Jarod Signorelli '23 at-bat against Ithaca (2021)
12
Elmira (N.Y.) ELMIRA ( 6-27-1, 4-13-1 E8
15
Winner Keuka KEUKA 6-14-1, 5-14-1 E8
Elmira (N.Y.) ELMIRA (
6-27-1, 4-13-1 E8
12
Final
15
Keuka KEUKA
6-14-1, 5-14-1 E8
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
Elmira (N.Y.) ELMIRA ( 1 9 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 12 14 0
Keuka KEUKA 1 4 0 6 0 2 1 1 X 15 15 3

W: J. DiBenedet (1-0) L: Kruis, David (1-4) S: A. Pankowski (2)

Game Recap: Baseball |

Keuka Overcomes Baseball's Early Lead in First Round of E8 Tournament

CANANDAIGUA, N.Y. -- The Elmira College baseball team was unable to protect a nine-run lead in the first round of the 2021 Empire 8 Conference Championships on Tuesday night, as fourth-seeded Keuka College came from behind for a 15-12 victory over the No. 5 Soaring Eagles.

Elmira (6-27-1), which had won two of its last three matchups against Keuka (6-14-1) and tied the most recent, produced a season-high 14 hits and was errorless on defense for just the third time this season. But the Wolves pounced on EC's inefficient pitching, pounding out 15 hits to go along with seven bases on balls and a trio of hit-by-pitches.

Every player in the lineup scored at least one run for the Soaring Eagles, while eight finished with at least one hit or drove in a run. Designated hitter Colin McLaughlin '22 and catcher Jourdan Plaisted '21 led the way, as both batted 3-for-5. Myles Littlejohn '24 and Jarod Signorelli '23 also logged multi-hit performances with two hits in four at-bats.

McLaughlin and Shane Hake '21 drove in a team-high two runs and were part of a nine-run second-inning outburst that gave Elmira an early lead.

Tied 1-1 entering the second inning, the Soaring Eagles sent 12 men to the plate and exploded for nine runs on seven hits, three walks, and one infield error by the Wolves. Plaisted, Littlejohn, and Jared Money '22 led off with three straight singles, with the latter picking up an RBI to put EC ahead 2-1. With the bases loaded, Hake doubled and plated two runs. An RBI single off the bat of McLaughlin and a bases-loaded walk widened the gap to 6-1 in Elmira's favor, before Plaisted and Littlejohn both singled and drove in runs during their second plate appearances of the inning.

Keuka didn't wait long to start chipping away at the EC lead. The Wolves put four runs on the scoreboard in the bottom of the second, but the big inning came in the fourth. Keuka scored six runs, including a game-tying two-run triple from Josh Tryon that leveled the score at 10-all. A sac fly in the ensuing at-bat allowed Tryon to race home and give the Wolves the lead for good.

Trailing 13-10, EC came within one run by using small-ball tactics to score twice in the top of the seventh. However, Keuka added insurance runs in the seventh and eighth, and lefty reliever Adam Pankowski completed three hitless innings for the save.

News and Notes
  • Elmira made its third appearance in the Empire 8 Championship on Tuesday, its first since the 2017 season.
  • The Soaring Eagles recorded a season-high 14 hits and tied a single-game high with 10 RBIs.
  • McLaughlin and Plaisted both had a career-high three hits against Keuka.
  • Delaney added one more walk to his total and finishes the 2021 season with a new single-season record of 27.
  • Plaisted also broke the previous record for walks and ended his senior campaign second all-time with 25.
  • Littlejohn's outstanding season ends with a team-high .360 batting average, tied for the fourth-highest in EC history and the best ever by a freshman (min. 75 at-bats).
  • Mason Ryan '22 set a new team record with a .470 on-base percentage (min. 75 at-bats) and is tied for seventh all-time with 26 runs scored this season.
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