KEUKA PARK, N.Y. — Keuka College earned a split of their Empire 8 baseball doubleheader on Friday against Utica University at Kuhl Field.

Keuka College (10-11-1, 4-5-1 Empire 8) came from behind to win the first game 10-6. The Wolves attempted the same in game two, but the Pioneers held on for the 6-5 victory.

Keuka College 10 vs. Utica University 6

It was a windy start to the game on Friday at Kuhl Field and Utica took advantage in the early innings, leading 5-0 early, but the Wolves answered in the bottom of the second.

A pair of errors led off the inning. The Wolves then loaded the bases with one out and scored a run on another error by the Pioneers. Donald Nemeth hit a sacrifice fly and Jimmy Griffin and Ryan Seales each followed with RBI singles as the Wolves cut the margin to one 5-4.

Utica would get one back in the top of the fourth, but the Wolves responded and took the lead in the bottom of the inning. Singles by Nemeth and Griffin put a pair of runners on with one out. Ryan Seales doubled to right to score Nemeth. Griffin then came home on a wild pitch. Brady Booher then hit a sacrifice fly to give the Wolves the 7-6 lead.

Keuka College added to their lead with a suicide squeeze in the fifth. The Wolves then got more insurance on an RBI double by Booher and RBI single from RJ Murphy in the sixth to widen the gap. Spencer Brown shut the door on the mound. The junior struck out the side in the seventh as the Wolves won 10-6.

Lead Wolf: Brady Booher had his hand in four runs for the Wolves. The sophomore's only hit was a double, but he drove in a run with it. He gave Keuka the lead with a sacrifice fly and also scored a pair of runs.

Utica University 6 at Keuka College 5

The Pioneers once again built an early lead as Utica University got one in the second and two in the third to lead 3-0. The Green and Gold pulled one back in the fourth, scoring on a wild pitch.

Utica University added to their lead in the sixth with two runs, but the Wolves responded in a loud way. Three straight hits led the inning off for the Wolves, the third being an RBI single by Brady Booher. The Wolves then got a pair of runs on a throwing error by Utica. Donald Nemeth then barely missed giving Keuka the lead. The freshman hammered a ball to left field that hit the top of the fence. Nemeth's double scored a run as Keuka plated four in the inning to tie the game at 5-5.

The tie game was short-lived as Utica started the seventh going walk, single, walk, single to take the lead. Reliever Kole Schmerder held them there, however, as the freshman struck out the next three batters he faced to load the bases loaded and end the threat.

Keuka College had a chance in the bottom of the inning as Matt Vaccaro led off with a walk and got to third with one out. A pair of strikeouts would end the inning for the Wolves.

Schmerder continued to cruise in the eighth. Matt Vaccaro made an excellent play to start the inning, going into the Utica bullpen for a sliding catch for the first out. Following a walk, Schmerder struck out the final two to end the frame, but the Wolves would go down 1-2-3 in the bottom of the inning to send it to the ninth.

Utica would threaten once again with runners on first and third with one out, but the Wolves' defense held them there. Keuka got a nice 4-6-3 double play as Jimmy Griffin fielded and flipped to Tyler Lewandowski who then fired to Ryan Seales at first to end the inning. Keuka College would get the tying run to second base in the bottom of the ninth with one out, but he would be left stranded as Utica defeated Keuka 6-5 in game two.

Lead Wolf: Kole Schmerder pitched solid relief for the Wolves. The freshman did not allow any runs while pitching two innings. He recorded five of his six outs via the strikeout.

KC Notes:

• The Wolves are now 6-10-1 all-time against Utica University
• The Wolves and Pioneers have now played three Empire 8 doubleheaders. The two teams have split each one
• Jared Beckley battled tough to get the win in game one. The sophomore went 5.2 innings, allowing six runs, five earned, struck out three, and did not walk a batter. He scattered 16 hits by Utica, tying the school record for most in a single game and setting the record for most in a win.
• Spencer Brown got his first career save. The sophomore has 39 strikeouts on the season, cracking the single-season top ten list at Keuka
• 10 runs for the Wolves tied for the most ever for Keuka in their 17 games against Utica University
• Nick Brown was hit by the pitch in game two. He has been hit 18 times in his career, tying for third-most in program history
• After having a pair of hits in game one, Matt Vaccaro had his career-best nine-game hitting streak snapped in game two

Up Next for Keuka College: The return doubleheader between Keuka and Utica scheduled for Saturday has been postponed. It is tentatively scheduled to be made up on Monday, April 18 in Utica.