The New York University Baseball team split a doubleheader at Skidmore College on Friday, April 3, in Saratoga Springs, NY. The Violets dropped the first game 6-5 before rallying to defeat the hosts 8-5 in the second game.
In game one,
Cameron Serapilio-Frank started for NYU and tossed five innings. Skidmore scored the first five runs of the contest, getting on the board in each of the first three innings.
The Violets scored two in the top of the fifth on RBIs from
Jeremy Wayne and
Michael Vokulich to close the gap, but the hosts answered with a run in the bottom of the inning to increase their lead to 6-2.
NYU would not go away, however, tallying three in the top of the sixth inning. But, the Violets could not get a sixth run across the board to tie the game, leaving nine runners on base in the seven-inning contest.
"I told the guys between games that game two was a must win," said NYU Head Coach
Doug Kimbler. "I preached between games that we need to put the ball in play with runners in scoring position and we were able to do just that."
A bases-clearing triple from
Jonathan Iaione in the sixth inning gave NYU a 6-3 lead in game two. The Violets took advantage of an effective start from Vokulich, who tossed 5.2 innings en route to his second win of the season.
"Michael pitched well," added Kimbler. "He made one mistake early on, but he battled back and helped us get an important win."
Matthew Millus came on with two outs in the bottom of the sixth and was able to get the last four outs to earn his fourth save of the season.
"Matthew has earned the role as our closer," explained Kimbler. "We have a ton of confidence in him when the game is on the line."
After Millus picked up the final out of the sixth inning, NYU scored two in the top of the seventh to add to its lead and give the freshman closer some breathing room in the bottom of the seventh.Game One Highlights:- Serapilio-Frank struck out a career-high-tying five batters.
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David Wagner had hits in both of his at-bats to finish the contest a perfect 2-for-2.
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Adrian Spitz led the Violets with 2 RBIs.
Game Two Highlights: - Spitz, the squad's leadoff hitter, was 3-for-5.
- Iaione had two hits in the contest, including his clutch go-ahead triple in the sixth.
- Sam Raskin had a pinch-hit RBI sacrifice fly in the seventh to help NYU add to its lead.
"Sam has been great for us as a pinch-hitter all season," said Kimbler. "It's good to have a guy that we know can come in off the bench and produce for us."- Wayne scored two runs, reaching base safely via a hit and two walks.
"I keep telling these guys we need to win the big moments of each game. We were able to do that in game two and ultimately got the win," concluded Kimbler. "
Chase Denison will get the ball for us tomorrow and I have a great deal of confidence that we can get another win."
NYU will take the field again tomorrow in the rubber match of the three-game series against Skidmore. First pitch in Saratoga Springs, NY, is set for 12:00 pm.
