Cortland, N.Y. - Led by five Golden Knights with two or more hits in game one, the Clarkson University Baseball team split a Liberty League doubleheader with Ithaca College, Sunday afternoon at the Gutchess Lumber Sports Complex. 

The Golden Knights see their record move to 10-7 overall while dropping to 2-3 in conference play. Ithaca now sits at 10-6 overall and 3-2 in the Liberty League. The two teams will return to action on Monday, wrapping up their league series with first pitch slated for 3:30 p.m.

In game one, Clarkson opened the scoring as Nolan Merrow and James Mason would both reach base despite keeping the ball in the infield to put runners at second and third with no outs. Following a fly out to center, James Chagnon struck a sharp ball at the third baseman who was unable to make the play cleanly, allowing Merrow to score and Mason to advance to second. The second out of the inning, a grounder to the pitcher, allowed both runners to advance to second and third before a single up the middle off the bat of David Harris brought two more across for the Golden Knights who led 3-0 after two innings. 

Clarkson added another insurance run in the top of the third and fourth innings as Beau Vardion would score in the third to make it 4-0. A one-out single allowed Vardion to occupy first before Mason produced a single of his own to the right field gap, bringing Vardion across the plate. Just two at-bats in the fourth is all it would take for the Knights to add a fifth as Seth Albert led the inning off with a single before a double from Harris brought Albert all the way around to score and make it 5-0. The Golden Knights would threaten to add even more, loading the bases with one out but Ithaca would force a strikeout and foul fly-out to get out of the frame. 

Ithaca broke through in the bottom half of the fourth for their lone run of the opener, scoring just one on a single with the bases loaded and no outs before CJ Kanick managed to work his way out of the jam, striking out the eighth, ninth and leadoff hitters back-to-back-to-back to limit any further damage. 

Clarkson added a sixth in the sixth inning as Vardion would score on a passed ball before adding five more in the top of the ninth to put the game out of reach for good. Mason, CJ Cartier and Chagnon all reached to open the top half of the final inning and all score as Seth Albert ripped a triple down the right field line to make it 9-1. Harris would then double in the next at-bat to score Albert before a fly-out to center moved Harris to third and another fly-out, this time a sacrifice fly from Joe Figliolino, scored Harris to lift the lead to 11-1 in favor of the Knights. Ithaca managed to load the bases again in the bottom of the ninth but Ryan Petrie would force a strikeout and two fly balls as Clarkson would take game one. 

Kanick was awarded the win for Clarkson, his third of the season, fanning eight while walking just three and allowing three hits through four innings. Nathan Hartley would strike out three through four innings of relief as well. 

At the plate, Harris, Vardion, Merrow, Mason and Albert all finished with two or more hits while Harris would drive in four runs and Albert would drive in three of his own. 

Into game two, Ithaca wasted no time taking an advantage in the bottom of the first as a walk, single and double before the first out made it 2-0 Bombers after one. 

Clarkson provided an immediate answer in the top of the second as Vardion would single to lead-off and then score on a triple to the right-center gap from Mason to cut the deficit in half. Mason proceeded to cross home in the next at-bat as a single up the middle from Cartier tied the score at 2-2. The Clarkson momentum would be short lived however, as Ithaca would tack on another three runs in the bottom-half of the inning, capped off by a two-run homer to make it 5-2. 

Harris led off the top of the third with a double to right center and would score on an Aidan Kuefner single through the right side to briefly bring Clarkson back to within two but that would complete the scoring from the Knights early-on. 

Three more runs from the Bombers in the bottom of the fourth, five more in the bottom of the fifth and a single run in the bottom of the seventh would force the mercy-rule as Ithaca would take game two 14-3 in seven innings. 

Mason would lead the Knights at the plate in the nightcap with two hits, both triples, while adding an RBI as well. Jacob Shirley would be handed the loss in a six strikeout performance over 3.2 innings while giving up seven hits.