Potsdam, NY - Needing at least a three-win weekend against St. Lawrence, the Clarkson University Baseball team saw its streak as one of only two teams to reach every Liberty League post-season tournament come to an end in a doubleheader sweep at the hands of the Saints, 6-1 and 6-5, Saturday afternoon at Snell Field.
The Golden Knights dropped to 6-22 on the season and 6-10 in conference play while St. Lawrence moved to 17-12 and 12-6 in the Liberty League. The two teams face one another again on Sunday at Tom Fay Field in Canton, NY.
Clarkson got on the scoreboard first in both games, but allowing a big inning did the Knights in each game. In the opener, the Knights scored in the second inning to take a 1-0 lead on a RBI-single from Zach Richardson (Parishville, NY) when he drove home Gerald Stothers (Fort Myers, FL), who had led off the inning with a single. However, the Saints responded with four in the top of the third, highlighted by a two-run double by Joe Regonlinski. Two innings later Andy Engebretson hit his sixth home run of the season with a two-run shot to make the score 6-1.
Engebretson finished 2-for-3 in the game with three RBIs and Matt Carrigg also was 2-for-4 for the Saints. While Clarkson matched St. Lawrence's seven hits in the first game, the safeties were spread out among seven different hitters.
Steve Bodnar won his second game of the season for the Saints, striking out seven in a complete-game seven-hitter, while Darrell Carey (Dade City, FL) was saddled with the loss in a complete-game effort.
In game two, Clarkson again got on the board first in the second inning with a double by Richardson, which this time plated Ralph Rizzo (Bohemia, NY). Again, St. Lawrence scored four times in a frame, this time the fifth inning, with a two-run triple from Andrew Ford and a two-run double by Matt Yaworsky. Clarkson came back with two in the bottom of the inning when Mike Armstrong (Penfield, NY) scored on an error and Matt Giordano (Liverpool, NY) came home on a ground out by Sean Griffin (Walden, NY).
The two teams exchanged two-spots in the seventh inning as Matt Carrigg doubled home a run for the Saints and another came home on a bases loaded walk by Joel Kocan. Griffin delivered a two-run single in the bottom of the inning for the final Clarkson runs.
Troy Lassail earned his fourth victory of the season by scattering six hits in six and two-thirds innings while striking out just two. Ryan Duff came on to pitch the final two innings and earn the save. Yaworsky was 3-for-5 with a pair of RBIs and Engebretson went 2-for4. Ford also was 2-for-3 with two runs and two runs batted in.
On the Clarkson side, David Potter (Crown Point, NY) took the loss, pitching six innings and striking out seven. Again, no Clarkson hitter recorded more than a single hit, but Griffin drove home three runs and Armstrong scored twice.