BROCKPORT, N.Y. – The College at Brockport Baseball team fell behind early but a five run seventh inning tied things up until Hamilton pulled away with the nonconference victory with two runs in the ninth as the Golden Eagles fell 9-8 at Clark V. Whited Complex.
Brockport (16-9 Overall) nearly took the lead in the seventh but settled for a tie score at 7-all prior to staging a ninth inning comeback that fell just short.
After the Golden Eagles went into the bottom of the ninth inning needing two runs to extend the game and three to win it, senior first baseman Chris Davis strode to the plate. Davis jumped on the first pitch he saw drilling it into left center field for a leadoff standup double.
Looking for a little more speed on the base paths, head coach Justin Beach entered Justin LaRosa into the lineup as a pinch runner. Left fielder Josh Martin quickly put LaRosa's legs to work as he sent a 1-0 fastball back up the middle for a run scoring single.
Catcher Paul Ludden sacrificed his at bat to put Martin in scoring range with a well-executed bunt towards the pitcher. Brockport was unable to cash in the runner however as it fell 9-8.
Brockport's big seventh inning started with a single from third baseman Joe Bender, advancing to second on an error from the center fielder. Dane Cala followed that with a walk before two well placed bunts from Brett Sanders and Greg Ruddy resulted in singles, Sanders happening to knock in Bender. Wesley Burghardt lined a pitch quickly into left field as the runners were only able to advance a single base each because of the speed in which the ball reached the fielder.
After a pop up, Martin reached base on a fielding error by the shortstop as he bobbled the ball, scoring the fifth run for Brockport and cutting the deficit to 7-5. Ludden worked a six pitch walk to bring Brockport within a single run. Bender, who led things off in the inning, plated the final runner of the inning for Brockport with a run scoring base on balls.
The other two Golden Eagle runs came earlier in the contest. Its first run came in the fourth on an RBI double from Drew DeBlasiis that scored Burghardt and its second run on a first pitch home run from Ludden. Ludden stepped to the plate with two outs in the sixth as Brockport trailed 6-1 and clobbered the ball into deep left field for his third home run of the season and second of which at Brockport.
The Golden Eagles sent six pitchers to the mound the most successful of which were Kyle Perez, Nick Jerolimov and Josh Appel. The trio of Perez, Jerolimov and Appel did not allow a single run in the contest as they combined for two and one third innings pitched while giving up two hits, two walks and striking out three batters.
Ruddy, Davis and Burghardt each finished the day 2-for-5 as the Green and Gold combined for 11 hits altogether compared to Hamilton's 15. Ruddy's single in the fifth extended his hit streak to nine straight games.
Brockport will next face the Cardinals of St. John Fisher in a nonconference regional showdown on Wednesday at 4 p.m. in Rochester, N.Y. 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.
