The Fulton-Montgomery Raider baseball team dropped both games of a doubleheader to Herkimer College on Thursday, falling 2-1 in a tightly contested opener before suffering a 16-0 setback in the nightcap.
Game One: Herkimer 2, FMCC 1
The opener was a pitcher's duel that saw the Raiders come up just short despite a dominant performance on the mound from Cheng En Cai. The sophomore went the distance, striking out 11 over eight innings while allowing just two runs.
Herkimer struck first in the fourth inning, but FMCC answered in the fifth. Soichiro Hanawa led the inning with a hit and later scored on an RBI single from Cai to tie the game at 1-1.
The game remained even until the eighth, when Herkimer pushed across the go-ahead run.
Hanawa paced the Raiders with two hits and a run scored, while Po Ting Lin and Wataru Yamasaki added hits in the loss.
Game Two: Herkimer 16, FMCC 0 (5 innings)
The nightcap saw Herkimer's offense erupt early, plating seven runs in the second inning and never looking back. The Generals added four runs in the third and five more in the fourth to put the game out of reach.
The Raiders were held without a hit in the game, though they worked six walks.
FMCC used four pitchers in the contest, with Christian LaFleche taking the loss. Connor Bentley provided two innings of relief, allowing just one unearned run while striking out two.
The Raiders will head into their bye weekend and will be back in action at Shuttlework Park on Thursday, April 16th when they host Broome Community College.
