Heading into the final weekend of the regular season, all six Liberty League playoff hopefuls will matchup, including the top seeded Clarkson University Baseball team hosting second place Rochester in a four game set in Jack Phillips Stadium.
Clarkson has a 12-6 Liberty League record and is 17-14 overall. Clarkson split a doubleheader with Union last weekend, dropping the first game 7-4 and then taking the second game 17-5. The two teams were scheduled to play another doubleheader on Sunday, but the weather scuttled those plans. That leaves Clarkson in first place in the conference with a .667 winning percentage, which just barely beats out Rochester's .650 mark. The Golden Knights will clinch a playoff berth with two victories this weekend. This weekend will also mark the first time since Clarkson joined the Liberty League that the top two seeds will matchup on the final weekend.
Chris Miller continues to lead the Liberty League in a multitude of offensive categories. The junior right fielder is first in batting average (.446), slugging percentage (.670), on-base percentage (.519) and runs batted in (37). He is also second in runs scored (37) and hits (50) and leads the league with four home runs in conference games. Just ahead of Miller in runs scored is Anthony Padrazo who has come around to score 37 times. Padrazo is fifth in walks and seventh in on-base percentage. Also near the top of the conference is Greg Jasek who is in the top ten of batting average, slugging percentage, on-base percentage, runs scored, hits, RBI's, and doubles. Clarkson has also done well avoiding easy outs, as the Golden Knights have struck out a league low 132 times and has hit into just ten double plays. That has helped them to amass a league-high .319 batting average.
Overall, Clarkson is just fifth in pitching in the league. However, in conference games the Green and Gold move up to second with a 3.62 ERA. Clarkson is the only team that has not allowed a home run to a league opponent. In the second game against Union, Ted Wilson threw eight and two third innings to earn his fifth win of the year. He fourth in the league in ERA with a 2.28 mark and is second with 51.1 innings pitched. Eddie Miller and Will Coleman are first and second on the team in strikeouts with 35 and 34 respectively. They each have three wins, putting them in a tie for eighth in the conference. Coleman has also allowed a league low two walks.
Rochester is 20-15 overall this year and 13-7 in the Liberty League. The Yellowjackets have won three straight games and have won eight of their past ten conference games. After dropping the series opener against RIT on Saturday, Rochester bounced back to take three straight to close out the weekend. Rochester is ranked second in the Liberty League in both batting average and ERA. Steve Eychner is the top hitter for Rochester, ranking second in the conference with a .425 batting average and a .583 slugging percentage. Aiden Finch has a team-high four home runs and 31 RBI's, marks that put him in a tie for second and in fourth place in the conference respectively. Evan Janifer and John Ghyzel have ERA's of 1.44 and 1.99, the second and third lowest in the Liberty League. Ghyzel has a perfect 6-0 record and leads the conference in wins. Janifer has also been used out of the bullpen, as he has two saves which ties him with Luke Meyerson for the team lead.
The two teams will square off in a doubleheader on Saturday starting at 1:00 pm and then another two games on Sunday with first pitch scheduled for 12:00 noon.
