Canton, NY - Senior David Goerold (Clifton Park, NY) scattered four hits and didn't reach a three-ball count until the sixth inning as the Clarkson University Baseball team clinched a Liberty League playoff spot with a 1-0 victory in the opener of Saturday's doubleheader against St. Lawrence. The Golden Knights fell in the nightcap, 7-4, at Tom Fay Field.
The Golden Knights moved to 16-16 overall and 12-10 in conference games. Clarkson can finish anywhere in the league from second to fourth, but the Liberty League Tournament will be held at Rensselaer next weekend, the site where Clarkson clinched its first-ever conference title two years ago. St. Lawrence moved to 17-18 on the season and 10-11 in the Liberty League, needing at least a split of Sunday's doubleheader to take the fourth spot in the conference playoffs.
Goerold and St. Lawrence starter Chris Cook exchanged zeroes for most of the first game, but Cook's control escaped him in the third inning, leading to the game's only run. With one out, Sam Grainger (Bedford, MA) walked and Dan Padrazo (Setaucket, NY) followed with a single through the left side. Grainger was picked off second, making it appear as if the rally would fold, but Jerry Coleman (Potsdam, NY) worked a full-count walk to push Padrazo into scoring position. Freshman Dan Lenney (Clifton Park, NY) then delivered a single to left to score Padrazo.
Goerold didn't allow a baserunner until the fourth inning when St. Lawrence freshman Khifer O'Connor delivered a two-out double to left-center. The senior righty got out of that threat two pitches later with a groundout and worked his way out of another two-out rally in the fifth. In the seventh, St. Lawrence received a leadoff single from Jeff Kott and pinch-runner Tom Pasquali moved around on a sacrifice bunt and a groundout, but Goerold again dodged any damage when he induced a groundout to end the game.
Goerold's four-hitter was his third career shutout and his 15th career complete game. The victory was also the 15th of his career, making him only the sixth pitcher in Clarkson history to reach that total. He is already Clarkson's all-time leader in innings pitched (208.0).
The second game looked like it could potentially be a blowout in the Knights favor as Clarkson scored three runs on just two hits in the second inning and another in the third for an early 4-0 lead. However, St. Lawrence was able to string together five straight baserunners in the bottom of the third to tie the score at 4-4. A sacrifice fly in the sixth proved to be the game-winning RBI, and two more runs were tacked on in the seventh inning to give St. Lawrence a 7-4 victory.
Clarkson certainly had its chances, putting the leadoff hitter on base in both the sixth and seventh innings, then sacrificing that runner over to second base, but St. Lawrence starter Jason Conde wiggled out of the jams each time. Conde threw 140 pitches before being relieved in the eighth inning with two outs. He finished with the victory, his fifth of the season, and Kyle Donaldson earned his second save of the year by retiring the final four hitters.
Grainger finished the day with four hits in five at bats along with a walk, while Pete Lasecki (Stratford, CT) contributed three hits. Padrazo also went 2-for-4 in the two-game set, scoring twice.
