Fossett's Huge Day Not Enough As Baseball Drops Both Games To LTU

Hussein Murray/Rochester University

TROY, MI - The Warriors got conference play started with two games against Lawrence Tech on Sunday afternoon. Despite dropping both games, the Warriors' Deyante Fossett had a huge day, hitting multiple homers and setting up plenty of scores for Rochester.

"We knew that Deyante was going to turn it on at some point and he showed what he can do today," Head Coach Scott Kunert said. "He's been a good leader in a lot of ways and he's finally starting to grow into that role."

GAME 1 - L Final: 12-18

Rochester had a rough start to the contest, giving up seven runs in the first inning while being held scoreless. During the second inning, Deyante Fossett got some positive momentum in the Warriors' direction, getting a single but being caught out at second.

Rochester got its first run of the game in the third inning when Dylan Fleming hit a fly ball out into right field, getting Colton Maher to home plate before a Warrior baserunner was caught out at third base.

In the fourth inning, Rochester made a strong showing with three runs. Nick Czajka doubled, setting up an RBI for Lucas Bateman. A double by Fossett got Luke Jayaraman to home plate, and Fossett would score after advancing to third on a passed ball.

The fifth inning was the best of the first game for Rochester, where the team scored five runs in total. Fossett would get the Warriors knocking on the door with a huge three-run homer to get the score to 14-9 Blue Devils.

Rochester's momentum would be halted by an LTU grand slam during the sixth inning, giving LTU an 18-9 lead. The Warriors got two runs from some great baserunning by Deflorio and Scalzo. With bases loaded, LTU escaped the inning with a pickoff at first base.

Rochester got clutch outfield play in the top of the seventh, with a double play and a pickoff to shut down LTU. Fossett continued his huge day, sending a rocket into left field for his second home run of the day. Fossett's homer would be the final score for the game, as LTU's outfield secured three outs to put it away.

"Baseball is a game of adjustments," Kunert said. "We started slow in both games, but when we did make some adjustments we rolled for a couple innings, but when the other team made their adjustments we weren't able to come back. If we can make those changes quicker it'll set us up for more success."

GAME 2 - L Final: 10-18

Rochester would tighten up its play to start the second game of the doubleheader, allowing two runs but scoring one of its own after a Bateman single led to a run for Fleming. Both teams remained scoreless in the second inning.

Things got out of hand for the Warriors during the third and fourth, where LTU managed to score five total runs. Rochester would then score two runs each in the fifth and sixth innings off scores by Scalzo, Jayaraman, and Maher.

Entering the seventh, Rochester was down 12-5, and LTU scored two more runs to make it a 14-5 ballgame. Fossett continued his big day with a single RBI for Bateman. The Blue Devils scored four more runs in the eighth inning, but Rochester answered back with three of their own. Neither team would score in the final inning, ending the day.

UP NEXT:

The Warriors will travel to Memorial Park for a Monday afternoon doubleheader against the University of Michigan-Dearborn. The Wolverines have yet to play a conference matchup due to weather delays.

"We need to come out firing tomorrow from pitch one to put the pressure on Dearborn," Kunert said. "We certainly swung it well today and I know we can continue that throughout the spring, but we need to show more consistency on the mound. If we can throw strikes and make the routine plays we will have a good chance to compete tomorrow."