WINTER HAVEN, Fla. – The Skidmore College baseball team closing its Florida trip with a pair of Liberty League doubleheaders against Rensselaer.
 
The Thoroughbreds (4-4, 0-2 Liberty) dropped the first two games of the series, 10-4 and 3-0. The Engineers (2-3, 2-0) will square off for another two games on Sunday.
 
Down 2-0 in the first game,   Skidmore fought back to take a 3-2 lead in the top of the fourth. The Thoroughbreds scored those runs on just one hit - an RBI-single off the bat of junior Jeb Clarke (Bethel, ME/Gould Academy) - while taking advantage of three RPI miscues in the field.
 
Skidmore added a run in the top of the fifth to double its advantage (4-2). Senior shortstop Nick Barra (Pittsford, NY/Pittsford-Sutherland) dropped down a safety squeeze with one out in the inning, which brought home junior Chris Lorenz (Fair Haven, NJ/Rumson-Fair Haven Regional) from third.


That would be it for the Thoroughbred offense. The Engineers scored three in their half of the fifth to regain the lead, 5-4 and then scored five in the sixth for the 10-4 final.

In game two, RPI pitcher Greg Echeverria settled down after some early control issues to hurl all nine innings of RPI's 3-0 shutout victory. He allowed just three hits and a walk, while striking out 10. Senior Nick Petrella (West Sayville, NY/Sayville) was saddled with the tough-luck loss, giving up three runs (2 earned) on eight hits over seven innings of work.