GAME ONE BOXSCORE             GAME TWO BOXSCORE

Before taking the mound for the first game of The College at Brockport's Thursday afternoon doubleheader against Fredonia, 23 days had passed since sophomore James Bardenett (Syracuse, NY/Henninger) last pitched for the Green and Gold.

 

Finally recovered from a bad case of pneumonia, Bardenett delivered another gem to lead Brockport to a 9-4 win over the Blue Devils in Game One. The Golden Eagles kept the momentum rolling in Game Two and completed the sweep over their State University of New York Athletic Conference rivals, winning 6-3 on a sunny but chilly afternoon at the Clark V. Whited Complex.

 

Bardenett, who last took the mound on March 15, when he hurled a complete-game, three-hitter with 10 strikeouts, limited Fredonia to just one run on two hits with seven strikeouts in six effective innings.

 

After surrendering a first-inning run, Bardenett settled down and retired Fredonia in order in the second and fifth innings. Brockport (14-7 overall, 3-4 SUNYAC) scored four runs in both the first and fourth innings to pull away from Fredonia (11-9 overall, 0-5 SUNYAC0.

 

Brockport's first two runs came via passed balls, as seniors Max Keado (Troy, NY/Catholic Central) and Max Zimmerman (East Amherst, NY/Williamsville North) scored on passed balls. With the Golden Eagles ahead 2-0, sophomore Mike Weakley (Liverpool, NY/Liverpool) belted a two-run shot that cleared the left field fence and settled on top of the batting cages in the outfield, extending Brockport's lead to 4-0. It was Weakley's first home run of 2011, and just the second of his Brockport career.

 

“We had been struggling the past two games against New Paltz, so it was good to come out early and put four runs on the board, especially after Fredonia got one in the top of the first,” said Weakley, who went 2 for 6 with four RBI on the doubleheader.

 

“Getting James that early run support was great. There's nothing like pitching with an early three- or four-run lead. (On my homerun) I saw fastball, and my eyes lit up with a 1-2 fastball. He made a mistake and I hit it really well.”

 

The Golden Eagles played small ball to perfection in pushing across four fourth-inning runs. Freshman Kyle Tracy (Plainview, NY/Bethpage) and senior Mike Goldstein (Slingerlands, NY/Guilderland) each singled to lead off the inning, and sophomore Jake Coleman (Hilton, NY/Hilton) advanced them up a base with a well-placed sacrifice bunt. Keado then lined the first pitch he saw back up the middle to plate Tracy for a 5-0 lead.

 

Following a walk to junior Corey Booth (Middletown, NY/Minisink Valley), Zimmerman drove in two with an RBI single and senior Zach Prentice (Auburn, NY/Auburn) added an RBI groundout to push the advantage to 8-0.

 

Coleman finished off the scoring with an RBI single in the fifth, one of 14 Golden Eagle hits in Game One. Senior Tom McCormick (Utica, NY/Utica Notre Dame) went 2 for 4 while Coleman and Keado each added two hits apiece for Brockport.

 

Bardenett picked up his second win of the year, mixing in his fastball and breaking pitches to keep the Fredonia hitters guessing all game long.

 

The Golden Eagles struck first in Game Two, pushing across three first-inning runs and adding a run in the second, third and fifth innings to seize control. The big hit in the first inning came courtesy of Weakley, who ripped a two-run single into right field for a 3-0 lead.

 

With one out in the second, junior Kevin Gerken (Scottsville, NY/Wheatland-Chili) reached on an error, advanced to second on Coleman's single, and Brockport had the bases loaded after Keado singled. A patient Booth coaxed a walk to plate Gerken for a 4-0 lead.

 

Tracy made it 5-0 with a third inning RBI double into left-center field, and put Brockport up 6-0 with an RBI bunt single in the fifth inning.

 

“We all had the same mentality today, that it was a must-sweep doubleheader for us,” said Coleman, who went 4 for 6 in Thursday's doubleheader.

 

“We wanted to win two and we wanted to come out real strong, and that's what we did both games. These are the types of games you have to win in the SUNYAC tournament, so this was a great test for us.”

 

Junior James Williamson (Mexico, NY/Mexico) picked up his second win of the season, allowing only one hit with four strikeouts over three shutout innings. Junior John Lowe (Kingston, NY/Kingston) and senior Mike Potenza (Endwell, NY/Maine-Endwell) combined to throw 1 and 2/3 scoreless innings of relief to hold off the Blue Devils, who brought the tying runs to the plate in the seventh.

 

Leading 6-3 in the top of the seventh, Fredonia had the bases loaded and just one out, but Potenza induced a game-ending 4-6-3 double-play. He also got a double-play to end Game One.

 

“You don't rely on just one guy, it's the team that wins or loses the ball game,” said Justin Beach, Brockport's fourth-year head coach.

 

“We had some guys that stepped in and had some good outings today, and we had guys who didn't have good outings. Mike Potenza hasn't thrown a ton this year, and he comes in and shuts the door in both games. We're excited about that and we expect those kinds of outings from our relievers.”

 

Brockport returns to action with a three-game set against SUNYAC rival Oswego on Saturday and Sunday.