ROCHESTER, N.Y. - The Golden Flyers beat the rain with a pair of conference losses on Friday afternoon, falling to Utica 5-3 in the first game and 14-7 in the second.
With the losses, Nazareth drops to 15-12 overall and 9-7 in conference play, while Utica improves its season to 20-8 overall and 15-3 in the Empire 8.
Utica Squeaks Past Nazareth 5-3
In the first game, the scoreboard was quiet early on. In the first two innings, the Golden Flyers held Utica to only six batters with two three-up-three-down innings on defense, while offensively Nazareth was only able to get one runner on base.
Utica finally shook it up in the top of the third with a four run inning, scoring on two singles, a double, and a homerun.
Nazareth didn't have an answer for those runs until the bottom of the fourth when the Golden Flyers put up three runs.
Ashley Bell was hit by a pitch just before
Kaijah Alexander knocked one over the fence for a two run homer.
Sarah Ferruzza then doubled to right field and was brought around on a sac fly by
Madison Hicks.
The Pioneers took one run back in the top of the fifth to go up by two and ultimately set the final score at 5-3 as neither team scored for the remainder of the game.
Avery Zembek threw the full seven innings for the Golden Flyers, and was charged with five earned runs while also tallying three strikeouts on 30 batters faced.
Nazareth Falls to the Pioneers 14-7
The second game got out to a much quicker jump, the Pioneers starting the game with one run in the top of the first, while Nazareth answered with two in the bottom.
Morgan Russo led the inning with a single and was then brought in on another two-run homer from Alexander with one out. Despite bases loaded following singles from Ferruzza,
Haleigh Suitor, and Hicks, the Golden Flyers only led by one heading into the second.
Utica began to pull away in the second inning with six earned runs on four hits. After holding the Golden Flyers scoreless in the bottom of the second, Utica put up another six runs in the top of the third to go up 13-2.
Nazareth earned one run back in the bottom of the third, Alexander scoring on a sac fly from Hicks after getting on base with a single and moving to third on a Ferruzza double.
Heading into the bottom of the fourth, Nazareth still trailed 13-3. Nazareth scored two runs in the fourth, bringing around
Caitlyn Knapp and Russo. Knapp got on with a single and was moved to second on a sac bunt by
Julia Maciag. Russo was then hit by a pitch to put runners on first and second. Bell then loaded up the bases with a single. Alexander followed up with an RBI walk to score Knapp and Ferruzza hit a sac fly to center to score Russo.
After holding Utica scoreless in the top of the fifth, the Golden Flyers had another two-run inning to get out of the run rule threat. Four singles in a row by
Hailey Trank, Knapp,
Anna Spencer, and Russo scored Trank and Knapp to make the score 13-7 heading into the sixth.
Utica scored the last run of the game in the top of the sixth unearned to set the final score at 14-7.
Hicks started in the circle for the Golden Flyers and was credited for the loss, totaling 4.1 innings pitched after reentering. Hicks alllowed six earned runs while marking four strikeouts on 24 batters faced. Alexander and Zembek each thre 1.1 innings, Alexander allowing three earned runs on 15 batters faced, and Zembek earning two strikeouts on six batters faced.
The Golden Flyers will be back on Saturday at 1 and 3 p.m. for a conference double header against SUNY Poly and a senior day celebration!
