Hamilton College's Gabe Klein '13 scored the winning run in Game 2 on a wild pitch with two outs in the bottom of the ninth inning and the Continentals swept a non-conference doubleheader against SUNY Institute of Technology at DeLutis Field in Rome, N.Y., on May 1.
Hamilton (16-21 overall) edged SUNYIT 3-2 in the opener and 6-5 in the nightcap. Both games were scheduled to go seven innings. The Continentals set team records with 16 wins and 37 games this year.
Klein drew a two-out walk in the ninth inning of the second game and went to third on a single through the right side by Sam Fuentes '13. Klein scampered home on a wild pitch by Michael Rose while Rose was pitching to Tim Burke '16.
Joe Jensen '15, Colin Henneberger '14, Klein and Fuentes finished with two hits and an RBI each in Game 2. Klein hammered his fourth home run and Fuentes and Henneberger smacked one double apiece. Jensen tied a school record set by Sam Choate '12 in 2009 with his 30th run scored this season.
Hamilton used four pitchers and Tommy Moriarty '14 picked up the win in relief. Moriarty (3-3) allowed one run on five hits in 3.2 innings. He finished the year with 27 appearances, which is another school record.
Ryan Dungey '14 went 3-for-5 with his fifth double for the Wildcats. Rose (2-4) pitched admirably in defeat. He came on in relief in the fourth inning and allowed three runs on five hits, walked two and struck out four in 5.2 innings.
Hamilton loaded the bases in the first inning with no outs after a single by Jensen, a double by Henneberger and a walk to Klein. But Fuentes’ sacrifice fly drove in the inning's only run. The Continentals tacked on a pair of runs in the bottom of the second on back-to-back, two-out RBI singles by Jensen and Henneberger for a 3-0 lead.
The Wildcats (15-21) clawed their way back into it with two runs in the top of the fourth inning. Dungey doubled down the right field line and an infield single by Chandler Evans '13 put runners at the corners. Anthony Ragosta '15 grounded into a fielder’s choice that plated Dungey and after SUNYIT loaded the bases, Jonathan Saporito '15 drew a two-out walk. Cole Dreyfuss '16 got out of the bases-loaded jam with a ground out to second.
SUNYIT tied the score in the fifth inning but Hamilton took the lead right back in the bottom half. Dungey beat out an infield single and went to second on an overthrow. After an out, another error allowed Dungey to score all the way from second base and tie the score at 3-3. Klein led off the home half of the fifth with a blast down the right field line for a 4-3 lead.
SUNYIT scored another run in the sixth and tied things up again. Connor Passalacqua '16 took a pitch to the back and Jhomel Solano '13 came in to pinch run. Solano advanced to second on a sacrifice bunt, beat the throw to third on a comeback to the pitcher and scored on a Jim Sass '14 sacrifice fly to right field.
Solano drove in the go-ahead run with one out in the seventh inning. Infield singles by Ragosta and Joseph O’Rourke '15 followed by a sacrifice bunt put two runners in scoring position. Solano hit a bloop single to right and pinch runner Mike Mainello '14 barely beat the tag at the plate and the Wildcats led for the first time, 5-4.
Hamilton was down to its final strike of 2013 in the bottom of the seventh when Klein beat the infield shift with a single up the middle. Fuentes drilled a double to right center that scored Klein all the way from first and it was 5-5. Fuentes moved to third on an errant throw and rounded the base but slipped and was tagged for the final out of the inning, and the game went to extra innings.
Jensen and Henneberger led the Continentals with two hits apiece in Game 1. Jensen also drove in a run. Klein had the other two RBI and his 13th double this year, and Tyler Reinhold '15 recorded his sixth double.
Mike Williams '16 posted his second win this season. Williams (2-4) allowed one earned run on four hits and struck out five in 5.2 innings. Moriarty pitched a perfect 1.1 innings for his team-record sixth save.
Sass and Devin Frye '13 had a hit and an RBI apiece for the Wildcats. Daniel Wiecek '13 took the loss in the complete game. Wiecek (5-2) gave up two earned runs on seven hits with four strikeouts and two walks in seven innings.
SUNYIT grabbed a 2-0 lead with a run in the first and second innings. Dungey led off the top of the first inning with a walk, stole second and scored on Sass’ single down the right field line. Ragosta started the second inning with a single and made his way to third base on a throwing error that put runners at the corners. Phillip Mascitelli '15 singled to right and plated Ragosta.
Wesick allowed just two hits -- a double by Reinhold and a single by Henneberger -- over the next three innings but the Hamilton bats came alive in the fifth. The inning started with Reinhold reaching on an error and Nick Taylor '15 moving him to third base with a single. Jared Friedberg '16 reached on a fielder’s choice, stole second and both runners were in scoring position. Jensen reached base on an infield single that plated Reinhold, and Klein smashed a two-out, two-run double to left center for the 3-2 lead. Williams settled down and didn’t allow another hit in his final 3.2 innings.
