Troy, NY - Of all the Clarkson University Baseball teams that have taken their shot at the automatic NCAA bid given out to the Liberty League Tournament winner over the years, the 2009 squad seemed as unlikely as any. The Golden Knights of 2003 were leading in the championship finale when the rains came and dashed their hopes; the 2004 team won the regular season title and hosted the conference tournament, only to be eliminated in the championship round; the 2005 incarnation was loaded with seniors and had pitching and offense, but a pair of one-run losses snuffed out its hopes; the 2006 team was just one inning away from realizing its dream, despite a barely above .500 record, when a late rally squashed its chances and rain followed the next day; and the 2008 group just didn’t have enough offensive punch to get through the opening rounds.
Somehow, someway, everything came together for the Golden Knights at the right time of the season, finally, and the 2009 Clarkson University Baseball team will move on to its first ever NCAA appearance this week in a yet to be determined NCAA regional after beating Rensselaer 13-6 in the championship round on Sunday at Robison Field in Troy, NY.
After suffering an 8-7 loss in the first game of the championship round, the title came down to the last game of the tournament, and the Knights came out as the winner, improving to 21-19 overall. Rensselaer moved to 34-11 overall and awaits the possibility of an at-large bid to the championships.
Senior outfielder Matt Giordano (Liverpool, NY) set the tone early for the Knights homering on the second pitch of the game off Rensselaer ace Andy Mondo. Though RPI scored two in the second inning, the Knights continued to score against a weary Red Hawks pitching staff, scoring three in the third inning with run scoring hits from Cale Giroux (Cortland, NY) and Matt Curry (Richland, NY) as well as an RBI groundout from Brady Torbitt (Fulton, NY). RPI got a run back in the bottom of the inning to make the score 4-3, but a two-run bomb from Torbitt gave the Knights a 6-3 lead through four and a half innings.
In the bottom of the fifth, Rensselaer opened the inning with a pair of hits, and Clarkson reliever Justin McInerney (Grand Island, NY) came on to relieve starter David Goerold (Clifton Park, NY). McInerney gave up a three-run homer to Camden Mamigonian to tie the score at 6-6, but the sophomore would be near flawless for the remainder of the contest.
In the top of the seventh inning, Torbitt received a two-out walk and freshman David Kinney (Mexico, NY) picked the right time to hit his first collegiate home run, sending an opposite field line drive over the right-center field fence for an 8-6 Clarkson lead. In the top of the ninth, the Knights tacked on five runs with six hits, many bouncing through drawn-in infields. In the bottom of the final frame, McInerney continued to induce harmless pop flies and groundouts, culminating in a grounder to Matt Holiday (Syracuse, NY) to end the contest.
McInerney picked up the win, going five innings and allowing five hits and just a single earned run. At the plate, Giroux went 4-for-6 to lead Clarkson. Steve Magovney (Watertown, NY) went 2-for-4 while Torbitt was 2-for-5 and Curry went 2-for-6.
Photos from Clarkson's Liberty League Championship victory over RPI
