ANNANDALE-ON-HUDSON, N.Y – The College at Brockport Baseball team took a 2-0 lead in the top of the fifth inning but was unable to hang on against undefeated Bard College on Sunday afternoon falling 5-2 at Honey Field.
Brockport's (6-2) bats had trouble shaking the cold temperatures on the deceptively sunny day but were the first to strike in the top of the fifth, taking a 2-0 lead.
Left fielder Eli Carrera led the fifth inning off with a double down the line. The next batter Justin Valentino fell behind in the count 0-2 before sending the third pitch into right field for a run scoring single.
Sophomore Luke Gilbert followed the single with a successful sacrifice bunt towards the third baseman, advancing Valentino into scoring position. An errant pickoff attempt put Valentino on third base with a single out as shortstop Greg Ruddy was at the plate. With two strikes, Ruddy did his job of putting the ball in play allowing the runner to score which gave the Golden Eagles the 2-0 advantage.
Sam McCumiskey was on the mound for the Green and Gold. He held the Raptors scoreless for the first four innings before Bard was able to rally in the bottom half of the fifth. A triple scored two runs for Bard with only one out in the inning to threaten more. However McCumiskey was able to get the runner out at third on a ball hit back at him. With two outs and a man on first he struck out the final batter he'd face in the game, finishing with six total.
With the game tied at 2-all and the bases loaded with no outs, Derick Fera entered the contest to nearly lead Brockport out of the inning unscathed. He froze the first two batters he faced with called third strikes but a single and error allowed all three of Bard's runners to score giving them the 5-2 lead that would hold true.
Fera pitched the remainder of the game, tossing three scoreless innings, surrendering four hits while striking out four batters. Valentino went 1-for-2 on the day with his first collegiate run scored and run batted in. The other Golden Eagles to finish the day with hits were Ruddy, Carrera and Paul Ludden.
Brockport heads down south this week for its annual spring break trip in Florida and will open up competition at Lake Myrtle against Clarkson in a doubleheader on March 12 at 3:30 p.m. on field number seven. 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.
