May 2, 2010
Potsdam, NY – For the second straight game, two innings led to the demise of the Clarkson University Baseball team as the Golden Knights were unable to minimize Rochester’s rallies, with the Yellowjackets claiming a 7-4 victory Sunday afternoon at Jack Phillips Stadium.
The Golden Knights moved to 15-14 overall and 11-8 in the Liberty League, while Rochester locked up home-field advantage in the conference tournament at 19-4 in conference games and a 28-9 overall record. Clarkson needs to take two of the four games from St. Lawrence next weekend to clinch a post-season berth, or the Knights will need help from Skidmore College against Rensselaer.
Clarkson started off the regularly scheduled nine-inning affair with back-to-back hits and then loaded the bases after David Kinney (Mexico, NY) was hit by a pitch. Brett Peplowski (Albany, NY) appeared to have started the scoring with a hit down the first base line, but the hard grounder was called foul, pushing the runners back to their respective bases. Peplowski grounded into a double play to force in a run, but that was all the Knights could muster in the inning as Rochester starter Nate Kowal induced Brady Torbitt (Fulton, NY) into a groundout to end the threat.
The Yellowjackets scored four runs on five hits in the third inning, with Steve Just’s two-run single keying the inning. Nate Stein and Jon Menke also delivered run-scoring hits in the inning.
In the fifth inning, Clarkson pulled to within one in the fifth inning when the Knights loaded the bases with no one out. A groundout by Jerry Coleman (Potsdam, NY) forced in one run and Justin McInerney (Grand Island, NY) drove in another with a single to left, making the score 4-3.
Rochester tallied three more in the seventh inning as Matt Francis hit a soft grounder through the middle to plate a pair, and Casey Storme forced in Francis with a fielder’s choice, giving the Yellowjackets a 7-3 edge. Clarkson added a run in the eighth inning, again loading the bases without an out, the third time in the contest that the Knights accomplished that feat. Unfortunately, Torbitt’s sacrifice fly was the only RBI in the inning as Clarkson made the score 7-4.
Kowal earned the win for Rochester, improving to 7-1 on the season. Bryan Chudy (Goshen, NY) took the loss, falling to 2-3. Steve Just went 3-for-4 with two runs driven in, and Francis was 2-for-4 with two runs scored and two runs batted in. McInerney went 3-for-4 for Clarkson, while Pete Clarke (Tully, NY) and Torbitt each added two hits.
