BATAVIA, NY - The Genesee Community College baseball team made five early errors and found themselves trailing the Tompkins Cortland Community College Panthers 8-2. However, the Cougars banged out 16 hits and had a six-run sixth inning during a 13-11 victory Tuesday afternoon.
With the win, GCC is 20-13 and 8-5 in the Region III West Division. GCC moves into the fourth and final playoff spot, but the Cougars have six division games to play over a four-day span this week.
Jayson Faynor (Lima Christian) picked up the win on the mound in relief, throwing .1 inning with three strikeouts. Zachery Zinck (Bridgewater, Nova Scotia, Canada) had the save, throwing two innings with two strikeouts. Faynor moves to 3-1 on the season.
At the plate for GCC, Jakob MacLeod went 4-for-5 with 3 RBI's and two runs, Eliel Martinez was 2-for-3 with a double and two runs, Rodolfo Rodriguez had a 2-RBI double and scored and Elizam De Jesus had an RBI single.
Jayson Faynor's twin brother, John Faynor had two hits including a 2-RBI single and scored. Briann Castillo had two hits, a double and drove in two runs, Deion Rosalia had a double and scored and Jordi Agosto (East) went 3-for-3 with a double, three runs scored and a stolen base, while Gabe Diaz had an RBI single and scored.
"Zach Zinck was coming off a minor injury and not only was it the first time he has pitched since March 11, and he came in a tough game against their best hitter and worked a full count before getting a strikeout," said Genesee head coach Skip Sherman. "That gave us the lift and confidence we needed defensively. On offense, this was the team we saw in Florida. Not just their approach at the plate but the enthusiasm on the bench. Despite the errors and early walks and hit batters, it was a good baseball game for us."
The second game was canceled due to the weather.
Genesee is in a busy stretch with eight games in four days. Thursday will see the Cougars and Panthers play a doubleheader at Tompkins Cortland. Friday, Genesee travels to Ithaca JV, and Saturday travels to SUNY Broome. Genesee returns home on Sunday, April 28 against SUNY Broome.
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