Spence, Dunfee combine on 1-hitter, lift Rochester over Pioneer

Paulik, Casper both steal home

BY VAL TSOUTSOURIS

Sports Editor, RTC

Liam Spence Conner Dunfee

Liam Spence and Conner Dunfee combined on a one-hitter, and the Rochester baseball team stole 13 bases – including two of home – in prevailing 7-0 over visiting Pioneer at Bob Copeland Field Friday.

Cylis Kistler had Pioneer’s lone hit, a bloop single in the third off Spence. Pioneer never got a runner past second base. The only time they put a runner in scoring position was the sixth when Spence walked pinch hitter Charles Grandstaff and hit Lane Weldy with a pitch with two outs.

Spence responded by slipping a called third strike on a breaking ball past Jaxson Merrick to retire the side.

Dunfee finished with a 1-2-3 inning in the seventh.

Meanwhile, Rochester got to Pioneer starter Jayson Layman for four runs in the first inning and two more in the second.

Zakk Parks led off the first with an infield single that deflected off Layman’s glove. He stole second and scored on Brady Coleman’s RBI single to shallow left. Coleman advanced to second on the throw home.

Parker Casper walked, and the runners moved to second and third on a double steal.

Carson Paulik then hit a grounder to shortstop. He was initially called out at first base, but after an umpire’s conference, the call was overturned and Paulik was ruled safe with Coleman scoring.

Paulik stole second, and Dunfee walked to load the bases. Brant Beck’s sacrifice fly to Juan Solano Jr. in right scored Casper to make it 3-0 and also moved Paulik to third.

Paulik and Dunfee then executed a double steal with Paulik stealing home to make it 4-0.

Layman got Parks on a grounder to third to lead off the inning, but Coleman bunted for a hit, and Casper followed with an infield hit. They pulled off a double steal, and when the third baseman dropped the throw, Coleman got up and hustled home to make it 5-0.

Casper advanced to third on the throw. Paulik walked, putting runners on the corners. Rochester again pulled off a double steal with Casper stealing home.

Carter Carmichael followed Layman to the mound to start the third and allowed just one run over four innings. Rochester made it 7-0 in the fourth on Casper’s sacrifice line drive to center field to bring home Parks.

Rochester left fielder Trenton Meadows robbed Pioneer’s Archie Blickenstaff, making an acrobatic catch in left-center to lead off the game and running at top speed to catch his drive just in front of the fence in the sixth. By the seventh inning, Meadows moved over to center field and made a running grab on Hunter Stover’s shallow fly.

Paulik, a Taylor University recruit, also made nifty plays at third base on Braxton Maciejewski in the third and Stover in the fourth. On Stover’s grounder, he ranged far to his left and made a spinning, accurate throw.

Rochester 7, Pioneer 0

Pioneer 000 000 0 – 0 1 3

Rochester 420 100 X – 7 6 0

WP – Liam Spence (6 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 2 BB, 1 HBP, 5 K)

LP – Jayson Layman (2 IP, 4 H, 6 R, 3 ER, 3 BB, 1 HBP, 0 K)

2B – Brayson Flory (RHS)