On March 31st at Rochester High School, the Rochester Rockets varsity baseball team hosted the Lincoln Railsplitters in a Tuesday night matchup, with Ajay Runkel taking the mound for the Rockets.
Rochester’s offense exploded early, launching three home runs by the top of the fourth inning to build a commanding 13-1 lead. The game was called after five innings due to the 10-run rule.
Lincoln Strikes First
Lincoln came out aggressive to start the game. On the very first pitch, a Railsplitter batter ripped a triple to center field. A sacrifice groundout soon followed, allowing the runner to score and giving Lincoln a quick 1-0 lead. However, they were unable to add any more runs in the inning.
Rockets Respond with Explosive First Inning
The Rockets wasted no time batting.
Reece Gade reached base on a walk to start the inning, bringing Sam Ferris to the plate. Ferris delivered in a big way, blasting a two-run home run over the left field fence to give Rochester a 2-1 lead.
The Rockets kept the pressure on. With the bases loaded later in the inning, Alex Eldridge hit a ground ball single to shortstop, driving in a run. Adam Anderson followed with an RBI single to center field, extending the lead. A walk to Khorbin Gregory brought in another run.
Then came the biggest moment of the inning—Reece Gade stepped back up and crushed a grand slam over the left field fence, blowing the game wide open and giving Rochester a 9-1 lead by the end of the first.
More Power in the Third
Rochester added to its lead in the bottom of the third inning. With runners on first and second, Sam Ferris lined an RBI single to center field.
Moments later, pitcher Ajay Runkel helped his own cause by launching a three-run home run over the left field fence, capping off the scoring at 13-1.
Runkel Shuts the Door
From there, all Rochester needed to do was hold Lincoln in check—and they did just that. Runkel delivered a strong performance on the mound, pitching five innings and striking out seven batters while allowing just one run.
With Lincoln unable to close the gap, the game ended after the fifth inning due to the 10-run rule.
Key performances included Ajay Runkel, who pitched five innings with seven strikeouts while also hitting a home run, Reece Gade, who blasted a grand slam to spark the team’s offensive momentum, and Sam Ferris, who contributed a two-run home run along with multiple RBIs.
The Rockets now take a short break to practice and prepare for their next matchup on Tuesday against Lanphier.