Saratoga Springs, NY – After registering just four hits in the opening game of the doubleheader, the Clarkson University Baseball team unleashed nearly as many home runs in game two, splitting the two-game set with Skidmore College Friday afternoon.
Clarkson lost the first game 6-1, but came back to win the nightcap 16-6. The Golden Knights saw their record move to 4-9 overall and 3-3 in the Liberty League, while Skidmore moved to 11-5 and 4-2. The two teams will complete the four-game set on Saturday afternoon.
In the first game, the Golden Knights got on the scoreboard first when Brady Torbitt (Fulton, NY) singled and was pushed to second by a David Kinney (Mexico, NY) single. After a stolen base moved Torbitt to third, he was sent home on a groundout by Garrett Russell (Lake George, NY) to make the score 1-0. Unfortunately for the Knights, that would be all they could muster against Skidmore starter Trevor Brucato. Skidmore scored twice in the bottom of the second inning thanks to an error and a sacrifice fly, and added two more in the third inning on a home run by Zach Rudman. In the fourth inning Adam Cornachione and Anthony Ferri each singled home a run to account for all scoring, giving the Thoroughbreds a 6-1 edge.
David Goerold (Clifton Park, NY) tossed a complete game for Clarkson, but took the loss, going six innings and allowing eight hits and three walks. Brucato also went the distance, throwing seven innings and giving up just four hits and a run, all while striking out seven batters.
Pete Clarke (Tully, NY) was the only hitter for the Knights to register multiple hits, going 2-for-3 with a double. Rudman and Mike Jaffe each had two hits for the Thoroughbreds.
Game two began with Jerry Coleman (Potsdam, NY) setting the tone immediately, sending an 0-1 pitch over the right field fence for a 1-0 lead. Skidmore responded with a run in the first, second, and third innings to take a 3-1 edge, but David Kinney hit his fourth home run of the season to cut the lead to 3-2. In the bottom of the fourth inning, Skidmore gained a 6-2 edge with an unearned run and a two-run single from Zach Rudman. However, from that point on, it was all Clarkson, as the Knights scored five runs in the fifth inning, capped by a fielder’s choice from Brett Peplowski (Albany, NY). In the next inning, Clarkson plated three more runs before Peplowski put the game away with a three-run bomb, his second home run of the season. Freshman Scott Morrissey (Troy, NY) then drove home Steve Magovney (Watertown, NY) to cap off the seven-run inning.
Kinney delivered his second home run of the game, a two-run shot in the ninth inning, to give Clarkson a 16-6 edge. The bomb was Kinney’s fifth home run in the last six games.
Sophomore Jordan Yells (Waterloo, NY) earned the victory for the Knights pitching 5 2/3 innings of scoreless relief. Kinney went 5-for-6 with four RBIs and his two home runs, while Matt Curry (Richland, NY) broke out of a slump with a three-hit game (3-for-6). Peplowski was 2-for-4 with four RBIs, and Coleman went 2-for-4 with 2 RBIs. Morrissey, Sam Grainger (Bedford, MA), and Anthony Farrell (Topsham, ME) each added two hits in Clarkson’s 20-hit attack. Curry’s three hits pushed him to 150 in his career, making him just the fourth player in Clarkson history to reach that mark.
