By: Zachary Harnischfeger
BROCKPORT, NY--- The Brockport Golden Eagles baseball team came into the game looking to get back in the win column after a loss on Saturday afternoon. Dominant pitching backed by timely hitting gave the Golden Eagles a 9-0 victory over the Keuka College Wolves.
"I thought we did a good job creating offense," Brockport head coach Justin Beach said. "We ran the bases really well. Put some pressure on them. Pitching was tremendous all day. We were filling up the zone with a lot of strikes early and often. Finding a way to keep them off the board was huge. We had some big hits, which was nice. It feels good to be on the winning side of it."
The Golden Eagles got off to a fast start in the bottom of the first inning. Left fielder Cole Traudt singled up the middle and drove in second basemen Josh Indek to give Brockport the 1-0 lead. Later in the inning, center fielder Frank Vanzillotta and Traudt scored on a throwing error by Keuka third basemen Kole Schmerder which made it a 3-0 game. Two batters later, designated hitter Chris Martin singled and brought home first basemen Dave Belsito to extend the lead to 4-0.
"I got down 0-2 pretty quick," Traudt said. "At that point, it was just doing anything I could to get the run across."
In the bottom of the second inning, after back-to-back singles by Indek and Vanzillotta and a walk by right fielder Zach Eldred, Traudt drove in Indek on a sacrifice fly to make it a 5-0 game. Vanzillotta scored on a wild pitch later in the inning to extend the Brockport lead to 6-0.
Brockport kept the offensive rolling in the bottom of the fourth. Catcher Matthew Mayer singled and brought home Kyle Blake to make it a 7-0 game. Two batters later, Martin hit a two-run double, bringing home Mayer and Traudt, to make it a 9-0 game. This would be the final score.
Six Brockport pitchers combined for 19 strikeouts and only allowed two hits in the shutout win over the Wolves.
Brockport pitcher Colin Pytlak knows that the team has to stay together and believe in one another to keep the wins coming and finish the season strong.
"I think the biggest thing is staying together, especially after the season we have had this year so far," Pytlak said. "I think we go into Fisher tomorrow, take a win, and keep it rolling into Friday. We have to win all three games this weekend, so we have to trust in our guys. Staying together and believing in everybody is what is going to do it for us."
With the win, Brockport improves to 19-15 on the season. The Golden Eagles will be back in action tomorrow when they travel to St. John Fisher to take on the Cardinals. The first pitch is scheduled for 4 p.m.