The Hobart Statesmen saw their Liberty League Tournament run end Saturday afternoon with a 17-5 loss to Rochester Institute of Technology in the winner-take-all championship game at the RIT Baseball Complex. Hobart finished the day 30-13 after forcing the decisive final with a 17-6 victory earlier Saturday, while RIT improved to 24-13 and secured the conference’s automatic NCAA Tournament bid.
Ithaca soccer standout picks Marist Hobart battled early and briefly tied the game at 5-5 in the fourth inning when junior Sean Garvin ripped a two-run double. The Tigers answered immediately with a six-run bottom half that broke the game open, highlighted by two-run doubles from Max Matteucci and Evan Kurtz.
The Statesmen jumped ahead quickly in the first inning, capitalizing on an RIT error to score two unearned runs. Senior Christian Petry singled to begin the game and later scored, while first-year Quinn Dashefsky added an RBI walk. Garvin tied the game in the second with an RBI triple before RIT regained the lead for good later in the inning.
Garvin continued his torrid postseason, finishing with three hits, including two doubles and a triple, while driving in three runs. His 17th double of the season broke Hobart’s single-season program record previously set by John Hogan in 1988.
Groton runner heading to Geneseo Petry also starred defensively, turning an inning-ending double play with a leaping catch in shallow center field before later making a diving stop up the middle to erase another scoring chance. Byrnes added another highlight-reel play with a running catch against the outfield fence in right-center.
Hobart now awaits the NCAA Tournament selection show at noon on Monday, May 11, to learn whether its NCAA Power Index ranking is strong enough to secure an at-large berth into the 64-team field.
Kyle leads sports coverage and hosts the Concrete Jungle podcast. Have a lead or question? Send it to kyle@fingerlakes1.com.