Rochester, NY – Thanks to eight runs over the course of the final two innings, the Clarkson University Baseball team was able to stave off elimination with an 11-3 victory over St. Lawrence in the first elimination game of the Liberty League Tournament Saturday afternoon at Towers Field.
The Golden Knights moved to 18-17 overall on the season, guaranteeing at least a .500 season. St. Lawrence concluded its season at 19-18 and lost two of three games against Clarkson in 2010. Clarkson will face host Rochester in the second elimination game Saturday evening.
For the first three innings, Liberty League Pitcher of the Year Chris Cook, of St. Lawrence, and Clarkson’s Steve Magovney (Watertown, NY) traded zeroes on the scoreboard. However, the Knights picked up a run off Cook in the fourth inning when Scott Morrissey (Troy, NY) delivered a two-out single to left to plate Matt Curry (Richland, NY). Clarkson picked up two more in the fifth on back-to-back RBI-knocks by Brady Torbitt (Fulton, NY) and Curry, giving the Knights a 3-0 advantage.
Clarkson held the three-run advantage until the top of the seventh when the Saints plated an unearned run. That brief momentum change didn’t last for St. Lawrence, though, as Justin McInerney (Grand Island, NY) led off the bottom of the seventh with a single. After failing to get a bunt down, David Kinney (Mexico, NY) launched a two-run home run over the left field fence for a 5-1 Clarkson lead, but the Knights were far from finished. Chris Falteisek (Baldwinsville, NY) drove in Torbitt four batters later, and Curry came around on a Sam Grainger (Bedford, MA) fielder’s choice.
Up by four (7-3) going into the bottom of the eighth inning, Clarkson finished off the Saints with a four-run frame. Kinney, Torbitt, and Grainger all drove in runs to complete Clarkson’s 17-hit attack.
Magovney picked up its fourth victory of the season and lowered his season’s earned run average to 2.16 by allowing just a single earned run over seven-plus innings. Anthony Farrell (Topsham, ME) then delivered a perfect inning and a third of relief to close out the victory.
Offensively for Clarkson, Kinney went 3-for-4 and was just a triple short of the cycle, scoring three and driving in three. Torbitt went 3-for-5, crossing the plate three times and driving in two more, while Curry went 4-for-4, scoring twice. Grainger also finished 2-for-4 with a pair of runs driven in.