Utica, N.Y. – The SUNY Poly Wildcats split their opening day at the RussMatt Invitational, earning a hard-fought 4-3 victory over the Penn State-Altoona Lions in the first game before falling 4-1 in the second. The Wildcats are now 1-2 on the season.
GAME 1:
The first game started with Penn State-Altoona taking an early lead in the top of the first inning. The Lions struck first when Corey Chamberlain singled to right field, driving in Jonathan Rauch, who had doubled to left-center. A wild pitch allowed Chamberlain to advance to second, and he later moved to third after being hit by a pitch. However, the Wildcats escaped further damage with a strikeout to end the inning.
In response, SUNY Poly answered in the bottom of the first. After a leadoff double by Quinn Hill, the Wildcats capitalized on a fielding error by the Lions' left fielder, allowing David Menechino to score and tie the game at 1-1. Ryan Pelton then singled to center, putting Menechino on third. A double play allowed the Wildcats to take a 2-1 lead when Menechino scored unearned. The inning ended with the Wildcats holding a 2-1 advantage.
Wildcats' pitcher Austin Kifer shut down the Lions' offense with a perfect second inning, including three strikeouts to retire the side. This gave the Wildcats some momentum heading into the bottom half of the inning, as Quinn Hill doubled to center to bring home Chris Martin. A single by Ryan Pelton then drove in Hill to extend the Wildcats' lead to 4-1.
The Lions were kept off the board in the third and fourth innings, as Kifer continued to keep Penn State-Altoona's batters off balance.
The Lions made a comeback attempt in the top of the fourth. Chamberlain led off with a single, and after a strikeout, Brian Chelli homered to right field, cutting the Wildcats' lead to 4-3. However, that would be the last run of the game for the Lions.
After a scoreless inning by the Wildcats in the bottom of the fourth, SUNY Poly's pitching took control. The Wildcats' bullpen, led by Chris Marcello in the fifth, shut down Penn State-Altoona's offense for the remainder of the game. The Lions were unable to generate any more runs despite a few base runners in the final innings.
In the seventh inning, the Lions' last real threat came when Jimmy Mento doubled and Benjamin Ettien walked, but a crucial strikeout ended the game with the Wildcats holding onto their 4-3 advantage.
GAME 2:
The Wildcats took an early lead in the top of the first inning, capitalizing on a Quinn Hill leadoff single to right-center. With two outs, Luke Landis hit a sacrifice fly to center field, allowing Hill to score and giving the Wildcats a 1-0 lead.
Penn State-Altoona answered quickly in the bottom of the first. A single by Chamberlain brought Zach Ingold home to tie the game at 1-1.
The Wildcats couldn't capitalize on any opportunities in the next few innings. In the second, Will Orlando singled, but the Wildcats couldn't move him around the bases. In the third, David Menechino walked, but the Wildcats were unable to break the tie.
After a few singles and some aggressive baserunning, the Lions broke the tie. Chamberlain doubled, driving in two runs, and giving Penn State-Altoona a 4-1 lead. The Wildcats couldn't find an answer in the later innings, as the Lions' defense and pitching kept them at bay.
SUNY Poly couldn't put any more runs on the board, with their best chance coming in the top of the sixth when Merone reached first on a wild pitch.
The Lions took the win in Game 2 with a final score of 4-1.
