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Clarkson University Athletics

Men's Baseball March 26, 2011

Clarkson Wins First, Rallies to Tie Game Two Before Suspended by Darkness

Poughkeepsie, NY – A five-run ninth inning helped the Clarkson University Baseball team avoid a split against Vassar College on Saturday afternoon. For now, anyway. 

The Golden Knights, winners of the first game of the doubleheader 3-2, rallied back from a seven-run deficit to tie the game, but will have to wait to see if they can finish off the comeback as game two was suspended, 10-10, due to darkness.

Clarkson, 5-4 overall, will finish the suspended game against the Brewers starting at 12:00 noon, and then will play a pair of seven-inning contests to finish the four-game set.

Offense was at a premium in the first game as the cold stifled the bats. Vassar was unable to get a base runner until the third inning on a walk, which was followed by a single. The first runner came around on a wild pitch to give the Brewers a 1-0 lead.

Clarkson responded with a run of its own in the top of the fourth inning as Pete Lasecki (Stratford, CT) led off with a single, moved up to second on a sacrifice bunt, and then to third on a wild pitch. He then came around on a groundout by Sam Grainger (Bedford, MA).

Vassar regained the lead in the bottom of the inning when Joe Castilla lifted a sacrifice fly with one out and runners on second and third. Once again, though, Clarkson came back with a pair of runs in the top of the fifth. David Kinney (Mexico, NY) nearly left the yard with a long ball, but the wind held the ball up. Fortunately for the Knights, the Vassar leftfielder couldn’t make a clean play on the ball, allowing Kinney to advance all the way to third. Jerry Coleman (Potsdam, NY) drove him in with a clean single up the middle and later came around to score on a fielder’s choice by Lasecki.

It was all that starting pitcher David Goerold (Clifton Park, NY) would require as he closed out the victory with three scoreless frames, including a game-ending strikeout with a runner on third. Goerold allowed just three hits in the game, striking out four in his second complete-game victory of the season.

In the second game, lefty Alex Giovannone (New Hartford, CT) struggled with his command in the second inning as Vassar batted around with four hits and three walks to score six runs, though Giovannone did strike out the side. Clarkson picked up a run in the fourth inning when Lasecki drove in Garrett Russell (Lake George, NY), who had stroked a two-out triple. Vassar picked up two more in the sixth inning and appeared ready to run away with the game, but Clarkson scored four in the top of the seventh inning to crawl back to 8-5 when Coleman forced in a run on a fielder’s choice, Justin McInerney (Grand Island, NY) drove in two with a double, and Dan Lenney (Clifton Park, NY) plated another with a single.

Vassar scored two in the bottom of the seventh and the Knights went down meekly in the eighth inning before breaking out in the top of the ninth. Russell singled in a run to make it 10-6 and Grainger came up big with a two-out, two-run single. After Dan Padrazo (Setaucket, NY) was hit by a pitch to reload the bases, Scott Morrissey walked to force in another run. Trailing by a run and down to the last out, David Kinney fought off numerous pitches and won his 11-pitch at bat when he was hit by a pitch on a full count to force in the tying run. Jerry Coleman just missed breaking the game wide open with a towering fly ball that probably would have left the field on a warmer and less windy day, but the ball hung up and was caught for the final out, ending the Clarkson rally.

The two teams will finish up the contest on Sunday, starting at 12:00 noon.
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