Score Game 1: Elmira College 14 – Medaille College 2
Score Game 2: Medaille College 11 – Elmira College 4
Records: Elmira (5-6), Medaille (5-9)
Location: Dunn Field – Elmira, NY
 
Elmira, NY -- The Elmira College baseball team made its much anticipated home debut on Tuesday afternoon when it welcomed Medaille College for a doubleheader at Dunn Field. The Soaring Eagles stretched its winning streak to five in game one, utilizing an eight-run fifth inning to blow the game open in a 14-2 win. Unfortunately, Elmira's streak came to a halt in the second game of the day, as Medaille posted a six-run top half of the first in an 11-4 final.
 
EC got on the board early in the opening game of the doubleheader, as the home side scratched across a run in the first inning to snag the lead. Hayden Rothenberg '17 led off the game with a single up the middle, while a Dylan Bellinger '17 single two batters later put runners on the corners with one away. Conor Bawiec '18 followed with a slow tapper up the middle, which brought home Rothenberg on the fielder's choice.
 
Dennis Rudolph '18 toed the rubber for the Soaring Eagles in the opening game and was sharp throughout. Although he did not register a strikeout in the outing, he limited the Mavericks to mostly weak contact; however, the visitors were able to scratch across a run in the third inning to level the game. Dan Lumadue began the frame with a seeing-eye single, while he advanced to third on back-to-back groundouts. Kyle Powell brought him home with a ground ball that squeezed through the hole between third and short.
 
The Purple and Gold began to pull away beginning in the fourth. EC capitalized for two runs on some shaky defense from the visitors in the bottom of the inning to retake the lead at 3-1. Rudolph began the rally, reaching on a miscue by the Medaille second baseman. He swiped second to get into scoring position for Bryce Plante '18, who drove him in with an RBI-single up the middle. The EC shortstop also stole second, before coming around three batters later on a Cameron Heggie '18 RBI-base knock up back through the box.
 
The fourth was just an appetizer for the following frame, where the Soaring Eagles touched up Medaille starter Jared McStine and two other Maverick relievers for eight runs on 10 hits in the inning. Rudolph helped his cause with two hits in the inning, including an RBI-double to right center to get the scoring started. Jack Thistle '18 drove in two runs with a single up the middle, while Heggie and Rothenberg each collected an RBI on a double and single, respectively. Bellinger delivered a big blow with a scorched double just inside the bag at third, driving in two RBIs to make the score 10-1. Bawiec capped the scoring with an RBI-single to left.
 
Although the Mavericks added one more run in Rudolph's final inning of work in the top of the sixth, Elmira answered with three runs of its own in the bottom of the frame. Brian Wehmeyer '16 got the inning started with a single, while a defensive miscue by the Medaille third baseman put runners on first and second. Matt van Muelken '18 followed with a single through the hole between third and short to load the bases for Bellinger. The red-hot EC first baseman blasted a two-RBI single up the middle. The final run in the inning came home via an RBI-walk by Plante.
 
The lead was more than enough for Elmira reliever Nick Zorge '19, who retired the Mavericks in order in the seventh.
 
While the Soaring Eagles had a strong conclusion to the opener, the second game of the day got off to a rocky start. Elmira starter Blake Phelps '19 was unable to escape the first inning, as the rookie struggled with his control. He walked two batter and hit three more, also allowing three RBI-singles, before Elmira head coach Corey Paluga turned to the bullpen after just two outs. Medaille took a 6-0 lead to the bottom of the inning.
 
Although the Soaring Eagles got two runs back right away in the bottom of the inning on a Bawiec single that drove in two runs, EC played from behind the entire contest.
 
The Mavericks added on two more runs in the second to make the score 8-2. But EC again cut the deficit to four, as Rothenberg laced and RBI-single in the bottom of the frame and Nate Hanner '18 brought home a run with a sacrifice fly to center in the fifth.
 
Unfortunately, Medaille staved off the EC rally. Daniel Luppens extended the visitors lead to 9-4 in the sixth when he stole home with two outs, while defensive miscues by the Soaring Eagles led to two more Maverick runs in the seventh.
 
In His Own Words…
Head Coach Corey Paluga on his team's performance…
"We definitely came out with a lot of energy in the opening game. I was really excited to see our bats come alive and stay hot like they have been over the last few games. It's a huge positive going forward especially with conference play opening up this weekend. Obviously, game two we are a little disappointed in how we started the game. We stressed to the guys that no matter how that first game goes, you have to be ready to go in game two. I think it's something we can take a lesson from and you have to tip your cap to the Medaille pitcher who kept us off balance."
 
Paluga on Rudolph's strong work on the mound…
"Denny continues to be a big part of our pitching staff in that starting role. He has really picked up on where he left off last year. He's doing a great job of working ahead in counts and utilizing the defense behind him. Although he can wrack up some strikeouts at times, he is at his best when he is working efficiently and limiting teams to soft contact. I thought our guys also did a good job of playing a clean game behind him in the field. Denny is definitely going to be a big part of our success moving forward with the consistency he has been showing."
 
Paluga on the team's approach offensively in game one…
"We talk a lot about making in-game adjustments as soon as possible. We are not a team that's going to wow you with power, but where we thriving is manufacturing runs by getting guys on base and putting pressure on defenses with our speed. I thought our guys did a good job of communicating with each other after their at-bats and you could really see a difference in their approaches at the plate as the game went along."
 
Paluga on carrying the momentum into the Empire 8 openers this weekend…
"Obviously, the guys are a little disappointed about how the second game shook out, but we talked about afterwards of taking the positives from the first game. We have to continue to learn and improve on some things, as we saw in game two; however, I told the team that we are in a very good position right now going into conference play. We can't let one loss slow the momentum we have created over this past few weeks. I think the guys know that and we'll go into that St. John Fisher series and be competitive."
 
Inside the Box Score (Game One)

• Elmira outhit Medaille 18-to-6 in game one.
• The Mavericks committed five defensive miscues, while the Soaring Eagles played a clean game in the field.
• EC put up a crooked number in each of its final three innings at the plate in the fourth, fifth, and sixth.
• Rothenberg (3-for-5; 2B, 2R, 1RBI) and Bellinger (3-for-5; 2B, 1R, 4RBIs) each collected three hits.
• Bawiec continued his strong hitting, going 2-for-4 with a runs scored and two RBIs.
• Rudolph helped his cause on the mound, going 2-for-4, which included an RBI-double and two runs scored.
• Plante had a strong game going 2-for-3 with a walk, scoring twice and driving in a pair of runs.
• Heggie also posted a multi-hit game going 2-for-4 with a double, two runs scored and a pair of RBIs.
• Jack Thistle '18 went 1-for-3 with two RBIs.
• Colon, Matt van Muelken '18, and Wehmeyer each went 1-for-4 with a run scored.
• Rudolph (W, 2-1) notched his second win of the season. He scattered six hits and one walk over six innings, allowing two runs.
• Zorge pitched one inning of scoreless relief.

 
Inside the Box Score (Game Two)

• Medialle outhit Elmira 9-to-7.
• Elmira committed four errors, while Medaille was spotless in the field.
• Rothenberg went 2-for-4 with one run scored and one RBI.
• Bellinger continued his hot hitting with two hits and a walk in four plate appearances.
• Plante scored two runs.
• Bawiec went 1-for-3 with two RBIs
• Rudolph (1-for-2) and Will Jenkins '18 (1-for-2) added Elmira's other two hits.
• Davis Salzman '18 turned in the best appearance of the EC staff, throwing 3.2 innings of one-run baseball. He struck out two batters, while he allowed one hit, two walks, and one hit batter.
• Phelps took the loss, allowing six runs on three hits, three hit batters, and two walks.

 
News and Notes

• It is the second straight season Elmira has earned a split in the series with Medaille.
• Elmira reached .500 for the first time this season after its win in the opening game.
• The Elmira offense has been on fire of late, registering 69 runs over its last six games.
• EC scored in double-digits for the third time this season with the 14-run effort in the opener.
• The second win marks a new single-season high for Rudolph, who registered just one win as a starter last year.
• Bawiec has now stretched his hitting streak to 20 consecutive games after hitting safely in both contests this afternoon.
• Bellinger continued his torrid streak at the plate. He went a combined 5-for-8 in the two games this afternoon. He is now 14-for-23 (.609) over a five-game hitting streak.
• Bellinger equaled a single-game career high with four RBIs in the opening game of the day. The other time he registered four in a game was April 23^rd of last season against Keuka College.
• Rudolph stretched his hitting streak to eight straight games after hitting safely in both games this afternoon. He has hit safely in nine of his 10 appearances this season.
• Rothenberg also continued his surge, stretching his hitting streak to five games. He has recorded a double in four of his last five contests, while he has also scored at least one run in six straight games.

 
Up Next
Elmira baseball returns to action this weekend when it opens up Empire 8 Conference play against St. John Fisher College on Friday, March 25^th, and Saturday, March 26^th. The Soaring Eagles open the three-game set with a single game at 3:30 p.m. on Friday, while they wrap-up the series with the Cardinals in a doubleheader beginning at 12:00 p.m. on Saturday.