SCHENECTADY, N.Y. — The Keuka College Baseball team lost in 12 innings in the Empire 8 Conference Tournament to end their season, falling to Utica University 12-11.
Keuka College ends its season with a 15-20 record, finishing fifth in the Empire 8 Tournament.
Evan Cuba led the Wolves at the plate with three hits, including a pair of two-run home runs, three runs scored, and five driven in.
Derek Novicki added a pair of hits for the green and gold, including a double, to go with an RBI and three runs scored.
#4 Utica University 12 vs. #6 Keuka College 11 (12 innings) – Empire 8 Tournament Wild Card
The Wolves blasted out to a fast start in the first inning. An infield single by
Alex Evans led off the game. He moved to third on a wild pitch and groundout and then scored on a double by
Derek Novicki. Next up was
Evan Cuba who hit a no-doubter over the left centerfield fence for a two-run home run to give the Wolves a 3-0 advantage.
Utica University answered with a run in the bottom of the first, but
Hunter Corkran got a strikeout to end the inning.
The Pioneers tied the game an inning later and then took the lead in the fourth on a pair of two-run home runs.
After being held without a hit since the first inning. The Wolves attacked for six runs on six hits in the sixth inning.
Grady Kessler led off with a single and Novicki followed by getting hit by the pitch.
Evan Cuba scored Kessler with a single and
Jackson Loper followed with a hit to load the bases. After a pitching change, back-to-back hits by
Michael Brown and
Mike Dutch brought a pair of runs home for the Wolves.
Owen Garvey delivered the big hit for the Green and Gold with a two-run double to give the Wolves an 8-7 lead. A sacrifice fly by
Alex Evans closed the inning for the Wolves with a 9-7 lead.
Keuka College added to their lead an inning later.
Derek Novicki led off the inning with a single and scored on
Evan Cuba's second home run of the game to push Keuka's advantage to four at 11-7.
The lead would be erased, however, in the bottom of the inning as the Pioneers loaded the bases and hit a game-tying grand slam to lock the contest at 11-11 after seven innings.
The Wolves got the go-ahead run to third base in the ninth and tenth innings, but they would be left stranded.
Utica loaded the bases with one out in the bottom of the eleventh.
Lucas Gilbert came out of the bullpen for the Wolves and pair of groundballs to escape the inning. However, the Pioneers got a two-out pinch-hit RBI single in the bottom of the twelfth to defeat the Wolves 12-11.
KC Notes:
- It was the first time the Wolves played in extra innings in the postseason since game one of the 2002 North Eastern Athletic Conference Championship, where Keuka defeated Cazenovia 1-0 in 11 innings
- Keuka had its three-game extra-inning win streak snapped
- Keuka College is now 2-3 all-time in the Empire 8 Tournament
- Evan Cuba becomes the tenth different player in program history to hit two home runs in a game. He is the first to accomplish the feat in the postseason
- With his two hits, Derek Novicki finishes his Keuka College career with 120 hits, ninth-most in program history. 26 of those hits were doubles, ranking in a tie for fourth in the record books
