Pioneers Battle Tough in Back and Forth Affair at Ithaca

The Alfred State baseball team battled tough in a back and forth affair at Ithaca on Thursday afternoon. The Bombers broke a 6-6 tie in the bottom of the 8th and held on for a 7-6 victory.

The three hour thirty-eight minute contest featured five lead changes, 13 pitchers, 19 hits, and 12 walks.

Alfred State got on the board first in the 2nd inning when Jack Henby (Hornell) tripled to deep center and scored on a wild pitch. The Bombers tied it in the 3rd with a sac fly.

In the 4th, Nick Serce (Irondequoit) hit a double and scored on a throwing error but Ithaca answered with four runs of their own in the bottom of the inning to make it 5-2. 

The game remained 5-2 until the 7th when Josh Laurie (LeRoy) doubled to right center to score Brody Burdett (Scottsdale) and Justin LoTemple (Greece Athena). Burdett had singled to lead off the inning and LoTemple ripped a double to left. A few pitches later, Laurie tied the game up when he scored on a wild pitch.

Ithaca answered right back with a one-out RBI single to right to retake the lead 6-5. In the top of the 8th, Owen Lansing (Lyncourt/Solvay) led off the inning with an infield single and came around to score and tie the game on a wild pitch.

With one out in the 8th, the Bombers took the lead for good when Garrett Callaghan hit a one-out solo homer to left field.

Alfred State had 10 hits on the game from 10 different players. Laurie was the lone Pioneer with RBI finishing with two.

The Pioneers open up AMCC play on Saturday when they host Penn State Altoona at Pioner Field for a 1 p.m. doubleheader.