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Rochester, NY – A day after getting clipped by one run in both games of a doubleheader, the bats woke up early for the Clarkson University Baseball team as the Golden Knights made sure of a win with a convincing 19-9 victory against University of Rochester on Saturday morning.
The Golden Knights snapped their three-game losing skid and improved to 7-5 overall and 1-2 in conference, while Rochester fell to 7-7 and 2-1. Clarkson is slated to host Ithaca College next weekend for a three-game set.
With the game moved up two hours due to impending showers, it was possible that the teams may not be ready to hit, but that proved false in the top of the first. Seth Albert walked and Aidan Kuefner immediately followed with a two-run homer to left to put the Knights on the board. Five batters later the bases were loaded and Joe Figliolino scored on a wild pitch to make it 3-0.
In the top of the third, Beau Vardion delivered a two-run ground-rule double to plate both Cam Jerrett and CJ Cartier, giving the Knights a 5-0 lead, but the Yellowjackets picked up a run in the bottom half of the inning thanks to an RBI double by Colby Cruser.
Clarkson posted nine runs in the top of the fourth to all but put the game away, doing all of the damage with two outs. The Knights put two runners on with a single and a walk, but two quick outs looked like it could end the threat. Christopher Griggs then loaded the bases when he was hit by a pitch and James Mason followed with a single to score one. Beau Vardion then reached on an error, pushing two more runs across, and Jackson Waters singled in another to make it 9-1. Kuefner added on to his big day with a three-run triple, then scored himself on a double by Figliolino. Cam Jerrett’s single plated Figliolino to put the tally at 14-1.
Rochester ticked away at the deficit with a solo home run from Ethan Jaquette and an RBI fielder’s choice for Jackson Reed, but Clarkson got the runs right back thanks to James Mason’s two-run homer in the top of the fifth, making it 16-3.
It looked like Clarkson would end the game in the seventh with its 13-run lead, but Rochester challenged the idea with back-to-back doubles from Jackson Reed and Colby Cruser, cutting the margin to 16-4. After a single from Josh Leadem, Cruser scored (16-5) on a fielder’s choice that eliminated Leadem at second base and put Jaquette on first with one down. A single added another base runner and Sammy Besztery doubled down the line to plate two more and Sammy Smith doubled near the same spot for two more RBI, drawing the Yellowjackets back to within seven.
The game eventually did end after eight innings due to the 10-run rule when Clarkson scored three in the top half of the inning and held Rochester without a run in the bottom. Kuefner drove in a run with an RBI groundout, scoring Seth Albert who had singled, stole second, and moved to third on a wild pitch. A walk and a single reignited the rally and CJ Cartier drove in Figliolino with a single. That hit was immediately followed by a single from Griggs, which scored Jerrett for Clarkson’s 19th run.
Kuefner drove in six runs with two extra-base hits, going 3-for-6 at the plate and scoring three times. Cartier also was 3-for-6 in the game, while James Mason and Cam Jerrett each had two hits. Figliolino was 1-for-2 with a double, but scored four times thanks to drawing four walks in the game. Jacob Shirley got the start and went four innings, striking out four and allowing five hits in that stretch.