Rochester, NY - Walking 11 batters while committing seven errors and leaving 20 men on base, the Clarkson University Baseball team gave too many chances and didn't take advantage of its own in dropping a doubleheader to 17th-ranked University of Rochester, 9-4 and 5-2, in Liberty League action Saturday afternoon.
The Golden Knights, who have lost four straight, moved to 11-15 overall and 5-6 in conference games, while Rochester improved to 24-8 and 13-5. The two teams will play again on Sunday as Clarkson will try to pick up wins from starters Austin Pitkin and Greg Chojecki.
In the opener of the doubleheader, the Golden Knights got on the scoreboard first as Matt Holiday (Syracuse, NY) drove in Matt Giordano (Liverpool, NY), who had opened the inning with a middle and advanced around the bases on a sacrifice bunt and stolen base. It would be the last lead Clarkson would hold in the game as Rochester responded with three in the third inning. The Knights would tie the game up, 3-3, in the top of the fourth, plating a run on a throwing error and another on an RBI single from Matt Curry (Richland, NY), but the middle innings would continue to haunt Clarkson as they have all season as Rochester took control with two in the fourth and four more in the fifth inning to take a 9-3 lead. The Knights got one back in the seventh on an RBI single from Cale Giroux (Cortland, NY), but the rally came up short.
Holiday and Giroux each recorded two hits and drove in a run for Clarkson. Blayne Fuke had two hits and drove in three for Rochester.
In game two, again the Knights scored first, tallying twice in the first on a throwing error as both Curry and Brady Torbitt (Fulton, NY) came around to give Clarkson a 2-0 lead. However, Rochester scored three in the second inning and unearned runs in both the fourth and fifth inning to round out the scoring.
Curry and Torbitt each had two hits for the Knights, but Clarkson was limited to just six hits in the contest. Rochester wasn't much better offensively, recording eight hits, but the Knights aided the Yellowjackets by committing six errors throughout the second contest, plating only two of their five runs via RBIs.
