Saratoga Springs, NY – Junior David Wixted (Ballston Lake, NY) proved to be the epitome of a leadoff man for the Clarkson University Baseball team Friday afternoon, going 7-for-9 in a doubleheader split against Skidmore College, with the Golden Knights claiming the opener 9-3 before falling late in game two 9-7.

The Golden Knights moved to 4-6 overall this season and 1-1 in the Liberty League, while Skidmore also saw its record changed to 4-6 overall and 1-1 in conference games. The two teams will play another doubleheader starting at 12:00 noon on Saturday.

In Friday afternoon’s opener, Skidmore opened the scoring by producing a manufactured run in the bottom of the second inning, but the Knights would blow the game open in the top half of the next inning by crossing the plate eight times. Three extra-base hits would account as the big blows, starting with Dan Lenney’s (Clifton Park, NY) double that drove in Wixted to tie the score, and Greg Jasek’s (Chittenango, NY) double that plated John Coleman (Potsdam, NY) and Lenney to make the score 3-1. An error allowed two more to come in, and following a Kyle Henchey (Rensselaer, NY) double that drove in two, Wixted followed with a double to plate Henchey.

In the top of the fourth inning, Clarkson would complete its scoring barrage when Jasek started the rally with a two-out hit by pitch and Nolan Driscoll (Troy, NY) reached on a fielder’s choice, putting Jasek in scoring position for Bobby Derico (Watervliet, NY), who singled in the freshman designated hitter to make the score 9-1. Skidmore would add a run on a wild pitch in the sixth and added one more in the seventh with the game already in hand for the Knights.

Senior Bryan Chudy (Goshen, NY) earned his second win of the season, pitching six solid innings and striking out nine before being relieved by sophomore Matt Ehrets (Johnson City, NY) for the seventh and final frame.

The second game seemed to be a continuation of the first, with Clarkson gaining a six-run lead early in the contest. The Knights struck for a run in the top of the first when Matt Jenack (Massena, NY) sent home Wixted with an RBI-groundout, and though Skidmore responded with a run in the bottom of the second, Clarkson tallied three runs in the third and fourth innings for a 7-1 lead. John Coleman singled home Wixted to start the rally in the third, followed by a Jasek sacrifice fly that scored Coleman. Dan Lenney then came around to score, stealing third base on Nolan Driscoll’s walk, and coming around on the over throw. In the fourth, Coleman delivered a two-out hit to plate Tim Beninati (Schoharie, NY), and the rally kept going with Lenney scoring Coleman with a single and Jasek singling home Lenney.

However, Skidmore would slowly chip away in its final four at bats. The Thoroughbreds scored an unearned run in the bottom of the fifth, and a two-out single in the sixth made the score 7-3. In the bottom of the seventh, Leejay Pollacchi had a run-scoring double and came around on a two-out single by Chris Lorenz, pulling Skidmore within one. Clarkson nearly added an insurance run in the top of the eighth, but maintained its one-run advantage until Skidmore took the lead in the bottom half of the inning. Alex Barber led off the frame with a four-pitch walk and advanced to third on the next two outs. From there, Alex Pavelock singled home Barber, which began a rally that saw Skidmore score two more runs on a Lorenz base hit, giving the Thoroughbreds a 9-7 lead through eight frames. Skidmore reliever Nick Petrella struck out a pair and induced a groundout in the top of the ninth to end the game.

The top of the Clarkson lineup (1-3) went a combined 8-for-14 with six runs scored in the second game of the doubleheader, led by a four-hit effort from Wixted, who also stole a pair of bases in game two. Driscoll also had a pair of hits while Jasek and Coleman each drove in two runs. After starting the season 3-for-14, Wixted has 18 hits in his last 30 at bats and has a streak of six consecutive multi-hit games.