Derek Brown Goes 4-For-6 With Three RBI On Friday

WEST HAVEN, Conn. – The Yale baseball team celebrated its Senior Day on Friday at Yale Field, honoring the team's seven senior players, as the Bulldogs split a doubleheader with Rolfe Division rival, Brown, winning 6-4 in game one, while falling 11-5 in game two.

The Elis (14-22, 5-13 Ivy) relied on solid pitching by junior Chris Lanham (Houston, Texas) and a three-hit game by senior Robert Baldwin (Austin, Texas) to lead them to their fourth consecutive win.

However, Brown's offense came alive in the second game, racking up 11 runs on 12 hits, giving Bears' pitchers enough room to overcome a two-run blast by sophomore Harrison White (Laguna Niguel, Calif.) in the ninth inning. The loss snapped Yale's season-long four-game winning streak.

Captain David Toups (Houston, Texas), outfielder Green Campbell (Shreveport, La.), infielder Eric Hsieh (Laguna Niguel, Calif.), catcher Robert Baldwin (Austin, Texas), outfielder Joe Lubanski (Collegeville, Pa.), pitcher Nate O'Leary (Manteca, Calif.) and pitcher Ben Joseph (Newberry, Fla.) were all honored in a Senior Day ceremony, which took place between games.

Game 1

Chris Lanham provided six solid innings of work on the mound, while Robert Baldwin and Derek Brown each had three hits, as the Bulldogs held on for a 6-4 victory over Brown in Friday's first game.

The Bulldogs scored two runs in the second, third, and fourth innings, racking up enough offense for Lanham, who struck-out a season-high nine batters, to pick up the win. Freshman Mason Kukowski (Katy, Texas) relieved Lanham in the seventh, retiring the side in order to pick up his third save of the season.

Baldwin was 3-for-4 at the plate with two doubles and two runs scored, while Brown (Houston, Texas) was 3-for-3 with two RBI, including a two-run single in the second inning to put Yale on the board.

The Yale offense pieced together 12 hits, while benefitting from two errors by Brown. Toups and sophomore Richard Slenker (Pound Ridge, N.Y.) each had an RBI for the Bulldogs in the win.

"We got some big hits and played pretty well defensively," said head coach John Stuper. "I think Lanham pitched better than his numbers will indicate. I just felt, I've got Mason Kukowski down there for a reason and he pitched a clean ninth for us."

Lanham allowed four earned runs on eight hits, while striking out nine and walking just three in six innings on the mound. The biggest setback for the right-hander was a three-run home run by Brown's Josh Huntley in the sixth.

Brown scored one run in the first inning with an RBI single by Dan Kerr, putting the Bears ahead, 1-0.

Yale answered in the bottom of the second, when Brown's two-out single up the middle with the bases loaded plated Baldwin and Toups, giving the Elis a 2-1 advantage.

The Bulldogs scored two runs in the third inning when Toups knocked in Baldwin from second base, which was followed by an RBI double from Slenker, scoring Toups.

As Lanham faced just seven batters combined in the third and fourth innings, the Yale offense kept scoring. A fourth-inning error by Brown second baseman, Noah Shulman, scored Brown and Hsieh, making it 6-1 Bulldogs.

Lanham surrendered the three-run home run in the sixth, but the Elis were in safe hands when Kukowski took the rubber in the seventh. The freshman reliever struck-out two, on his way to a perfect inning and a Yale win.

Hsieh, Campbell, White and Adams each added one hit for the Elis, who faced Brown starter, Eddie Fitzpatrick. Fitzpatrick picked up the loss in his complete-game outing, allowing four earned runs (six total) on 12 hits while striking out 10.

Game 2

A two-run home run by Harrison White in the ninth inning, his first-career home run, highlighted Yale's 11-5 loss to Brown in the second game of Friday's doubleheader.

White was 2-for-5 with two RBI and two runs scored for the Elis in the loss, while junior right-hander Chris Moates (Smithville, Ga.) got the start on the mound. Moates picked up the loss in his 5.1 innings, allowing seven earned runs on nine hits, while striking out three.

Hsieh was 2-for-5 at the plate, the only other Bulldog to have a multi-hit game. Toups, Slenker and junior Nate Adams (St. Louis, Mo.) each had a hit, as part of Yale's eight for the game. Brown contributed another RBI single, giving him three RBI for the day.

The Bears pieced together a seven-run sixth inning, putting them in the driver's seat with an 11-2 score. Moates, as well as relievers Nate O'Leary and freshman Tyler Duncan (Newport Beach, Calif.), pitched in that sixth inning.

"We didn't pitch well at all and Brown took advantage. They hit mistakes and they hit them hard," said Stuper. "However, we didn't quit. What shows that is being down 11-2 and Adams beat-out an infield single to lead-off the ninth inning. Some guys just don't do that."

Stuper added, "Green did the same thing in his at-bat later in the inning. He kept the inning going with an RBI groundout because he beat the throw to first. Those are the kind of guys I want on my team. What those two guys did gave Harrison a chance to get up and hit a home run."

For the second time on Friday, the Bears scored in the first inning, this time on RBI singles from Noah Shulman and Marc Sredojevic, making it 2-0.

The Bulldogs scored one run in the second and third innings, when Brown ripped an RBI single to right field in the second and Toups punched a ball out to left in the third, picking up his 18^th RBI of the season.

Brown tacked on one run in the fourth and fifth innings off Moates, with the Bears' Jake Levine scoring from third on a wild pitch in the fifth, pushing the lead to 4-2.

The Bears scored seven runs on six hits in the sixth, highlighted by a two-run single by Dan Kerr and a two-run double by Nick Fornaca. Brown extended its lead to 11-2, giving starter Taylor Wright plenty of run support.

Wright picked up the win, pitching six innings for Brown and allowing two runs on six hits, while stranding eight Yale base runners. Brown reliever Max Ritchie did not allow an earned run in three innings of work out of the bullpen.

White's two-run blast over the right-field fence came with two outs in the ninth inning off Ritchie, the first career home run for the Yale sophomore. The Bulldogs tacked on three runs in the inning, narrowing the final margin to 11-5.

The Bulldogs will play their final two games of the 2015 season against Brown on Saturday in another doubleheader, this time in Providence, R.I. First pitch of game one is scheduled for 1 p.m.

Filed by Steve Lewis, Yale Sports Publicity