UNIVERSITY HEIGHTS, Ohio – The Mount Union baseball team held off a late-inning surge from Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT) to secure a 10–9 victory on Friday afternoon at John Carroll.
The Purple Raiders improved to 6-1 on the season, while the Tigers dropped to 2-3. There were a total of 26 hits in the non-conference battle.
Mount Union's offense ignited in the bottom of the second inning, plating four runs to take an early commanding lead. The primary damage came from sophomore
Aaron Tucker (Alliance, OH / West Branch), who cleared the bases with a three-run double to right-center field. The Tigers, down 7-3, answered in the fourth inning with three runs, cutting the Raiders' lead to one.
Mount Union added a pivotal insurance run in the eighth inning when senior
Chris Tsouras (Las Vegas, NV / Arbor) delivered a clutch RBI double to center field, scoring sophomore
Daniel Tome III (Cleveland, OH / St. Edwards). That run proved to be the difference, as RIT mounted a comeback attempt in the final two innings, scoring once in the eighth and once in the ninth before the Raider bullpen slammed the door.
Tucker led the offensive charge by going 2-for-4 with a double and a game-high four RBIs. Tome finished 2-for-3 with three runs scored and an RBI. Tsouras contributed a double and an RBI, while TSzekely finished the day with two hits and a run scored.
Junior pitcher
Ty Dennison (Hudson, OH/Hudson) earned the win on the mound, navigating through five innings of work. Junior
Christopher Maurer (Hudson, OH / Hudson) entered the game in the sixth inning to earn his second save of the season.
The Purple Raiders return to action tomorrow, Saturday, Feb. 28, for a doubleheader starting with RIT at 11 a.m. and host John Carroll at 2 p.m.
