CONTACT: Adam Sopris, a.sopris@hvcc.edu, 518-629-7898
FOR RELEASE: Immediate, Saturday, May 12, 2018
Hudson Valley Community College baseball team (24-12) earned a trip to the NJCAA Region 3 Tournament for the second straight season after sweeping Tompkins Cortland Saturday afternoon at Shuttleworth Park in Amsterdam, NY.
Game One: Hudson Valley 11, Tompkins Cortland 5 (9 innings)
The Vikings jumped out on the Panthers early with a six-run second inning. In the second inning, the Vikings went 6-for-9 with a double and a bases clearing triple for the 6-1 lead.
Brendan Haverty(Troy/La Salle Institute) connected for a moon-shot home run in the third inning, extending the Vikings lead to 7-1.
Nick Hansen(Troy/La Salle Institute) finished 1-for-4 with two RBIs with his two-run triple in the second inning. Ben Grant(Guilderland/Guilderland) collected three hits and added an RBI as he continually turned over the lineup as he reached base in each plate appearance. Nick Thomas(Scotia/Scotia-Glenville) finished 2-for-3 with a double and triple and two RBIs.
Jacob LaFerriere(Troy/La Salle Institute) gave the Vikings a tremendous pitching performance. LaFerriere gave up four runs with four strikeouts in six innings and improved to 5-1 on the year for the Vikings.
Game Two: Hudson Valley 15, Tompkins Cortland 7 (8 innings)
To secure the sweep and a ticket to the NJCAA Regionals, the Vikings were led by Jackson Wentrom(Mandan, North Dakota/Mandan) and the strong pitching by Nicholas Zuba (East Greenbush/Columbia). Wenstrom finished 3-for-4 with two home runs and six RBIs. Wenstrom connected for home runs in back-to-back at-bats, including a grand slam in the fifth inning.
Zuba recovered nicely following a four-run first inning by Tompkins Cortland and tossed shutout innings in the next four innings, giving the Vikings the opportunity to chip away their deficit before the offense came to life with a seven run seventh inning.
Zuba tossed 5.1 innings and gave up four runs on eight hits with four strikeouts. Dylan Sheely(Alplaus/Niskayuna) closed out the game's final 2.2 innings and allowed three runs on three hits and added four strikeouts.
On-Deck:
The Vikings are back in action on Friday, May 18 and will play in the first game of the day at 2 p.m. in Little Falls, NY. The Vikings opponent has not been determined yet.