SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. – Junior John Arnold threw a complete game as the third-seeded RIT Baseball team opened the double-elimination Liberty League Tournament with a 5-1 win over host and second-seeded Skidmore.
HOW IT HAPPENED:
- Senior left fielder Chris Reilly started the scoring with a two-out RBI double in the top of the first to put the Tigers ahead, 1-0.
- Sophomore center fielder Adam Marsh brought home Reilly with a single up the middle to extend the lead to 2-0.
- Skidmore cut the lead in half in the third with a bases-loaded walk to make it 2-1.
- With two outs in the top of the fifth, junior John Bagley singled to right to score two runners and increase RIT's lead to 4-1.
- First-year second baseman Jarin Moses got a two-out insurance run in the top of the eight to extend the lead to 5-1, where it would remain.
GAME NOTES:
- Arnold allowed four hits and no earned runs, striking out nine and moving to 4-3 on the season.
- Reilly's double in the first was his 17th of the season, setting a single-season record for a Tiger. Reilly had been tied with Brett Kajganich, who hit 16 in 2017.
- First-year designated hitter Roberto Reade was 3-for-4 with a run scored.
- Bagley went 2-for-4 with two RBI.
- Junior shortstop Randy Dodig scored twice.
- The victory is RIT baseball's first win in a Liberty League tournament since they defeated RPI, 11-3, in the first elimination game of the 2019 tournament. It was also the Tigers' first win against Skidmore since April 19, 2019.
WHAT'S NEXT:
The Tigers play Ithaca on Friday at 1:00 P.M. in the tournament's winner's bracket. A win would send the Tigers into Saturday needing just one more victory to win the Liberty League for the first time since 2017 and clinch an automatic berth in the NCAA Tournament.