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Clarke, Saints snap slide; split with Vassar in Liberty League opener

Posted 3/31/18

Caleb Clarke went eight-plus innings on the mound for St. Lawrence to earn his first collegiate win, as the Saints split a Liberty League doubleheader with Vassar in Poughkeepsie, New York on Friday …

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Clarke, Saints snap slide; split with Vassar in Liberty League opener

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Caleb Clarke went eight-plus innings on the mound for St. Lawrence to earn his first collegiate win, as the Saints split a Liberty League doubleheader with Vassar in Poughkeepsie, New York on Friday afternoon.

The Brewers won the opening game 6-2 before the Saints took the nightcap 8-3 to snap a seven game slide and improve to 2-8 overall with a 1-1 record in conference games. Vassar is also now 1-1 in the Liberty League.

Tyler Guido (pictured above) hit a combined .500 through both games on Friday (3-for-6) with one run scored and a team-high three RBI, all in the second game. Evan O'Keeffe was also .500 at the plate against the Brewers (4-for-8) with one RBI and a run scored, while James Cronin finished 3-for-7 (.429) with a run and two RBI of his own.

Game One –

Patrick Greenan was the starter and pitcher of record in the first game for the Saints, allowing five runs on five hits in three and two-thirds innings, with three strikeouts.

Vassar took a 3-0 lead with a three-run second inning, including two runs on RBI bunts. Tanner Blough laid down a bunt single back to the mound that drove in the Brewers second run of the inning and Eric Strickland followed with a sac bunt that plated the third and final run of the inning.

The Brewers extended their lead to 5-0 with a pair of runs in the bottom of the fourth, before the Saints got on the board with two of their own in the top of the fifth.

Joe DeGuardia and Guido led off the frame with back-to-back singles, as DeGuardia singled to shortstop and Guido hit one into left field to put two runners on. After Taylor Digilio struck out for the first out of the inning, Isaac Lewis singled to center to drive in DeGuardia for the Saints' first run to make it a 5-1 game.

O'Keeffe followed in the next at bat with a single to center as well, plating Guido to cut the deficit to 5-2, but that would be all the Saints would get against the Brewers' starter Max Spencer, who went the distance in game one.

Spencer allowed just two runs on seven hits with six strikeouts in the win for Vassar.

Hits were even in the first game, as both teams finished with seven. Both teams also left seven runners on base.

Game Two –

Clark no-hit the Brewers into the fourth inning of Friday's win, and only allowed two hits through the first six. In an efficient outing in which he threw just 98 pitches, he gave up three runs (one earned) on seven hits with three strikeouts. He was relieved by Anthony Ferraro after facing two batted in the bottom of the ninth.

Ferraro did not allow a hit in relief and struck out one batter.

The Saints took a 4-0 lead in the top of the second inning with the help of five hits, a hit batter and a walk.

With two runners in scoring position and one out, DeGuardia singled through the left side to bring Anthony Butler in for the Saints' first run of the game. Jeremy Gerringer then walked to load the bases and Guido put another single through the left side for St. Lawrence to bring in two runs and push the Saints' lead to 3-0. Lewis rounded out the scoring in the frame with an RBI single to left field that drove in Gerringer.

Vassar got on the board with an unearned run on a sacrifice fly in the fourth inning to cut the Saints' lead to 4-1, but St. Lawrence got that run back in the top of the fifth win an RBI single to center by Guido that brough DeGuardia in to score.

Clark worked out of a two-out, two-on jam in the bottom of the eighth inning, as the Brewers had runners in scoring position with the tying run at the plate but he got Matt Schwartz to ground out to short to end the inning and keep the Saints in front 5-2.

In the top of the ninth, St. Lawrence tacked on three insurance runs with an RBI groundout from Evan Reichel and a two RBI single to right field from Cronin.

Vassar added another unearned run in the bottom of the ninth on an RBI groundout by Bobby Kinne, but Ferraro otherwise shut the Brewers down after coming in with two on and no outs.

For Vassar, starter Matt McGannon took the loss, giving up four runs on five hits through five innings of work. Patrick Fitzgerald and John Madsen combined to pitch the final four innings in relief, with Ftizgerald going three and a third and allowing three runs.

St. Lawrence outhit Vassar 10-7 in game two, but also made two errors. Vassar stranded nine runners on base, to the Saints' eight.

Records - St. Lawrence (2-8, 1-1 LL), Vassar (4-6, 1-1 LL)

Up Next –

The teams will face off in Poughkeepsie again on Saturday afternoon for the final two games of their four-game set. The first pitch of game one is schedule for 12 p.m.