AUBURNDALE, Fla.- A wild offensive game featuring 36 hits ended with the University of Rochester holding off the Keystone College baseball team, 18–14, on Friday afternoon.
Rochester jumped on Keystone early, scoring three runs in the first inning and adding another in the second to quickly build momentum.
The Yellowjackets then broke the game open in the fourth inning with five runs, highlighted by a three-run double from Benjamin Garber that pushed the lead to 8–0. Garber later scored in the inning on a Jake Bentivenga single.
Keystone began to chip away in the bottom half of the fourth when Emilio Portes (Miami, Fla./Monsignor Pace) launched a solo home run to left field to put the Giants on the board. The Giants added two more runs in the fifth on a sacrifice fly by Colson Bennett (Camden, Del./Caesar Rodney) and a balk that allowed Jaxson Monroney (Camden, Del./Caesar Rodney) to score.
Rochester answered again in the sixth with another big inning. Sammy Besztery doubled home a run and Bentivenga followed with an RBI single before Luke Blozy delivered a bases-clearing double that extended the Yellowjackets' lead.
Rochester regained breathing room in the eighth inning. Bentivenga drove in a run with a single before George Farley IV connected on a three-run homer to left field.
Despite the deficit, Keystone mounted one final rally in the ninth. Cooper Fesh (Bethel, Conn./Bethel) doubled home a run and Dante Ruby (Archbald, Pa./Valley View) followed with an RBI single. Benny Hess (Reading, Ohio/Reading Community) then capped the comeback attempt with a three-run home run down the right field line, cutting the margin to 18–14 before the final out was recorded.
The Giants finished with 18 hits in the loss. Ruby led the way with three hits and three runs scored, while Bird went 3-for-6 with three RBI. Hess added two hits and drove in three runs, and Portes finished with two hits, including his home run, and three runs scored.
Fesh also collected two hits, including an RBI double, while Ethan Schimony (State College, Pa./State College Area) and Dee Rice (Spartanburg, S.C./Dorman) each had two hits and an RBI.
Leam Powell (Phillipsport, N.Y./Chapel Field Christian) took the loss for Keystone after allowing nine runs over four innings, striking out six.
Keystone (5-3) battles John Carroll University tomorrow morning at 9 a.m.
