UTICA, NY - The Utica University baseball team responded to its game one loss with a 13-run performance in game two as the team split its Wednesday doubleheader with the Keuka College Wolves.
Keuka 6, Utica 4
The Wolves scored first in the top of the 1st inning when starting pitcher
Ben Hladun (Ballston Lake, NY/Burnt Hills-Ballston Lake ) nearly caught a line drive back to him but after dropping the ball, a wide throw to first allowed the runner from second to score.
The Pioneers loaded the bases with no outs in the home half of the 1st but managed just one run coming on a passed ball, leaving the game tied at 1-1 entering the 2nd frame. The Utica offense fell stagnant through the middle portion of the 7-inning game while Keuka was able to piece together five runs between the 3rd and 5th innings and held a 6-1 lead entering the bottom of the 6th.
The Pioneers cut its deficit in half thanks to an RBI single by
Nathan Yantz (Rochester, NY/Greece Arcadia) and an RBI groundout by
Ryan Cardone (Whitesboro, NY/Whitesboro) to make it a 6-3 game entering the final inning.
Pitcher
Chris D'Agostino (Liverpool, NY/Cicero-North Syracuse ) escaped the 7th after having a runner on third base with one away thanks to a diving stop by
Zac Cronk (Saratoga Springs, NY/Saratoga Central Catholic) at second base for a 4-3 putout that held the runner at third followed by a strikeout. Utica had runners on first and second base with one away but could only come up with one run as Keuka held on for the game one win.
Hladun tossed four innings allowing four runs, three earned, on seven hits while racking up four strikeouts in the losing effort. Out of the pen,
Kody Czternastek (Whitesboro, NY/Whitesboro ) and D'Agostino allowed zero earned runs over three combined innings. At the plate,
Joe Battista (South Glens Falls, NY/South Glens Falls) and the red-hot
Jack Bono (Frankfort, NY/Frankfort-Fort Schuyler) had two hits each while he, Yantz and Cardone had the team's only RBI's.
Utica 13, Keuka 8
Making his first career start,
Nicholas Greene (Ilion, NY/Central Valley Academy ) surrendered an early run in the top of the 1st on an RBI double with one out. However, a spectacular diving catch by
Joe Crossley (Marcy, NY/Whitesboro) in center field and a fly out to left kept the game at 1-0 Keuka entering the home half.
While the Wolves scored one each in the 2nd and 3rd innings, the Pioneer bats came alive trailing 3-0 in the bottom of the 3rd. As Crossley stole second base,
Michael Muentener (Fairview, NJ/Cliff Side Park) scored on the throw down for the team's first run before
Jack Bono (Frankfort, NY/Frankfort-Fort Schuyler) doubled home Crossley from second base to make it 3-2. Two batters later,
Zac Cronk (Saratoga Springs, NY/Saratoga Central Catholic) singled out to left field to bring in Bono from second while a misread on the ball allowed
Brendan May (McGraw, NY/McGraw) to race home from first base for Utica's first lead.
Cronk scored on a passed ball before
Matthew Fitzgerald (Clinton, NY/Notre Dame) gave himself a pleasant birthday gift on an RBI single up the middle to put the team ahead 6-3. May and Crossley each had one RBI over the next two innings to give Utica an 8-3 lead after five full frames.
Greene settled into the game, allowing just one hit between the 4th and 6th innings as his day ended entering the 7th. He was given two more runs of support when
Jason Story (Hilton, NY/Hilton HS) drove home a pair on a double in the 6th for a 10-3 Utica lead.
Although Keuka crawled back as close as the team could in the 9th, May, who entered in the 8th inning, was able to pick up the final three outs to salvage a series split.
Greene notched his first career win after going six innings allowing three runs, two earned, on five hits with no walks and four strikeouts.
Jake Mangino (Sayville, NY/Sayville) also pitched a clean 7th inning before May entered in the 8th.
Muentener and May each had four hits, combining for eight of the team's 16 total. Muentener drove in a pair of runs while May brought home one. Crossley, Cronk and Story had two-RBI games as well while Fitzgerald totaled two hits in four trips to the plate.
Utica (16-13, 9-7 Empire 8) will travel to Houghton College on Thursday for a doubleheader against the Highlanders starting at 3 p.m.
