The Hamilton College Continentals split a non-conference doubleheader against the SUNY Institute of Technology Wildcats, losing the opener 6-5 and bouncing back for an 8-0 win in game two at SUNYIT's Peter A. Spina Field on Saturday afternoon.
Game one box score | Game two box score
Finlay O’Hara ’17 threw a complete-game, two-hit shutout in game two, striking out four Wildcats and retiring the last 13 batters in his first collegiate start. The Continentals (10-16 overall), who had played just one game outside of NESCAC West Division play in the previous 40 days, snapped a five-game losing streak.
O’Hara (1-1) became the first Hamilton pitcher to throw a complete-game shutout since Alex Pachella '15, who blanked Williams College 2-0 on April 27, 2013. O'Hara faced one batter over the minimum as he allowed a second-inning double to Gerard Milanes ’15, who he picked off, and a two-out single to Nicholas Giunta ’17 in the third.
Tyler Reinhold ’15 led Hamilton’s offense with two hits and two runs batted in. Joe Jensen ’15, Tim Burke ’16 and Chris Collins ’17 all contributed two hits to the Continentals’ 12-hit attack.
Reinhold’s two-run single sparked Hamilton’s four-run second inning. Burke and Andrew Haser ’17 hit back-to-back, one-out doubles to put the Continentals on the board. After Chris Collins and Zack Becker ’16 singled to load the bases, Reinhold followed with a single to left before Becker scored on a wild pitch.
The Continentals added three more runs with a two-out rally in the sixth inning. After Steve LaRochelle ’14 was hit by a pitch and Kenny Collins ’17 singled, Robert Morris ’17 doubled home a pair of runs. Burke added an RBI single and Jensen singled home Becker an inning later to close out the scoring.
In the opener, the Wildcats (16-17) jumped out to a 4-0 lead in the first inning and held on as the Continentals put the tying run on base in each of the last two innings.
Hamilton pulled to within 4-3 on a run-scoring single by Mike Chiseri ’16 in the fourth inning. SUNYIT tacked on two runs in the bottom of the inning but the Continentals closed to within a run again with two in the fifth. LaRochelle led off with a double to center and scored on a triple by Burke, who came home on a wild pitch.
Jackson Kushner ’17 singled with one out in the top of sixth inning and, one out later, pinch-runner Nick Taylor ’15 stole second base. Tyler Vyce ’17 retired Hamilton’s clean-up hitter to end the threat. The Continentals’ last chance at the tying run came on Burke’s two-out single in the seventh but Ryan Dungey ’14 picked up the last out for his third save.
Burke finished with three hits and scored three runs. Jensen, who singled in a run in the second inning, and Brett Mele ’17 had two hits apiece.
Milanes, who had two of SUNYIT’s nine hits, had a two-RBI single in the Wildcats’ four-run first inning. Kevin Rowlands ’14 singled in a run and Connor Passalacqua ’16 drew a bases-loaded walk as the first six Wildcats reached base. Passalacqua drove in a run in the fifth with a squeeze bunt and Jim Sass ’14 scored on an infield groundout to close out SUNYIT’s scoring.
Both teams are scheduled to host SUNY Canton on Sunday, May 4. The Kangaroos play SUNYIT at noon and are slated to play at Hamilton’s Royce Field at 4 p.m.
