The Genesee baseball team will play a third and deciding game against SUNY Adirondack for the right to move on to the regional final four after both teams split the first two games of the best-of-three series on Saturday at GCC. The Cougars took game one 5-4 but fell in game two 6-2 to force a third game.
Genesee starter Josh Porter surrendered a run in the top of the first inning of game one after allowing a pair of hits, but logged five straight scoreless innings afterwards to keep the Adirondack bats in check.
The Cougars left two base runners stranded in the bottom of the first, but took the lead for good in the second after two runs on three hits. Casey Guary and Joseph DeFelice began the inning with back-to-back singles and Cory Regnet made it three in a row with an RBI single that scored Guary to tie the game at one. Andrew Shapiro then grounded out on a ball that scored DeFelice to give the Cougars a 2-1 lead.
Porter worked around two baserunners in the top of the third and after Brandon Henshaw led off the home half of the inning with a triple, Rodolfo Rodriguez brought him home with an RBI groundout to up the GCC lead to 3-1.
Regnet drove in another run on an RBI groundout the fourth and the Cougars added their fifth run of the game in the bottom of the fifth on an RBI double by Brandon Stephens that scored Henshaw, who singled to reach base.
Porter's last inning was his toughest, as the sophomore gave up a three run homer run that cut the Genesee lead down to 5-4 before he gave way to Jacob Cross who took the hill in the eighth.
GCC went in order in the seventh and put a couple of runners on in the eighth, but could not cash in and took a one run lead into the ninth.
Cross surrendered a walk to the first batter he faced in the top of the ninth, but came back to retire three straight to earn a two inning save that helped give Genesee the win in game one.
Porter went seven innings and all four runs allowed were earned. He gave up nine hits and struck out six.
Henshaw, the only GCC batter to record multiple hits, went 3-3 and scored two runs. DeFelice finished 1-3 and scored two runs and Guary went 1-3 and scored one run.
DeFelice took the mound as the starter in game two and surrendered four first inning runs, including a two run home run, and Genesee fell behind 4-0 early.
Guary helped the Cougars cut the lead in half in the second inning when the sophomore went deep to left field for a two run home run that scored Henshaw who singled to lead off the inning.
GCC was unable to string together hits the rest of the way, managing just five singles during the final seven innings and went scoreless to end the game.
DeFelice, who threw a complete game, gave up a run in the seventh and eighth, and allowed six runs, three earned, on eight hits. He walked three and struck out six.
Guary and Manuel Tejeda both went 2-4 and Henshaw, Regnet and Taijiro Koyama each added a hit apiece.
With the series tied at a game apiece, game three will begin tomorrow at noon at GCC.
