By Maegan White
Elm Staff Writer
The Shoremen traveled to Washington, D.C. on Friday Feb. 24 to compete in the Bison Classic hosted by Gallaudet University. The Shoremen were 2-1 on the weekend.
The Shoremen started the weekend with a double header against Gallaudet and the Rochester Institute of Technology. The Shoremen easily secured a victory against Gallaudet while falling to RIT.
In the game against Gallaudet, the Shoremen started off the first inning at bat. The first two hitters walked. Sophomore outfielder Scooter SanFilippo hit a single up the middle, bringing sophomore Erik Risnychok in for a “run batted in”. In the second inning, the Shoremen scored four, initiated by a double from freshman outfielder Chase Ruppel. The Shoremen hit four RBIs in a row, scoring four runs in the second inning.
Senior pitcher Anthony Sofran was on the mound for the Shoremen and only gave up one hit for the first two innings. At the bottom of the second, the score was 5-0.
In the third inning, the Shoremen gave up their first run of the game decreasing their lead to 5-1. Gallaudet did not score again until the eighth inning.
The Shoremen held control for the next five innings. The fifth and seventh innings were the strongest offensive innings for the Shoremen, who scored five in the fifth and seven in the seventh.
In those five innings, the Shoremen were led by junior Cole McGee who earned three RBIs and freshman catcher Reese Hirsh and Risnychok who earned two RBIs each. Freshmen Elias Philipsoian, Noah Lackman, Kenyon Mickie and SanFilippo each earned an RBI, also.
After only giving up one run, Sofran was subbed out for junior Thomas Peacock in the bottom of the eighth. Peacock and the Shoremen’s defense gave up three runs, making the score 18-4. Peacock ended that inning with two strikeouts.
Each team scored another run in the ninth, leaving the final score of the game 19-5.
In the second game, the Shoremen lost to RIT. Both teams remained scoreless for the first four innings thanks to strong defense and pitching from both teams.
RIT scored first in the game in the fifth. The Shoremen defense had two errors, two walks, and a passed ball which gave RIT the opportunity to score three points. Similarly in the sixth, the Shoremen had two errors, a walk, and two stolen bases, which allowed RIT to score three more.
In the bottom of the sixth, the Shoremen responded with a bases loaded situation. SanFilippo was walked, earning the Shoremen’s first score of the game. Still with bases loaded, the next two Shoremen hitters struck out leaving three runners on base. At the end of the sixth, the score was 6-1.
In the top of the seventh, four of the next five RIT hitters walked, earning RIT another RBI. With bases loaded RIT earned three more runs. These were the last runs of the game which ended with RIT on top with a score of 10-1.
The Shoremen concluded the weekend with a decisive 17-1 win against State University of New York – Canton.
The Shoremen did not score until freshman catcher Drew Kinsey hit a homerun to start the five-point rally of the second inning. His team loaded the bases and scored again when sophomore catcher Nick Miller was walked by the pitcher. SanFilippo ended the second with a triple to right field, with three RBIs, advancing the score to 5-0.
SanFilippo led the Shoremen in the fourth, fifth, and sixth innings. He scored twice and earned four RBIs off a single and a triple in the fourth and sixth innings, respectively.
Philiposian, Lackman, sophomore Aidan Sturtevant, and junior Logan Yi all earned RBIs in the seventh, increasing the Sharemen’s lead to 15-0. Mickie and Lackman each earned another RBI to earn the last two runs of the game for the Shoremen.
The Shoremen’s strong defense and pitching kept SUNY from scoring until the bottom of the eighth when SUNY scored off a fielding error from the Shoremen’s outfield. That was the final score of the game, leaving the Shoremen with a 17-1 victory.
Much of the team is composed of first-year Shoremen. Philiposian said the team is learning how to operate as a younger group in these opening games.
“I think we’re a young team and still learning to play together but I think this weekend showed just how good this team can be and I think we’re going to surprise a lot of people this year,” he said.
The Shoremen earned their first two wins of the season, making their season record 2-3. The Shoremen’s next home game is Saturday, March 4 against St. Mary’s College of Maryland.
Photo courtesy of WC Athletics.
Photo Caption: Senior captain Noah Iseman at bat in the Shoremen’s game against SUNY.