AUBURNDALE, FLA. – The Brockport baseball team completed a five-run comeback Sunday morning to take down Rutgers-Camden 6-5.
Jimmy Lovelass picked up the win after shutting down the Scarlet Raptors in the eighth and allowing for a late comeback.
Rutgers-Camden controlled the game from the jump, capitalizing on early Brockport errors to score five runs in the first three innings, none of which were earned.
Mark Giallanzo was on the bump to start, allowing just one hit in three innings of work.
Jason Hellwig came in to pitch in the fourth, and was lights out for the next four innings, keeping the game within reach. The sophomore allowed five hits, but kept Rutgers-Camden off the scoreboard. He was helped out by three double-plays, two of which came from outfielders throwing out runners at home attempting to tag and score.
The scoring got started for Brockport in the bottom of the seventh when
Luke Gilbert led off the inning with a double to deep left center. He advanced a base on a wild pitch during an at-bat in which
Austin Hall walked, putting runners on the corners with nobody out.
Anthony Eaton got a pinch-hit opportunity, and made the most of it, ripping a double to left field that scored both of the baserunners, and put Brockport on the board. After
Jack Wallwork came in to pinch run, he scored when
Mike D'Eletto drove a ball in the right centerfield gap for a double.
A
Drew DeBlasiis infield single put runners on the corners with one out, but two straight strikeouts got the Scarlet Raptors out of the innings, limiting the damage.
The bats stayed hot in the bottom of the eighth, beginning when
Joe Bender reached on an error by the shortstop, and advanced to second on the errant throw. Some situational hitting from Gilbert and Hall allowed Bender to score, narrowing the gap to one.
With two outs and nobody on, Wallwork got things started again when he beat out an infield single to the shortstop. D'Eletto slapped his second hit of the day down the left field line to move Wallwork into scoring position, bringing up
Dane Cala with two on and two out.
Cala fell behind in the count 0-2 before battling back, taking a few close pitches and fouling off a few more. With a 2-2 count, the senior got a pitch to hit on the inside corner, and ripped it deep down the left field line, scoring D'Eletto and Wallwork to give Brockport their first lead of the game at 6-5.
Nick Jerolimov came in to close things out in the ninth, and did just that, striking out three Scarlet Raptor hitters swinging. The team did threaten, putting runners on second and third with one out, but Jerolimov was up for the challenge, striking out the final two batters of the game.
Head coach
Justin Beach was pleased with the way his team handled being down late and coming back.
"It was a great team win," said Beach. "We were able to battle through some adversity and come up with big hits late in the game, so I'm happy with the teams performance."
The baseball team will have a day off tomorrow before heading to Winter Haven, Fla. on Tuesday for a 3:30 p.m. matchup with Westfield State University.
Be sure to stay up to date on all of your Golden Eagle scores and awards by following @BportAthletics on Twitter and by liking the "Brockport Golden Eagles" Facebook page.
