After returning from its annual trip to Florida, the road does not get any easier for the Clarkson University Baseball team as the Golden Knights travel to Rochester to take on RIT to start their Liberty League schedule.

Clarkson has a 3-7 record so far this season while RIT is 4-5. In the Liberty League Preseason Poll, both teams were picked to finish in playoff position with Clarkson picked to finish third and RIT right behind them in fourth.

Although Clarkson has just a 3-7 record so far, the Golden Knights have played a strong schedule so far. The combined record of Clarkson's first six opponents is 52-27. Clarkson left Florida on a winning note, defeating conference rival Rensselaer in a wild 13-12 ten-inning game. The win will not count in the conference standings, but will give the Green and Gold confidence as RPI is the defending conference champions.

Clarkson has been led by its top four hitters who are all over the conference batting charts. Leadoff hitter and shortstop Anthony Padrazo leads the team with a .447 batting average and is first in the conference in hits with 17. Right behind him is rookie catcher Brad Pearson who is hitting .424, the tenth best mark in the conference. For his performances in Florida, including a four hit, four RBI game against Rensselaer, Pearson was named the Liberty League Rookie of the Week. Sandwiched between Padrazo and Pearson have been Chris Miller and Greg Jasek. Miller is tied with Pearson for sixth in the conference in hits with 14 and is fourth in runs scored. Jasek has a team-high five doubles and five walks to go with knocking in eight runs. Also hitting above .300 is Connor Martin who owns a .370 batting average on 10 hits.

On the mound, Ian Castle and Ted Wilson have been the best performers for Clarkson. Although Castle has an 0-2 record to show for his efforts, he has been outstanding on the mound. Castle has pitched 10 innings in two starts and has allowed just one earned run, good for a 0.90 ERA. In his second start, he held defending national champions SUNY Cortland to just one earned run on five hits in five innings. Opposing batters are hitting just .205 against Castle, the best mark on the team. Wilson leads the team in innings, wins, and ERA. Wilson is 2-1 with one complete game and a 0.73 ERA. He has allowed just one earned run and 12 hits in 12.1 innings. The other pitcher with a win for Clarkson is Rory Corcoran who threw six innings in his first career start, allowing just two runs and seven hits to earn the victory.

RIT comes off a five game trip to Florida with the Tigers going 3-2 there. RIT won two in a row in the sunshine state, the first time this season it has been able to string together multiple wins. Phil Sammon, Will Gorman, and Taylor Hogan are the three top hitters for the Tigers. Sammon is tied for fourth in hits in the conference with Gorman and Hogan just behind him in sixth. Gorman is tied for the league lead in doubles with Sammon also in the top ten. RIT's pitchers have been able to rack up strikeouts. Brian Reed, Brandon Cahill, and Rory Little are all in the top ten in the conference for strikeouts. Last season saw Clarkson split a mid-week doubleheader against RIT and then dropping the rubber match in the Liberty League Tournament. Miller knocked in all three of Clarkson's runs in Clarkson's lone win over RIT with Joe Rooney grabbing the win on the mound.

The two teams will play a doubleheader on Friday starting at 1:00 pm and two more games on Saturday starting at noon.