BROCKPORT, N.Y. – The Golden Eagle lineup came up big down the stretch for The College at Brockport Baseball team as it rallied for five unanswered runs in the eighth inning on its way to capturing the State University of New York Athletic Conference (SUNYAC) lead midway through the season with a 6-5 victory over nationally ranked Cortland at Clark V. Whited Complex.
Brockport (16-8 Overall, 7-2 SUNYAC) shook the occasional flurries from the brims of their caps as the Green and Gold lineup erupted in a time when they were needed most. The Golden Eagles were heading into the bottom half of the eighth inning with a 5-1 deficit.
However the Green and Gold liked their chances as it sent leadoff man Brett Sanders to the plate. Sanders fell behind with multiple pitches fouled off prior to hitting a looping single into right field that just eluded the fielder. Greg Ruddy worked a quick walk to push Sanders into scoring position on second base.
Wesley Burghardt had a 2-1 count on him before finding a pitch he liked, sending it into center field on a line for a run scoring single. The Red Dragons switched pitchers as their starter exited the game.
Chris Davis worked a favorable count prior to drilling a ball through the left side of the infield just out of the reach of Cortland's third baseman that scored another Brockport run and cut the deficit to two runs. Five hole hitter, Josh Martin laid down a quality sacrifice bunt that helped push both Brockport baserunners into scoring position.
Catcher Paul Ludden had been swinging a hot bat all weekend and the Red Dragons chose to grant him first base with the intentional walk to load the bases. Brockport third baseman Joe Bender strode to the plate with a chance at leaving his mark on this crucial SUNYAC contest. He found himself down 0-2 in the count after two quick strikes.
Bender was wise not to chase the next two pitches that missed outside of the zone before he sharply grounded through the left side of the infield allowing both Burghardt and Davis to score which tied up the game at 5-all.
Right fielder Dave Battel hit the ball in nearly the exact same location as Bender which plated Ludden on a close play at home giving Brockport the 6-5 lead that would close out the scoring for both sides.
Brockport starting pitcher Austin Spindler blanked the Red Dragons through the first five innings before getting into some trouble in the sixth inning. Multiple hits and a walk led to three Cortland runs before Golden Eagle head coach called to the bullpen for a reliever.
Derick Fera entered the game with runners on first and second. He walked the first two batters he faced before getting the Red Dragon third baseman to fly out to Dane Cala in centerfield. Fera got one out in the seventh on a sacrifice bunt before Jimmy Lovelass entered the contest.
Lovelass worked two ground balls to his middle infielders keeping the 4-1 score intact after seven innings of play. The Red Dragons worked Lovelass for a single run in the top of eight following a double and single but the sophomore pitcher finished with the victory after the eighth inning heroics from the Golden Eagle lineup.
Junior pitcher Seve Kowalski closed the game out for the Green and Gold picking up his fourth save of the season. Kowalski nearly worked the Red Dragons into a game ending double play after the second batter singled up the middle but a fielder's choice and fly out to Luke Gilbert sealed the Golden Eagle victory.
Brockport had four batters with multiple hits led by designated hitter Burghardt who finished the game with three hits in four tries while also scoring twice and knocking in one run. Sanders, Davis and Ludden were the other three Golden Eagles with multiple hits finishing with two each. Bender led the team with two RBI with his big game-tying swing of the bat while Battel knocked in Ludden for the winning sixth run of the game.
The Green and Gold travel to Ithaca on Thursday for a single game against the Bombers starting at 4 p.m. before returning home for a nonconference doubleheader versus Hamilton on Saturday. 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.
