11th Multi-Hit Game For Slenker This Season

WEST HAVEN, Conn. – Freshman pitcher Drew Scott went 6.1 innings on the mound and three Bulldogs had multi-hit games, as the Yale baseball team lost to Sacred Heart, 9-4, at Yale Field on Wednesday afternoon.

In what was easily the nicest playing weather of the season, the Bulldogs (10-19, 2-10 Ivy) were unable to overcome the nine-run, 15-hit assault by the Pioneers, losing to their in-state foe just one day after beating Trinity at home on Tuesday.

Sophomore Richard Slenker (Pound Ridge, N.Y), senior Robert Baldwin (Austin, Texas) and freshman Mikey Sliepka (Houston, Texas) each had two hits for the Elis. Baldwin and Sliepka combined for three RBI on the day, including the senior's two-RBI single in the seventh inning.

Senior Joe Lubanski (Collegeville, Pa.) went 1-for-3 with an RBI for the Bulldogs, while senior Green Campbell (Shreveport, La.) had a hit and scored two runs. Yale falls to 3-4 this season against in-state opponents with the loss.

Scott (0-2) allowed four earned runs and 11 hits in his 6.1 innings, striking out two and walking just one. After allowing four runs in the first two innings, the freshman righty posted four consecutive scoreless frames, giving the Bulldogs a chance to make-up some ground.

The Bulldogs used four relief pitchers, including freshman right-hander Mason Kukowski (Katy, Texas), who got the Elis out of a jam in the ninth inning. Kukowski struck-out two of the three batters he retired, boosting his season total to 23 in just 20.1 innings of work.

The Pioneers started righty Connor Landers, who went just 2.2 innings for Sacred Heart. Reliever James Taubl picked up the win on the mound, throwing 2.1 scoreless innings in the place of Landers.

Facing a 9-3 deficit in the ninth inning, yet refusing to give in, the Bulldogs loaded the bases against Sacred Heart's Ethan Lonardelli with no outs.

After the Pioneers brought in pitcher Breton LaRose, Baldwin popped out to the shortstop for the first out, before Lubanski hit a sacrifice fly to center, scoring Campbell and making it 9-4. Sliepka popped-out for the final out, ending Yale's flirt with a comeback.

The Pioneers were ahead 6-3 entering the ninth, before a costly throwing error by Sliepka over senior Eric Hsieh's (Laguna Niguel, Calif.) head at first base scored two, making it 8-3.

An RBI groundout by Jake Friar pushed the lead to six runs. All three runs were unearned and charged to Baldwin, who relieved senior Nate O'Leary (Manteca, Calif.) in the eighth inning.

Trailing only 4-3 in the eighth, Sacred Heart scored twice off O'Leary, with RBI singles from Keaton Flint and Jesus Medina. Before those runs, the Pioneers hadn't scored since the second inning.

Trailing 4-1 in the seventh, the Bulldogs had the bases loaded with two outs. Throughout the game, Yale stranded 12 runners on base, but Baldwin broke that trend in the seventh. With two outs, the senior lined a single over the second baseman's head, scoring Hsieh and Campbell and making it a one-run game.

The Pioneers scored twice in the first and twice in the second innings off Scott, with RBI hits by Zack Short and Jayson Sullivan. Short was 2-for-4 with two RBI for Sacred Heart, while Medina led all hitters, going 4-for-5 with an RBI.

A single up the middle by Sliepka in the second inning scored Baldwin from second base, providing Yale's first run of the game. It was the fifth RBI of the season for the freshman infielder.

Despite Scott's efforts in the middle of the game, the Bulldogs could not produce enough offense to catch-up to the Pioneers. Yale hitters stranded eight runners in scoring position throughout the contest.

The Bulldogs will now prepare to travel to Harvard for a four-game set this weekend in an important Ivy League series. Yale and Harvard will play doubleheaders on both Saturday and Sunday, with first pitch scheduled for 1 p.m. each day.

Filed by Steve Lewis, Yale Sports Publicity