HORSEHEADS, N.Y. – The Elmira College baseball program welcomed the Sage College Gators to The Point on Sunday afternoon for a pair of Empire 8 Conference matchups as the Soaring Eagles opened the home portion of their 2023 schedule. The Gators would come away with a pair of victories on the afternoon 2-1 and 3-0.
 

GAME INFORMATION:
SCORES: Elmira 1, Sage 2 (Game One)
               Elmira 0, Sage 3 (Game Two)
TEAM RECORDS: Elmira (3-14, 0-5 Empire 8), Sage (9-11, 3-2 Empire 8)
LOCATION: Horseheads, New York | Holding Point Recreation Complex
W|L|S: L. Doyle (W, 3-3) | D. Podest (L, 0-2) | Jaylen Cuevas (2)
            M. Denatale (W, 2-1) | D. Kruis (0-6) | C. Anderson (2)


HOW IT HAPPENED:
Pitching would be the focus of game one between the Soaring Eagles and the Gators as Sage plated a run in the top of the first inning to jump out to an early advantage on the scoreboard. It would be a walk with the bases-loaded that allowed Sage to score the first run of the contest against Elmira starter Jarek Podest '26.
 
Sage added to its advantage in the top of the third inning against Podest and the Soaring Eagles with a run-scoring double that pushed the lead to 2-0 for the Gators. The Soaring Eagles would finally break through against the Gators and starter Liam Doyle in the bottom of the sixth inning as a hit batter with the bases-loaded trimmed the deficit to 2-1. Following a pitching change for Sage the Gators would avoid any further damage and escape the frame with the lead by stranding the bases loaded.
 
Podest suffered his second loss of the season on the mound for Elmira after yielding two runs off two hits while adding three strikeouts and four walks. Matthew Schultz '26 quieted the Sage bats out of the bullpen as he allowed just one hit through three innings of work. Jourdan Plaisted paced the EC offense with a pair of hits in the contest.
 
In game two, Elmira starter Jack Finnerty '23 faced the minimum number of batters through the opening three innings as he recorded five groundball outs and three flyouts on just 27 total pitches. Sage would have the same type of start on the mound as Elmira had just one baserunner through the opening three frames as Matteo Salvati '25 delivered a leadoff single in the bottom of the second inning.
 
Sage plated the first run of the contest against Elmira reliever David Kruis '23 in the top of the fourth inning as a run-scoring single to right field allowed the Gators to take a 1-0 advantage. Sage would also plate a single run in the sixth inning following a run-scoring single up the middle that made it 2-0 before tallying a run in the eighth inning to stretch the advantage to 3-0.
 
The Soaring Eagles looked to have a pair of opportunities to put some runs on the scoreboard as EC loaded the bases in the fourth inning with a pair of outs and a pair of runners in scoring position in the eighth inning but would be unable to push across a run.
 
Kruis was handed the loss for the Soaring Eagles after yielding a pair of runs off four hits to go along with three strikeouts through three innings of work. Kyle Tubbs '22 allowed one run off two hits through three innings of relief for the Purple & Gold. Salvati finished with a pair of hits at the plate for Elmira, while five other Soaring Eagles notched a hit in the contest.
 

UP NEXT:
The Soaring Eagles will wrap up their Empire 8 Conference series at home against Sage at the Holding Point Recreation Center on Monday at 11:00 A.M.