Tech, NYU Combine for 49 runs, 36 hits in Scarlet Hawk Loss

TAMPA, Fla. - In what is sure to be one of the wildest contests of the 2019 NCAA Division III baseball season, the Illinois Tech Scarlet Hawks and New York University Violets played to a 30-19 NYU victory on Thursday afternoon at the New York Yankees' Spring Training complex in Tampa. The two teams combined for 49 runs, 36 hits, eight errors, 23 walks, 11 hit by pitches, and played for four hours and 24 minutes in the eight-inning contest.

How it Happened

• The scoring started early and in emphatic fashion, as Tech's Zachary Dickey homered to right field to put the Scarlet Hawks up 1-0.
• New York did not take long to respond. After two hit by pitches and a walk following a leadoff ground out, the Violets would score on an error, single, and two-run triple to go up 5-1 after the first.
• This game was just getting started, however, as the Scarlet Hawks would start its own carousel around the bases in the second inning. Tech's first four baserunners reached via the hit by pitch or the base on balls, as the lack of control from the Violet pitching and an Orlando Cardenas-Juan sacrafice fly brought home the first two runs of the frame.
• With two outs, the Scarlet Hawks would have seven more cross the plate before the second inning was done. The first three crossed via hit by pitches or walks once again, but John Casey, the 11th batter of the inning, would record Tech's first hit of the stanza: a double to left center to bring home two runs. Jacob Sorenson singled in two more one batter later before Tyler Tucker topped off the inning by reaching on a catcher's interference.
• After a rare quiet half inning in the bottom of the second, Tech added on two more in the third with RBI singles by Michael Courtney and Sorenson as the Scarlet Hawks went up 12-5. After New York scored once in the bottom of the third, Tech added on three more in the fourth thanks to a two-RBI double from Courtney and an RBI single by Nick Bledsoe. Bledsoe's base knock gave the Scarlet Hawks a 15-6 advantage, its largest of the day.
• Control of the game shifted to the Violets in the bottom of the fourth, as the home team tallied five runs and five hits to cut the lead in half. After Tech scored twice in the top of the fifth, the flood gates opened for the Violets in the bottom of the frame. NYU brought 20 men to the plate, with 15 of them crossing home. After the dust settled, the Violets led 26-17.
• The offense in this game was not yet finished, with NYU scoring twice more in the sixth on a home run and a single. In the seventh. Tech's Claudio LoBracio hit an RBI double to plate Tech's 18th run. The two teams would score three more combined runs the rest of the game, with Matt Witkowski scoring the team's final run on a wild pitch.

Scarlet Hawk Standouts

• Dickey (2-for-5, four runs, two walks, double, home run, RBI), Courtney (2-for-4, two runs, four RBI, double), and Sorenson (2-for-2, three runs, three RBI, three walks) all had multi-hit games.
• Cardenas-Juan, Bledsoe (stolen base), and Casey (double) drove in two runs each.

Stats to Know

• The two teams combined for:
  • 49 runs
  • 36 hits
  • 8 errors
  • 23 walks
  • 11 hit by pitches
  • 12 extra-base hits
  • 18 pitchers used
  • 122 plate appearances
  • 436 pitches thrown
  • 50 players used

Up Next

• After a much needed night of rest, the Scarlet Hawks will play twice tomorrow against Hamilton at the Lake Myrtle complex in Auburndale. The doubleheader is set to begin at 9:15 a.m. eastern time (8:15 a.m. central time).