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Knights find offense in Game Two slugfest against Rochester

Posted 4/20/13

Rochester, NY - A pair of senior aces matched up in the opener between the Clarkson University Baseball team and the University of Rochester with a swift game resulting in a 3-2 loss for the Golden …

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Knights find offense in Game Two slugfest against Rochester

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Rochester, NY - A pair of senior aces matched up in the opener between the Clarkson University Baseball team and the University of Rochester with a swift game resulting in a 3-2 loss for the Golden Knights with just nine hits combined between the two teams, but game two was a slugfest with 40 total hits as Clarkson outlasted Rochester in 12 innings, 13-11.

The Golden Knights and Yellowjackets both moved to 7-9 in the Liberty League standings and remained tied for fourth in the conference. Clarkson is now 10-15 overall and will play Rochester in another doubleheader tomorrow afternoon.

In the opener, senior starting pitcher Bryan Chudy (Goshen, NY) got touched up for a pair of runs in the bottom of the first inning, giving Rochester a 2-0 lead after its first at bat. Josh Ludwig and Ethan Sander performed a double steal to get in scoring position and Nolan Schultz followed with a single to drive in Sander, with Ludwig following him home later on a wild pitch. Clarkson would tie the game up at 2-2 in the top of the fourth inning as Greg Jasek (Chittenango, NY) walked and Matt Jenack (Massena, NY) singled, with the pair each moving up a base on a throw back from the outfield. Kyle Henchey (Rensselaer, NY) then delivered a sacrifice fly for the first run, and Nolan Driscoll (Troy, NY) drove home Jenack on a groundout.

The tie would be short-lived, however, as the Yellowjackets reclaimed the lead in the bottom half of the fourth. Schultz tripled down the right-field line to open the inning Jake Meyerson immediately followed with a sacrifice fly to make it 3-2.

Chudy took the loss, going six innings and allowing only five hits and one walk while striking out two. For Rochester, Jon Menke earned the win with six strong innings, giving up four hits and three walks. Scott Morrissey (Troy, NY) had two of the hits off Menke and also added a stolen base.

Game two didn’t start as a slugfest as Clarkson led just 1-0 through three innings with the Knights tallying one run in the top of the first on a wild pitch. Clarkson starting pitcher Pete Roma (Endicott, NY) was pitching to contact well, allowing only three hits in three innings with no walks, but in the bottom half of the fourth a one-out bases loaded triple by Dan Warren gave Rochester the lead and two more singles provided the Yellowjackets with a 5-1 edge. In the bottom half of the fifth, Warren delivered another two-run single and Clarkson was lucky to escape without any more runs thanks to a double-play and another groundout.

Clarkson started to pick up the scoring pace in the top of the sixth, as David Wixted (Ballston Lake, NY) tripled home Scott Morrissey, and then Wixted came around on a hit by John Coleman (Potsdam, NY). Jenack provided a two-run triple to plate Bobby Derico (Watervliet, NY) and Coleman, edging the Knights back within two runs, 7-5. In the bottom half of the sixth, Rochester scored one more run, but the Knights came back to tie the score in the seventh and then took the lead in the eighth on an RBI-single from Nolan Driscoll which drove home Justin Rebhun (East Greenbush, NY), who had led off the eighth with a double.

In the bottom of the eighth, Rochester appeared to put the game away with three runs to reclaim its advantage at 11-9. However, the Yellowjackets bullpen couldn’t hold the lead and Clarkson scored two on a bases loaded error.

Finally, in the top of the 12th inning with darkness starting to hover over the field, Tim Beninati (Schoharie, NY) led off with a triple and came home on an RBI-single from Bobby Derico. Matt Jenack then gave Clarkson an insurance run with an RBI-single of his own.

Junior Jarrod Mattingly (Philadelphia, NY) earned the win in relief, finishing up one out short of five innings and allowing just three hits and one walk. Six Clarkson players had multi-hit games in the 22-hit attack, with John Coleman going 5-for-8. Wixted had three hits and scored four runs and Derico also had three hits while scoring three times and driving in three more. Jenack drove in three runs with three hits as well.

For Rochester, seven different players had multi-hit games in its 18-hit attack and Dan Warren drove home five.