HENRIETTA, N.Y.—The Hobart baseball team split a pair of games in the Liberty League Tournament today to advance to Championship Saturday. The Statesmen fell 10-1 to Rochester Institute of Technology before bouncing back with a decisive 9-3 victory over Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute at the RIT Baseball Complex.
Junior
Sean Garvin led Hobart at the plate, going 4-for-8, including two doubles, with three RBIs and three runs scored. His four hits raised his season total to 57, surpassing the Hobart record set by John Hogan in 1988.
RIT 10, HOBART 1
In the first game against RIT, Hobart managed four hits and one run, with RIT's eight-run sixth inning sealing the victory. The scoring opened in the third inning when RIT's Jarin Moses doubled to left center, scoring Trent Rapp. Hobart tied the game in the fourth inning when Garvin singled and came home on a wild pitch. However, RIT regained the lead on Sam Kulp's solo home run in the bottom half of the inning. The game turned dramatically in the sixth inning as RIT scored eight runs, highlighted by Jackson Rusiecki's three-run double.
On the mound,
Cole Tarrant pitched 5 1/3 innings, striking out five but allowing eight runs on six hits.
HOBART 9, RPI 3
In the second game against Rensselaer, Hobart's offense rebounded, scoring nine runs on nine hits, including three doubles and a triple. Garvin was the standout performer with three hits, two doubles, three RBIs and a pair of runs. Senior
Christian Petry added two runs and an RBI, while first-year
Jack O'Neil showcased his speed with a triple, scoring two runs and driving in one.
Senior
Aaron Forgues started the game, pitching three innings and allowing three earned runs on five hits, while
Joe Dunham came on in relief, delivering six strong innings with only three hits allowed and a season-high seven strikeouts. Dunham's performance improved his record to 4-0.
Hobart began the scoring in the third inning with a Petry single, followed by Garvin's RBI single to take a 1-0 lead. Rensselaer responded with three runs in their half of the inning. Hobart regained the lead in the sixth inning. Garvin led off the inning with a double and scored on
Jack Farnen's infield single. O'Neil tripled to plate Farnen and scored on sophomore
Aidan Davenport's sacrifice fly. The Statesmen padded their lead with three more runs in the seventh, including a two-run double by Garvin that broke the season hits record, and two more runs in the eighth inning.
Hobart (29-12) will face RIT (23-12) for the Liberty League Championship starting at noon. The Statesmen will have to beat the Tigers twice to claim their first league title, while RIT can capture the crown with a single victory.
