AUBURNDALE, FL - The Utica University baseball team checked off its second-straight 20-run game with its 22-8 win over Fredonia in the team's first RussMatt Invitational game on Sunday.
At the plate, a trio of Pioneers went 3-for-5 including
Brendan May (McGraw, NY/McGraw), who also drove in a team-high four runs,
John Son (Mellville, NY/Half Hollow Hills), who had three RBI, and
Dom Fasolo (Whitesboro, NY/Whitesboro).
Joe Crossley (Marcy, NY/Whitesboro) (2-5, two RBI),
Joe Battista (Gansevoort, NY/South Glens Falls) (2-3, two RBI, three BB) and
Matthew Kanyuk (Mellville, NY/Hills East) (2-3, three runs) had multi-hit games as well.
On the mound,
Ryan Cardone (Whitesboro, NY/Whitesboro) started the game and went 2.1 innings allowing seven runs on six hits with five strikeouts.
Dylan Sullivan (West Orange, NJ/Columbia) picked up his second win of the year after going 2.2 innings in relief allowing one run on two hits while striking out one.
Connor Ford (Swedesboro, NJ/Kingsway Regional) finished off the game with two innings on the hill without surrendering a run and allowing just one hit to pair with three strikeouts.
The game started off in Fredonia's favor with a five-run top of the first inning as Utica trailed 5-0 without having attempted an at-bat yet. However, the Pioneers responded in a big way.
Battista, Son and Fasolo all drove in runs via doubles while
Jack Bono (Frankfort, NY/Frankfort-Schuyler) followed with a two-RBI single to even the game 5-5. Utica would go on to tack on three more runs in the home half of the 1st inning to lead 8-5 after one full.
Cardone settled in following his rough 1st inning and got out of the 2nd without harm while May and Battista each brought home runs in Utica's half as the Pioneers led 11-5 entering the 3rd.
The Blue Devils got back on the board in the top of the 3rd which ultimately ended Cardone's night as Sullivan was brought in and got the Pioneers out of the inning with limited harm. Two Fredonia runs closed its deficit to 11-7.
The Pioneers piled on six more in the bottom half of the 3rd by way of a RBI walk by
Steve Sclafani (North Massapequa, NY/Farmingdale), an E4 by Fredonia, a two-RBI Crossley single, a Son sacrifice fly and a RBI single by Fasolo.
Sullivan went on to pitch a clean 4th inning while a double steal allowed
John Longeretta (Oriskany, NY/Oriskany) to wipe home for a 17-7 Utica lead entering the 5th. Fredonia added a run in the top half while Utica scored five more in the bottom of the 5th to lead 22-8 entering the 6th.
From there, Ford came in to pitch in his first career outing and shut down the Blue Devil bats to finish off the Pioneers' 14-run win over Fredonia.
Utica (3-1, 0-0 Empire 8) will go from Auburndale to Winter Haven on Monday for a doubleheader against the University of Maine, Presque Isle on Monday. Game one is set to begin at 10:15 a.m.
