Houghton, N.Y. — The Brockport baseball team (8-13, 4-0 E8) extended its winning streak to six games and remained unbeaten in Empire 8 play with an 11-1 victory over Houghton (8-7, 2-4) in seven innings on Wednesday, April 1. Behind another dominant start from Ben Yerina, the Golden Eagles' offense continued its surge, scoring eight or more runs for the sixth consecutive game.
Yerina (W, 2-2) delivered an outstanding performance on the mound, tossing five scoreless innings while striking out six. The sophomore allowed just two hits and one walk, and has now held opponents scoreless across his last two starts, totaling 14 innings with 12 strikeouts.
Matthew Coon remained red-hot at the plate, going 2-for-4 with three runs scored, two doubles, and an RBI. He extended his on-base streak to 16 games and is batting .438 (14-for-32) over his last 10 contests, compiling 10 RBIs and eight runs scored during that stretch.
Blake Fortunato continued his strong freshman campaign, finishing 2-for-3 with a walk, one run scored, and one RBI while starting at shortstop. Fortunato leads the team in batting average (.356), OPS (.975), slugging percentage (.562), triples (3), and RBIs (21).
Brockport manufactured an early run in the top of the first inning to take a 1-0 lead. Josh Indek drew a leadoff walk and advanced on a sacrifice bunt by Evan Brock before scoring on an RBI single by Steven Merkel. Indek finished the game with two runs, two walks, and an RBI.
After two scoreless innings, the Golden Eagles broke the game open in the fourth, plating six runs. Brockport capitalized on multiple Houghton fielding errors, with Fortunato, Michael Norton, James Dixon, and Coon all crossing the plate on miscues to extend the lead to 5-0. The offense continued to produce, as Merkel was hit by a pitch and Fortunato added an RBI single to make it 8-0. Indek capped the inning with a sacrifice fly, scoring Coon for the second time in the frame and pushing the advantage to 9-0.
The Golden Eagles added to their lead in the final two innings of the shortened contest. Dixon recorded an RBI single in the sixth to score Norton, and Coon came home on an error in the seventh. Houghton scored its lone run in the bottom of the sixth, but Connor Villano closed the door with a scoreless seventh inning to secure the 10-run mercy rule victory.
Nick Mahar made the start at second base and contributed offensively, finishing 1-for-2 with a walk and a run scored. As a team, Brockport demonstrated strong plate discipline, drawing seven walks to complement seven hits.
Up Next: Brockport will travel to Elmira for a three-game series beginning Friday, April 3, with first pitch scheduled for 3 p.m.
