The team travelled SUNY Cortland for another round of solid competition yesterday.
This time, the men came out on top. Led by Rasmussen and Eraszmus offensively, the men wrapped up the win 7-3.
?It was just a great performance by everyone,? senior co-captain and catcher Kernan said. ?All the pieces just came together and we definitely showed people that we really can play.?
Although baseball snapped its five-game losing streak by sweeping a doubleheader at St. Lawrence University Saturday, UR dropped both games at Clarkson University the next day to move to 2-2 in Upstate Collegiate Athletic Association playoff competition.
In the first game against Clarkson, the Knights? Matt Macauley singled home the winning run in the bottom of the eighth inning to defeat the Yellowjackets 2-1. Earlier in the inning, sophomore outfielder Ryan Hanley had thrown out a Clarkson runner at the plate to keep the score tied.
UR took the lead in the top of the sixth when senior shortstop Bill Rasmussen?s two-out base hit drove in sophomore right-fielder Matt Davison from second. Davison had reached earlier on a Clarkson error and advanced to second on senior catcher Mike McKinsey?s sacrifice.Clarkson tied the game in the bottom half of the sixth and nearly won it in the seventh but was unable to score.
In game two, Clarkson tagged starting pitcher junior Brian Schobel for one run in the second inning and three more an inning later off a homer en route to a 4-0 win.
?We just didn?t hit that day,? Kernan said. ?We had our field game solid, but we were stuck at the plate as a team.?
However, against the Saints, the Yellowjackets had no difficulty. In game one, UR erupted for five runs in the top of the sixth and cruised to a 9-4 victory.
Sophomores left-fielder R.J. Johnsen led off the sixth with a base hit and advanced to second on senior catcher Dan Kernan?s single with one out. Johnsen then came around on junior outfielder Chris Lewis?s single while Kernan scored on a botched double play attempt on a groundball hit by Davison. Rasmussen followed with another single driving Lewis to the plate to officially knocking the Saints? Dan Barry out of the game.
Two more runs would come across in the inning, aided by another St. Lawrence error and a double steal attempt, to put the Yellowjackets up 8-1.
Early on, though things didn?t look good for the UR, Rasmussen opened up the hitting for UR with a leadoff single in the top of the fourth.
Erazmus then doubled and Rasmussen later came home on a sacrifice fly by Johnsen to give the Yellowjackets a 1-0 lead.
In the second game, UR fell behind early but was able to overcome the early four-run deficit to win 12-4.
After relieving starting pitcher sophomore Kyle Tallman with only one out in the bottom of he first, junior pitcher Mike Carletta held the Saints to only one hit and no runs over 6 2/3 innings.
Despite giving up no hits, Tallman walked the bases loaded in the first and would be charged for four runs in only a third of an inning of work.
The Yellowjackets would comeback and made it a 4-1 game when Saints? pitcher Mike Ferguson balked in a run with the bases loaded.
The next inning, UR tied the game when it scored three runs with the help of two St. Lawrence errors and in the top of the fourth took a 5-4 lead off back to back doubles by Erazmus and freshman first-baseman Michael Lesczinski with two outs.
Eight games now remain for the Yellowjackets, all at home and against UCAA teams. Four teams will be in town for four doubleheaders. Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and Vassar College on the 29th.
To qualify for this year?s NCAA tournament, the Yellowjackets must sweep the twinbill against RPI. If the men fail to pick up the wins, RPI will receive the automatic bid from the UCAA.
