Potsdam, NY - In desperate need of some wins to keep itself from falling too far behind the Liberty League leaders, the Clarkson University Baseball team rode a pair of solid pitching performances from Bryan Chudy (Goshen, NY) and Pete Roma (Endicott, NY) to sweep Skidmore College 4-2 and 10-4 Friday afternoon at Jack Phillips Stadium at Snell Field.

The Golden Knights moved back above .500 at 10-9 overall and improved to 4-6 in conference games, while Skidmore fell to 13-6 overall and 6-4 in league contests. The two teams will play another conference doubleheader starting at 12:00 noon on Saturday.

Skidmore opened the first game with a run in the top of the first inning as Geoff Green reached on a dropped fly ball. Leejay Pollacchi singled Green home on a bunt after Green had moved up on a wild pitch, giving the Thoroughbreds a 1-0 lead against Chudy. However, the advantage evaporated quickly as the Knights struck for two in the bottom half of the inning. David Kinney (Mexico, NY) singled home John Coleman (Potsdam, NY), who led off the game with a walk. Dan Lenney (Clifton Park, NY) then bounced a base hit through the right side to plate Kinney, making the score 2-1.

The score would remain unchanged for the next four innings as Chudy and Zach Rudman tossed up zeroes on the scoreboard into the sixth inning. In the bottom half of the frame, Clarkson got a one-out walk from Matt Jenack (Massena, NY), who was then followed by a single from Jerry Coleman (Potsdam, NY) on a shot back to the pitcher. The duo executed a double steal to move into scoring position and Scott Morrissey (Troy, NY) then delivered a two-run double as his liner sent chalk flying about 10 feet behind third base, giving the Knights a 4-1 edge. In the top of the seventh, Skidmore would pick up a run on a bouncing single through the middle from pinch-hitter Brian Lowry and a sacrifice bunt put runners on second and third with just one out. Chudy struck out Geoff Green swining and then induced a groundball to end the threat, giving Clarkson a 4-2 victory.

Kinney went 2-for-2 in the game, while Jerry Coleman added a 2-for-3 performance for the Knights. Matty Tatkow went 2-for-3 for the Thoroughbreds. On the mound, both starters pitched well as Chudy whiffed seven and walked none in his complete-game victory, while Rudman struck out six and allowed six hits and three walks in six innings of work.

In the second game, Skidmore picked up a run in the first inning on a two-out bloop single from Pollacchi that was almost snared by centerfielder Scott Morrissey. That was the final hit the Throughbreds would get until the sixth inning as Roma pitched to soft contact. In the fourth, the Knights made three impressive defensive plays as Jerry Coleman made a nice play on a line drive to short right, David Wixted (Ballston Lake, NY) made a diving catch in right, and Tim Beninati (Schoharie, NY) made a sliding catch near the fence on the first base side on a foul pop up behind home plate.

Offensively for Clarkson, once again, the Knights wouldn't allow Skidmore to enjoy its lead for long, scoring four times in the bottom half of the first. John Coleman led off the inning with a triple and two batters later Kinney singled through the left side to plate a run. Wixted followed with a single to center and two more runs came around on a dropped sacrifice fly and errant throw. Three more runs came in for Clarkson in the bottom of the second as Kinney singled home Coleman, who led off the inning with a double. Wixted followed with another RBI-single, and Dan Lenney plated a run with a sacrifice fly, giving Clarkson a 7-1 edge.

In the sixth, Skidmore finally got to Roma, scoring a run on a double from Erik Watkins, and an inning later the Thoroughbreds added two more. Roma and reliever Jarrod Mattingly (Philadelphia, NY) combined to hit three straight batters, setting up a double from Alex Barber that scored one run, but another was cut down on a baserunning miscue from Skidmore.

The Knights made sure that their three-run lead held up by scoring three more times in the eighth inning as Kinney just missed his second home run of the season, doubling off the top of the fence to plate one. Wixted followed with a two-run single to make the score 10-4.

John Coleman went 3-for-3 with two triples and a double and Kinney was 3-for-4 with three runs scored and three driven in. Wixted also was 3-for-5 with four RBIs. Roma picked up the win, allowing five hits and two walks over six-plus innings, for Clarkson. Skidmore's Isaac Forman allowed his first earned runs of the season, giving up five earned among the seven total.

With his double in the eighth inning, Kinney broke Clarkson's career mark for total bases (267). Earlier this season, he also set the record for most extra-base hits.