Despite scoring a pair of runs in the bottom of the seventh to tie the game and force extra innings, St. Lawrence baseball dropped the first game of the two-game set 9-8 after an RBI single by Skidmore's Steven Gilbert in the top of the ninth. A three-run seventh by Skidmore in game two proved to be the difference, as it claimed a 6-3 victory to take the first two games of this four-game set from the Saints on Tom Fay Field Saturday afternoon.

With the losses, St. Lawrence is now 14-16 overall and 5-12 against conference opponents this season, while Skidmore improves to 10-18 and 4-12 in the Liberty League.

St. Lawrence was the first to put runs on the board in both contest, as the Saints jumped out to a 3-0 lead with RBIs by Kyle Liszewski, Tom Sullivan and Chris Fernandez in the bottom of the second inning. Skidmore answered with two runs of its own in the top of the third and another in the fourth to completely erase the early deficit and tie the game at 3-3.

But a Fernandez double to right center plated both Mic Regan and Isaac Lewis and helped the Scarlet and Brown regain a brief 5-3 lead before Skidmore's Mat Marino homered to left to lead off the top of the fifth to make it 5-4 and the Thoroughbreds strung together five hits and plated three additional runs to take a 7-5 lead.

Lewis drove in Kyle MacDonald to make it 7-6 in the bottom of the frame and after Skidmore added it's eight run in the seventh, sophomore Devin Robson led off the Saints half of the inning with a line-drive solo homerun to left field before Adam Reichel tripled and Lewis earned his second RBI of the day on a single to left to tie the game at 8-8.

In the top of the ninth, Nick Barra came to the plate with one out and drilled a line drive toward the gap in left center; both Mark Syron and Mic Regan had a beat on it, but the pair collided and the ball dropped in for a double. Regan would leave the game due to injury, while Syron remained in left.

It was Barra who scored the winning run on Gilbert's single in the team's next at bat off of reliever Ben Jenkins.

Barra also picked up the win on the mound for Skidmore, as he was the pitcher of record when his team took the lead. He threw one and two-thirds innings without allowing a hit and striking out four.

Liam Rogers, who came in in relief of starter Sam Downes, took the loss for St. Lawrence. Rogers went three and two-thirds innings and gave up two runs on five hits. Downes allowed nine hits and seven runs in four and two-thirds.

In the second game Syron, who reach on a fielder's choice and then stole two bases, came around to score on a single by Reichel to give the Saints 1-0 lead in the bottom of the first.

Skidmore added two runs on four hits in the fourth to take a 2-1, but St. Lawrence answered with a run by first-year Beau Yaremko on sac fly by Fernandez to tie things at 2-2.

However, Skidmore plate a run in the fifth and three in the seventh to take a 6-2 lead and put the game out of reach for St. Lawrence.

Lewis scored the Saints final run of the day in the bottom of the seventh inning, he was a combined 6-for-8 with two RBI and three runs scored to lead the team.

Senior Andrew Schreyack threw six innings and allowed 12 hits and three runs while striking out four batters in the start. Frank Grady came in in relief and was the of record, as he conceded three runs before recording an out. Andrew Bannon earned a complete-game victory for the Thoroughbreds.

The teams will complete their four-game set with two more games on Tom Fay Field in Canton on Sunday afternoon. First pitch on game one is scheduled for 12 p.m.