KEUKA PARK, NY - The Utica University baseball team came back from a game one loss against the Keuka College Wolves to salvage a split against its Empire 8 foe with a win in the second game of the twin bill.
Keuka 10, Utica 6
The Pioneers held a 5-0 advantage after their half of the 2nd inning after a
Noah Barber (Cortland, NY/Cortland) RBI single in the first and RBIs out of
Jason Story (Hilton, NY/Hilton HS),
Brendan May (McGraw, NY/McGraw),
Joe Crossley (Marcy, NY/Whitesboro) and
John Son (Mellville, NY/Half Hollow Hills) in the second.
The Wolves responded with four of their own in the home half of the 2nd inning, two of which unearned, to close the gap to 5-4.
Michael Muentener (Fairview, NJ/Cliff Side Park) drove home another run for Utica in the 4th inning to increase the team's lead to 6-4 however, Keuka stormed back.
Three runs in the 4th inning put the home team ahead 7-6 before adding three more between the 5th and 6th innings to help cap off a comeback for a 10-6 win.
At the plate for Utica,
Joe Battista (South Glens Falls, NY/South Glens Falls) went a perfect 4-for-4 while May, Barber, Muentener and
Shamariah McCullough (Brooklyn, NY/Nazareth Regional) all had two hit afternoons.
James Roeschlaub (Auburn, NY/Auburn HS) tossed four innings in the losing effort, surrendering six earned runs on seven hits before
Brian Dinnen (Cortlandt Manor, NY/Walter Panas) closed out the final two frames allowing two earned runs on four hits.
Utica 6, Keuka 5
Ryan Cardone (Whitesboro, NY/Whitesboro) pitched a clean 1st inning for Utica after its bats were also silenced in the top half.
John Son (Mellville, NY/Half Hollow Hills) got the team going with a solo home run in the 2nd inning for a 1-0 Pioneer lead.
In the 3rd frame,
Joe Battista (South Glens Falls, NY/South Glens Falls) knocked in a pair of runs on a double to the right-center field gap to pull the team ahead 3-0. Keuka broke through in the 4th inning on a wild pitch, making it a 3-1 game. Later in the 6th inning,
Shamariah McCullough (Brooklyn, NY/Nazareth Regional) drove in a run on a fielder's choice before
Brendan May (McGraw, NY/McGraw) singled home another run through the right side to widen the team's margin to 5-1.
However, Cardone fell into a jam in the 6th inning. The Wolves scored three runs off of Cardone, who exited after 5.2 innings allowing five runs, two earned, on seven hits, to even the game at 5-5.
Jake Mangino (Sayville, NY/Sayville) was called upon in relief and went on to shut the door in the 6th frame.
Jason Story (Hilton, NY/Hilton HS) stepped up in the following half inning and singled home the what would be winning run on a base knock to center. Mangino completed the 7th inning on his way to earning his second win of the year before May completed the two-inning save for his third of 2022 in the Utica win.
At the plate, May and Battista totaled two hits each with Battista driving home two runs and May one.
Joe Crossley (Marcy, NY/Whitesboro) also extended his hitting streak to 12 games after recording a base hit.
Utica (12-11, 5-5 Empire 8) and Keuka were originally slated to play on Saturday however, the game has been postponed due to pending inclimate weather.
