Rochester Rallies; Knocks Off Brandywine

VERO BEACH, Florida – Penn State Brandywine built a 5-2 lead, but Rochester College (Mich.) scored the final six runs of the game to claim an 8-5 baseball victory on Wednesday morning in Vero Beach, Florida.

Josh Dellipriscoli (Prospect Park, Pa./Interboro) collected two hits and reached base all four times at the plate to pace the Brandywine offense. He worked two bases on balls and also stole two bases, while crossing home three times.

Dan McMenamin (Springfield, Pa./Springfield) went 2-for-3 with a walk and one run scored and Gabe Encarnacion (Glenolden, Pa./Interboro) drove in two runs.

Dellipriscoli led off the game with a double and scored on Encarnacion's sacrifice fly to give Brandywine a 1-0 lead.

After Rochester tied the game, Brandywine plated three runs in the third to grab a 4-1 edge. Dellipriscoli walked to start the inning and moved to second when Evan Cline (Swarthmore, Pa./Strath Haven) singled. Following a double steal, Dellipriscoli scored on a wild pitch and two batters later, Tom Osenbach (Newtown Square, Pa./West Chester Christian) drove in Cline with a sacrifice fly.

Chris Keenan (Chester, Pa./Strath Haven) capped the frame with an RBI base hit that plated McMenamin.

Encarnacion's run-scoring single in the fourth made the score 5-2, but the Warriors sliced into the deficit with two runs during the bottom of the frame and used a four-run fifth inning to take the lead.

Tommy Verdura's third hit of the game, a double, tied the score at 5-5 and two batters later, Dominic Raona added a two-run single to give the Warriors a three-run lead.

Jake Purman pitched two innings of scoreless relief to earn the win for Rochester, while Matt Gallo (Springfield, Pa./Springfield) suffered the loss for Brandywine. Gallo allowed four runs, only one of which was earned, in one inning of relief.

Brandywine starter Brian Pennock (Kennett Square, Pa./Kennett) worked the first three innings, allowing two runs (one earned), while striking out one.  

Brandywine closes out its Spring Break trip Thursday morning at 10:00 am against Miami-Hamilton.