WINTER HAVEN, N.Y. – Senior Tyler Clifford and junior Sam McCumiskey showed ace like form on Friday as the two Golden Eagles secured State University of New York Athletic Conference (SUNYAC) victories for The College at Brockport at Lake Myrtle Main field during a beautiful day in sunny Florida against Plattsburgh.
Brockport (11-4 Overall, 2-0 SUNYAC) won in bizarre fashion during the first game in a pitcher's duel, outpacing the Cardinals 5-0, scoring three unearned runs in the ninth inning to break the game open as both Clifford and his counterpart went the distance.
Game 1: Brockport 5 – Plattsburgh 0
Brett Sanders had a good day at the plate in game one going 2-for-3 but the Golden Eagles lacked their typical firepower scoring five runs with zero runs batted in on the day.
During the first inning, Sanders led the game off with a line drive single just over the elevated second baseman's glove. Shortstop Greg Ruddy went up to bat looking to push Sanders into scoring position but his perfectly executed bunt earned him an infield single.
Sanders stole third base on a ball in the dirt, putting Golden Eagles on the corners. The Cardinals left handed starting pitcher felt Ruddy was taking too big of a lead and threw to first base in an attempted pickoff move. When Ruddy took off for second base the first baseman threw the ball to the shortstop in an attempt to get the runner and Sanders took advantage of the quick throw scoring on the play as Ruddy finished on second.
Wesley Burghardt walked before Chris Davis drilled a ball to deep centerfield. The ball was tracked down by the fielder in the air for the first out of the inning but Ruddy was able to tag on the play putting him 90-feet from home plate. A couple pitches later Ruddy was able to score when one throw got away from the southpaw allowing both runners to advance giving Brockport the 2-0 lead.
Although Clifford found himself in trouble early on, he kept his composure and trusted his Golden Eagle defense. During the first inning back-to-back Cardinals singled through the left side of the infield but Clifford was able to stay cool in the Floridian sunshine inducing a ground ball double play started by third baseman Joe Bender. With a runner on third and threatening to score Clifford got the cleanup hitter to fly out to Eli Carrera in right field.
Clifford finished the game with a total of three ground ball double plays in his favor and five strikeouts compared to six hits and two walks in a complete game shutout. During the third inning of play Clifford was able to work around a hit striking out back-to-back batters with a Cardinal in scoring position.
Brockport broke the game open in the ninth as Dave Battel doubled to lead off the inning. It was Battel's first at-bat of the game as he had entered one inning prior as a defensive replacement in left field. Head coach Justin Beach kept making the right calls as he sent in Dane Cala to pinch hit. Cala was asked to execute a sacrifice bunt, which is what he was credited with however he reached base on a throwing error by the pitcher which allowed Battel to score.
Centerfielder Luke Gilbert was asked to do the same but was able to beat out the throw for an infield single. Carrera laid down a bunt back at the pitcher which he immediately fumbled. The throw eluded the second baseman covering first base and went all the way to the right field wall, allowing both runners to score which gave Brockport a decisive 5-0 lead.
Game 2: Brockport 8 – Plattsburgh 1
Senior first baseman Chris Davis provided the offensive punch as McCumiskey provided the arm that would lead Brockport to victory in game two.
The Golden Eagles second game of a doubleheader against conference opponent Plattsburgh had a similar theme from game one as McCumiskey was the second Brockport pitcher to go the distance pitching all seven innings.
He dominated the opposition allowing one unearned run on six hits and two walks while striking out three Cardinals. Meanwhile cleanup hitter, Davis went a perfect 2-for-2 on the day with three RBI, utilizing two sacrifice flies to score multiple runs including the first of the game during inning one.
Sanders earned a base on balls to lead the inning off before Ruddy bunted the runner over to second. Burghardt advanced Sanders to third on a fielding error by the shortstop as Davis provided a fly ball to right field that scored the first run of the game. Burghardt scored the second run which proved to be the difference maker, when he advanced three bases on multiple wild pitches.
Brockport's big inning came in the third when Davis doubled in Burghardt with a shot to right field. Paul Ludden reached on an error before Battel singled on a close play where Ludden was called out at third base. One batter later freshman catcher Justin Valentino plated both Davis and Battel with a single to right field. Davis tacked on another run batted in during the fourth inning with another sacrifice fly scoring Sanders which gave Brockport a 6-1 lead.
The Green and Gold added two more insurance runs in the top of the seventh. Davis singled, Mike Carson was hit by a pitch, Battel sac bunted the runners into scoring position before Valentino walked to load the bases. Gilbert and Cala both watched pitches miss the strike zone for back-to-back run scoring walks putting Brockport ahead by seven runs.
Davis and Gilbert led the way with two hits apiece while Sanders and Burghardt paced the Green and Gold with two runs scored each. Brockport finished the day with eight hits and eight runs.
The Green and Gold will be back in action tomorrow versus the Cardinals to conclude its SUNYAC weekend matchup with a game at 10 a.m. Be sure to stay up to date on all your Golden Eagle scores and awards by following @BportAthletics on Twitter and by liking the "Brockport Golden Eagles" Facebook page.
