Michael Hutchins was able to tie his career high with eight strikeouts, but Ithaca's offense was on full display on Saturday as the St. Lawrence University baseball team suffered a pair of losses at Tom Fay Field.
St. Lawrence fell to 6-10 on the year and 1-4 in the Liberty League with the losses, while Ithaca improved to 13-4 and stayed perfect in league play.
John Gannon was 3-for-6 on the day with a team-high 4 RBI.
Brett Federico had two hits, including a double and three runs scored. In the second game,
Sean Desjardins tripled and went 2-for-4 while
Timothy Connor had a two-RBI triple.
Hutchins pitched a strong first game with seven innings allowing three earned runs while striking out eight.
Sam Fosberg also pitched a shutout inning in the first contest.
Game 1: St. Lawrence 3, Ithaca 7 (nine innings)
The Saints offense started hot in game one.
Jackson Brinker led off the bottom of the first by reaching on an error, then Federico doubled down the left field line to put two runners in scoring position with nobody out. Gannon then delivered with a single up the middle to give the Scarlet and Brown a 2-0 lead.
The Bombers came alive in the very next frame. After getting sent down in order in the first, Ithaca loaded the bases on an error, walk, and hit by pitch, then got a two-run single to tie the game. After a run-scoring ground out and another single, the Bombers took a 4-2 lead in the second.
The Bombers gifted the Saints in the third inning, as an error by the second baseman put Connor at first, and then a throwing error on a pickoff attempt by the pitcher sent the baseball into deep right field allowing Connor to score from first, trimming the Bombers lead to 4-3.
Ithaca got the run right back in the top of the fourth after a walk and a double gave the Bombers a 2-run lead once again.
Hutchins was lights out in his outing for the Saints. Besides a shaky second inning, he allowed only one earned run over seven innings pitched. He surrendered five hits and tied a career-high with eight strikeouts, retiring the Bombers in order in the first, third, and seventh innings.
After a shutout inning by Fosberg in the eighth, the Bombers added to their total on the scoreboard in the ninth after a pair of walks and then a couple of weakly-hit run-scoring infield singles plated two more runs.
The Saints' offense was absent outside of the first inning, as they failed to record a hit after the first inning, having only three for the game. They struck out 14 times and only managed two baserunners past the first inning, a walk by Connor and a walk by
Mike Siano.
Game 2: St. Lawrence 8, Ithaca 22 (seven innings)
Ithaca jumped out first with a big opening frame. A hit by pitch, then two walks loaded the bases, allowing the Bombers to go to work with two outs. The next batter hit a single to center field allowing a couple of runs to cross the plate. Then, a three-run home run to right field gave the Bombers a 5-0 lead before the Saints got a chance to swing the bats.
St. Lawrence responded at the bottom of the frame. After a single from Brinker, a walk from Connor, and a walk by Gannon,
Max Cloutier then hit a hard ground ball to short, giving a chance for a double play. Ithaca got the out at 2nd, but an errored throw to first allowed two runners to score, and the Saints ended the inning trailing 5-2.
The Bombers added to their lead in the following inning. A double followed by three straight singles plated two more runs, then a run-scoring fielder's choice groundout gave Ithaca their third run of the inning. Joshua Palumbo, now in the game, surrendered a couple of unearned runs on the tab of O'Neil after a pair of errors allowed two more runs to cross the plate, as Ithaca opened up a 10-2 lead after two innings.
After a 1-2-3 bottom of the second the Scarlet and Brown added two runs to the scoreboard. Brinker and Connor singled, then Gannon singled up the middle to plate Brinker. After this, Desjardins hit an infield single to score Connor as the Saints were now trailing 10-4.
After Ithaca added another in the top of the fourth, a trio of Saints scored in the bottom of the inning. A walk to Siano, a walk to Brinker, and an infield single by Federico set up a bases-loaded opportunity for Connor. The junior delivered with a double down the first-base line, leading to two runs being scored. Gannon, hitting in the four-spot, hit a deep fly ball to right, scoring Federico to get the Saints closer at 11-7.
Despite being productive on the offensive end, the Bombers were able to get four more runs in the fifth, once again taking advantage of errors by St. Lawrence.
In the bottom half of the inning, St. Lawrence started with a triple by Desjardins followed by an infield single by
Daniel Verrastro drove home the eighth run of the game for the Saints.
Ithaca continued to pour on the runs the rest of the game, scoring seven throughout the next two innings en route to their 22-8 win as the Saints were unable to convert in the sixth or seventh inning, ending the game prematurely after seven.
Next up:
The Saints will look to rebound as they play a non-conference road matchup at Plattsburgh St Wednesday.
