Franz Homers, Riley Shuts Down UR as Saints Advance in Tournament
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Wally JohnsonCarter Franz chases down a fly ball in Friday's game against Rochester
Junior center fielder Carter Franz hit a two-run home run in the bottom of the eighth inning and sophomore Joe Riley pitched four innings of scoreless relief as St. Lawrence University's baseball team advanced in the Liberty League tournament with a 10-8 win over the University of Rochester on Friday.
The game was resumed with Rochester leading 8-7 and coming to bat in the top of the sixth after being halted due to deteriorating field conditions on Thursday afternoon. Riley allowed three hits, walked one and struck out one in his four innings of work. The Saints, now 27-12, advanced to play Rensselaer in the winners bracket game at 4:30 p.m. Friday. Rochester and Skidmore squared off in an elimination game at 1 p.m.
The Saints tied the score in the bottom of the sixth inning against Rochester as Bryan Palermo dropped a double just inside the right field line to lead off and went to third when Khifer O'Connor eached on an error. Jeff Kott hit a sacrifice fly to left to knot the score at 8-8.
Ethan Braddock singled to lead off the bottom of the eighth and while he was erased on a fielder's choice grounder by Palmero, Franz blasted his sixth of the year over the fence in left center to give the Saints their 10-8 lead.
Both starting pitchers had trouble finding their best stuff on a slippery mound on Thursday as the game was started during a light but steady rain. Jason Conde allowed four Rochester runs in the top of the first as Alex Caghan hit a run-scoring double and Josh Ludwig doubled in two more with the fourth run scoring on a ground out. Rochester's Jon Menke didn't fare much better as the Saints came right back with four in the bottom of the first.
Kott singled in one run, Paul Piatelli drove in a run with a fielder's choice and Matt DeLuca hit a two-run homer, the first of three in the game for the Saints, to make it a 4-4 game after one.
Tyler DeClerck's two-run single and a ground ball gave the Yellowjackets a 7-4 lead in the top of the third and ended the day for Conde with Andrew Schreyack coming on in relief.
Rochester expanded its lead to 8-4 when DeClerck led off the top of the fifth with a single, was sacrificed to second and scored on Ethan Sander's single, but the Saints came back with three in the bottom of the inning as Kott walked, Piatelli singled and Brian Magovney hit his second homer of the year to left.
Franz, Magovney and Braddock each had two hits for the Saints while Ludwig was three for four and DeClerck two for five for Rochester.