Baseball doubles up St. John Fisher, 12-6

ROCHESTER, N.Y. – RIT junior Charlie Slaymaker finished 3-for-4, including a double and an eighth-inning grand slam, to push the Tigers to a 12-6 victory over visiting St. John Fisher, Friday afternoon.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED

• RIT plated a pair of runs in the top of the third inning. Slaymaker knocked a lead-off single through the left side before graduate student John Bagley was hit by a pitch. Sophomore Isaac Breagelmann laid down a sacrifice bunt to advance both runners before junior Randy Dodig dropped a single into left field to score Slaymaker and junior Jackson Rusiecki followed with an RBI single to center.
• Fisher came back with four runs with two outs in the bottom of the fourth, including a three-run triple by Benjamin Huckans.
• RIT rallied with a four-run sixth. Junior Roberto Reade drew a leadoff walk and later advanced to third on a double by Slaymaker. Breagelman drew a two-out walk to load the bases, before Reade scored on a wild pitch. Back-to-back walks by Dodig and Rusiecki brought home Breagelman before senior Adam Marsh plated Dodig with an infield hit for a 6-4 lead.
• Reade led off the seventh with a homerun over the left field fence for a 7-4 Tiger lead, before the decisive five-run eighth. Dodig was hit by a pitch to start the inning before Rusiekci drew a walk and Marsh loaded the bases after reaching on a Cardinal throwing error. Junior Caelen Kim later plated Dodig with a single to right before Slaymaker cleared the bases with a homerun over the left field fence for a 12-4 lead.
• Fisher got two back in the bottom of the eighth on a homerun by Jake Crantz. 

GAME NOTES

• RIT won its ninth-straight game for its longest win streak since 2017. The Tigers won 14 in-a-row and, following a loss, won 11 more during a 33-9 finish that culminated in the Tigers' first NCAA Tournament appearance. 
• Graduate student John Arnold (2-1) earned the victory, allowing five hits and four runs (all unearned) while striking out seven in five innings of work.
• Rusiecki ended the day 2-for-3 with two walks, a run scored and two RBI, while Reade ended 2-for-4 with a double, a homerun, two runs scored and a RBI.
• The game was originally scheduled to be played at St. John Fisher, but was moved due to an unplayable field.
• Dodig ended the afternoon 2-for-3 with a walk, two runs scored and a RBI.
• RIT totaled 11 hits for its fifth-straight game with double-digit hits. 

WHAT'S NEXT
RIT hosts St. John Fisher in a rematch on Saturday (Mar. 15) at 11:30 a.m.