Utica, N.Y. - The SUNY Poly baseball team lost a tightly contested battle against the Russell Sage College Gators by a score of 4-3. Luke Lanids was the Wildcat offense, belting a three-run homer in the first inning. The Wildcats are now 12-19 on the season. 

HOW IT HAPPENED: 

In the first inning, SUNY Poly came out swinging. Quinn Hill started the game with a single to center and advanced to second on the throw. Brody Liddy followed with a double, putting runners at second and third with no outs. Luke Landis then launched a towering three-run homer to left field, quickly putting the Wildcats on top, 3–0. Colin Williams added a single, but a double play and a strikeout ended the threat.

Sage responded in the bottom half with a one-out single from Evan Grimes, but a double play erased the baserunner and ended the inning quietly.

SUNY Poly went down in order in the second, and Sage capitalized in the bottom half. After a leadoff walk and a double, Sage scratched across two runs on an RBI groundout and a two-out single, narrowing the deficit to 3–2.

The Wildcats threatened again in the third as Hill reached on a hit-by-pitch and advanced to second, but a pair of outs stranded him. In the bottom of the third, Sage tied things up. After a single and hit-by-pitch, James Lubanski's RBI single to left knotted the game at 3–3.

Sage's pitching locked in, retiring SUNY Poly in order through the fourth and fifth. The Gators grabbed their first lead in the bottom of the fifth. Grimes singled again and later scored on an error at short, making it 4–3 in favor of Sage.

SUNY Poly couldn't get the bats going late. Despite a leadoff single from Flaherty in the seventh and another from Hill in the eighth—along with a stolen base—they failed to capitalize. Sage's bullpen and defense held strong, stranding runners and keeping the Wildcats off the board for the final eight innings. 

Reliever Evan Grimes, shifting from center field to the mound, recorded the final outs to seal the 4–3 comeback win.