Vassar Baseball Pushes Past Plattsburgh, 7-3

FARMINGDALE – The Vassar College baseball team, playing for the first time in 10 days, saw the bats wake up in the bottom of the sixth inning as the Brewers scored five runs to rally past Plattsburgh State with the score of 7-3 in non-conference action from the Farmingdale State Baseball Stadium Saturday evening.

Plattsburgh (3-8) scored first in the top of the first inning, as TJ Montalbano singled up the middle to drive in Alex Follmer, who walked to start the inning. Vassar (4-6) responded with two in the bottom of the fifth, as junior Matt Hernandez walked, and Bobby Kinne reached in his first at-bat after being hit by a pitch. Sophomore Taylor Smach plated a run on another hit by pitch to force in Hernandez, and Kinne was plated on a ground ball.

The Cardinals tied the game in the third inning, as Montalbano singled in another run, this time driving Kentaro Mori in from second base. A frame later, Plattsburgh regained its lead at 3-2 but nearly had more but Smach threw out Noah Clark at the plate earlier in the inning to keep the Cardinal rally to just one run.

That set up the big sixth inning for the Brewers, as VC exploded for five runs. Senior Denis Shanagher opened the stanza with a single, followed by another hit batsman. Another hit by pitch chased Plattsburgh State starter Matt Fox, and Vassar quickly tied the game at three on a wild pitch by Cardinal reliever Jacob Stein.

Freshman Daniel Bonfiglio singled through the left side to drive in Smach, and sophomore catcher Jake Doyle doubled to left field to plate Bonfiglio. With three runs already in, the Brewers would give themselves some breathing room, as Hernandez delivered a big two-run single to score Doyle and freshman Matt Martino.

Plattsburgh threatened in the seventh inning, loading the bases with one out but John Madsen came on to get a strikeout, followed by freshman Max Spencer getting Justin Adams to foul out to Doyle. VC loaded the bases in the seventh as well, on two walks and a hit by pitch, but the Cardinals got out of the jam.

Once again in the eighth the Cardinals made the Brewers sweat, once again filling up the bases with one out but freshman righty Billy Mathiesen came on and fanned both hitters he faced to retire the side. In the ninth, sophomore Bryan Rubin came on and got the Cardinals to go 1-2-3 to clinch the win for Vassar.

Hernandez finished with a 2-for-4 day, driving in two runs, while Bonfiglio also had two hits, a RBI and a run scored. Doyle added two hits, and Shanagher also reached three times with two hits and a walk. Brewer starter Adam Erkis allowed three hits and one earned run with five strikeouts, while Trent Berg came on for two innings, allowing one earned run.