Game 1
Game 2
Saratoga Springs, N.Y.-- In a wild afternoon of baseball, the Skidmore College baseball team emerged from a pitching duel and a slugfest for 1-0 and 15-11 seep of Liberty League leader St. Lawrence University at David Alexander Castle Diamond.
The teams will complete the series on Saturday, starting at 11 a.m.
The Thoroughbreds move to 1/2 game back of the Saints with a 12-6 Liberty League and 21-8 overall record. SLU is 12-5 and 19-8.
The opener featured a pitching duel between Skidmore's
Zack Rudman and SLU's Jason Conde as the teams combined to muster just one unearned run and eight hits.
The Thoroughbreds put up the game's only run in the third as
Jesse Frehling led off with a walk, advanced on a bunt and later scored on a fielding error to give Rudman all the run support he would need.
St. Lawrence had back-to-back singles with two outs in the sixth, but Rudman was able to strike out the batter and end the threat.
Rudman (5-2) allowed five hits, while striking out seven and walking none. He allowed just one runner to reach second base. Conde (4-3) was equally impressive, allowing just the one run on three hits (two infield singles) while striking out four and walking one.
The second game was a complete opposite of the first with the teams combining for 26 runs on 28 hits.
Skidmore got a quick start with four in the bottom of the first and three more in the second to take a 7-0 lead. Rudman had a pair of RBI doubles and
Matty Tatkow had a two-run double to help the Thoroughbreds to the early lead.
The Saints battled back with three in the top of the third to make it 7-3 on RBI doubles by Khifer O'Connor and Paul Piatelli. The Thoroughbreds came right back with three of their own in the bottom of the third to lead it by seven again, 10-3.
After a scoreless fourth, Carter Franz opened the fifth with a triple and then scored on an O'Connor single to make it 10-4.
A scoreless sixth gave way to a wild seventh inning. The Saints tied it 10-10 in their half of the inning with six runs on five hits and a walk. It was Franz again with a two run triple, followed later in the inning by a three-run homer from Mark Syron.
It didn't take long for the Thoroughbreds to regroup, going back in front 15-10 by scratching out five runs in the bottom of the seventh on a walk, four singles, and a two-run
Nick Barra double.
Franz drilled his third home run of the season in the eighth, but that was it for the Saints.
Rudman finished 3-5 with three runs, and two RBI. Tatkow was 3-5 with three runs and two RBI and Barra, Eric Watkins, and
Geoff Green had two hits each.
Franz was a single short of the cycle for the Saints, going 3-4 with four runs and three RBI., while O'Connor was 4-5 with two RBI.
Andrew Bannon (1-1) earned the win in relief. Chris Kellogg (1-1) took the loss.
<cpi12>
Skidmore College 1, SLU 0 (Apr 20, 2012 at Saratoga Springs, NY) (Game 1)
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SLU................. 000 000 0 - 0 5 2 (19-7, 12-4 Liberty)
Skidmore College.... 001 000 X - 1 3 0 (20-8, 11-6 Liberty)
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Pitchers: SLU - Jason Conde and Matt D'Auteuil. Skidmore College -
Zack Rudman and
Geoff Green.
Win-
Zack Rudman(5-2) Loss-Jason Conde(4-3) T-1:40 A-125
Game: SCBB420A
<cpi12>
Skidmore College 15, SLU 11 (Apr 20, 2012 at Saratoga Springs, NY) (Game 2)
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SLU................. 003 010 610 - 11 13 3 (19-8, 12-5 Lib)
Skidmore College.... 433 000 50X - 15 15 2 (21-8, 12-6 Lib)
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Pitchers: SLU - Matt Skelly; Michael Dell'Olio(3); Chris Kellogg(3); Paul Piatelli(7) and
Matt D'Auteuil; John Ainsley. Skidmore College -
Isaac Forman;
Nick Petrella(4);
Justin Willig(7);
Andrew Bannon(8) and
Geoff Green.
Win-
Andrew Bannon(1-1) Loss-Chris Kellogg(1-1) T-3:12 A-145
HR SLU - Carter Franz (3); Mark Syron (2).
Weather: Warm, 75 at start, breeze
DELL'OLIO, M faced 2 batters in the 3rd.
Game: SCBB420B
