AUBURNDALE, FL – The SUNYIT Men's Baseball struggled on Day Two of their spring training trip, falling to the Leopards of Wentworth Institute of Technology in both games of a doubleheader. SUNYIT was shutout in the first game 7-0, and fell in the second game 19-2.

Game 1

The Leopard pitching staff hurled a combined 1-hitter against the Wildcats in game one. Wentworth starter Dakota Baird started the game and took a no-hitter into the fifth inning before SUNYIT freshman Connor Passalacqua (Whitestown, N.Y. / Whitesboro H.S.) broke it up with a single to right center.

The hit was to no avail, however, as the Wildcats left two runners on in the top of the 5^th before succumbing to Corey Jerolman and Ryan Daniels in the 6^th and 7^th innings, respectively, for the Leopards. The pair combined to give up no hits, no walks, and record 3 strikeouts over the final two innings, preserving the 7-0 shutout win for Wentworth.

Senior Michael Rose (Chatham, N.Y. / Chatham H.S.) battled through 4 and 1/3 innings pitched, giving up only 4 earned runs but 7 overall. Fellow senior Brandon Meszko (Syracuse, N.Y. / Westhill H.S.) did a good job in relief, coming in to throw a perfect 1 and 2/3 innings while striking out two.

Game 2

In Game 2, SUNYIT was again victimized by the big inning. After giving up 2 runs to start the game, the Wildcats then surrendered 4 in the second, 8 in the fourth, and 5 in the sixth inning for a 19-2 loss. The Leopard hitting was as dominant in Game 2 as their pitching had been in Game 1, as Wentworth pounded out 21 hits in the win.

For SUNYIT the lone bright spot was third baseman Mike Mainello (Troy, N.Y. / La Salle Institute). Mainello recorded both of SUNYIT's RBI's with a single to centerfield in the bottom of the second inning, and finished the day 2 for 3 with a double.

On the other side of the diamond, first baseman Johnny Ryan had a monster day, going 5-for-5 at the plate with an RBI and a run scored, while shortstop Jon Spitz led all players with 3 RBI's.

The Wildcats doubleheader with MCLA originally scheduled for Tuesday, March 12^th, has been canceled, so SUNYIT will not play again until their doubleheader with Colby Sawyer on Thursday. First pitch is scheduled for 3:00 pm.