BROCKPORT, N.Y. – Relief pitchers Nick Jerolimov and Casey Piazza were dialing up the heat for The College at Brockport Baseball team, striking out a combined 10 batters in less than five innings pitched as the Golden Eagles fell to the Rochester Institute of Technology 8-4 Wednesday evening in a nonconference game at Clark V. Whited Sports Complex.
Brockport (15-6 Overall) fell behind early but with stellar relief from Kyle Perez, Jerolimov, Piazza and Jimmy Lovelass the Golden Eagles kept the score close to pull within two runs in the seventh inning. After the Tigers scored three runs in both the first and second innings, things looked bleak for the Green and Gold.
However the Golden Eagles crossed the plate twice in the fourth inning displaying their determination to not give up, cutting the deficit to 6-2. The offense fed off the energy created when Jerolimov entered the game in the top of the inning as he struck out the side with his devastating fastball, mixed in with solid off speed to keep the batters guessing.
Wesley Burghardt got thigs started when he singled through the left side of the infield. Cleanup man Chris Davis wasted little time with a five pitch walk with Paul Ludden on deck. The first year Golden Eagle squared around to push both runners into scoring position with a sacrifice bunt but reached on a Tigers fielding error.
With the bases loaded Josh Martin sent a ball into left center that was tracked down but was deep enough to score Burghardt on third. A new pitcher entered the game and quickly tried to remove a runner from scoring position with a pickoff move to second. Davis broke for third base and was able to beat the play out for a stolen base that put runners on the corners. He scored when Ludden stole second base as the Tigers unsuccessfully tried to throw Ludden out on the play before the ball was redirected at home in a futile attempt to get Davis.
Jerolimov nearly struck out the side in the fifth inning, fanning the first two batters. Jerolimov went ahead 1-2 in the count versus the third batter before missing by less than an inch with a fastball just outside the strike zone. The batter sent the 3-2 pitch deep into left centerfield for a double. The batter tried to advance to third but a beautiful relay from Luke Gilbert in centerfield to shortstop Greg Ruddy got the Tiger at third with Joe Bender's applied tag for the third out.
Eli Carrera led the bottom half of the fifth with a single before Brett Sanders laid down a bunt down to advance him into scoring position. Two pitches later Ruddy sent the ball into left center on a line for a run scoring single, bringing Brockport within three runs.
Piazza relieved Jerolimov to start the sixth, striking out the first two batters before a weakly hit ball back towards him ended the top of the inning. He needed just 11 pitches to strike out the side in the seventh inning.
The Golden Eagles scored their final run in the seventh inning. Ruddy's walk was sandwiched between two singles from Sanders and Burghardt to load the bases. Davis put a jolt into the baseball on a 2-2 count which scored Sanders on a sacrifice fly.
The Tigers tacked on two more runs in the ninth to finish the scoring off. The Golden Eagles finished with nine hits led by two apiece from Ruddy and Burghardt. Perez entered the game in the second inning and tossed two innings while striking out two. Lovelass entered the game in the eighth inning with a runner in scoring position. He masterfully exited the frame with the 6-4 score still intact.
The Golden Eagles are next scheduled to play State University of New York Athletic Conference (SUNYAC) rival Cortland on Friday and Saturday during a three game series. In anticipation of poor weather the games have been realigned to a doubleheader on Friday starting at noon and a single game on Saturday at noon. 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.
