After digging a big hole early, the Yale University baseball team found itself one key hit away from a come-from-behind win. Unfortunately, that hit never came in a non-league game at Holy Cross on Tuesday.
Yale fell behind in the fourth inning when Holy Cross used two hits, three walks, a hit batter and an outfield error to plate five runs, four of them unearned. The Crusaders scored one more run in the sixth, which turned out to be just enough insurance in a 6-5 win over the Bulldogs at Fitton Field in Yale's final non-league game of the season.
Yale had things working in its favor early on. After two walks and a hit batter, Trey Rallis, the Ivy League Player of the Week, belted a one-out single to right-center field to drive in Cale Hanson for the first run of the game. Yale loaded the bases with two outs in the inning but could not score again.
All of the damage done by the Crusaders in the fourth inning came with two outs. The first two batters in the inning were retired before Nick Ciardiello started the Crusaders' rally with a single through the right side. Chris Sintetos was hit by a pitch and then Josh Olson reached on an infield single that loaded the bases. Jordan Enos then walked to drive in the first run of the inning. An outfield error on a fly ball by Patrick Puentes allowed two more runs to score. Another walk loaded the bases and the third walk of the inning drove in the fourth run. A wild pitch allowed Puentes to score the final run of the inning. By the time the dust had settled, Yale saw its 1-0 lead turn into a 5-1 deficit.
Yale cut the deficit to 5-2 in the sixth inning when Andrew Moore drove in Andy Megee with an RBI groundout.
Holy Cross added the insurance run in the bottom of the sixth when Andrew Barry's RBI single with one out drove in Olson to give the Crusaders a 6-2 lead.