second baseman error that brought Martino in for another run.

First-year Alex Warren (Bethesda, MD) pinch ran for Trausch, and a shortstop error allowed Connor Levchuck (Greenlawn, NY) to reach first and put Warren on second. Both Levchuck and Warren stole bases to advance, and a two-RBI Wildercrantz double pushed the Vassar lead to 9-3.

With two outs, Cazenovia tallied one run in the ninth following a Brisson double. The final batter then lined out to the right field to secure the Vassar win.

Bonfiglio finished the day going 3-of-5 with two runs, two RBI, and one double. Trausch added two doubles on two hits and had one RBI. Martino recorded three runs with two RBI. Levchuck led the team with two stolen bases.

Brinster pitched 4.0 innings, striking out two batters, while senior Jake Silver (Wellington, FL) struck out one batter in 1.0 innings. Mathiesen (1-0) recorded the win after pitching 3.0 innings and gave up no hits while striking out four batters.

Vassar continues the RussMatt Central Florida Invitational against Juniata on Fri. Mar. 13 at 4:45 p.m. The game will be played in Auburndale, FL, at the Lake Myrtle Complex Main Field.