Men's Baseball | 4/7/2016 12:00:00 PM
Weather prevented the Clarkson University Baseball team from taking the field last weekend. The Golden Knights will get back on track this weekend when they travel to Poughkeepsie to play Vassar.
Clarkson is just 3-11 so far this season with a 0-4 conference record.
At the plate, three of Clarkson's most experienced players have stepped up. Seniors Anthony Padrazo and Greg Jasek have hit .400 and .367 respectively with junior Chris Miller between them, hitting .380. Miller leads the team with seven extra base hits, on six doubles and one triple. Padrazo is tied for first in the Liberty League in hits with 20 to his name. He has also been successful on the base paths, scoring 13 runs, which is tied for third in the conference. Jasek is tied for the team lead in runs batted in with freshman Brad Pearson. The pair have each knocked in 10 runners, which is good enough to place them in a tie for ninth in the Liberty League. Pearson is fourth on the team in hits with 14 with senior Connor Martin the fifth Clarkson hitter with double digit hits (11).
On the mound, Ted Wilson and Ian Castle have had strong starts even if their win-loss records do not reflect that. Wilson threw his second complete game of the year against RIT, but a run in the seventh inning saw Clarkson drop a 1-0 game. Wilson has an ERA of just 0.89, allowing just two earned runs in 20 innings pitched. Castle has the second lowest ERA on the team at 1.65, having allowed three earned runs in 16.1 innings. Opposing batters are hitting just .206 against the senior hurler.
Vassar owns a 9-9 overall record and its 5-3 conference mark currently has the Brewers sitting in the fourth and final playoff spot. The Brewers split a series with St. Lawrence at home before taking three of four on the road at Skidmore. After starting the season 3-6, Vassar has won six of its last nine games. Offensively Nick Johnson has led the way for Vassar. He is hitting a team-high .409 and is second in the Liberty League in runs scored with 15. Johnson is also first on the team in knocking in runs with 14 RBIs. Adam Erkis and Johnny Mrlik have been the top pitchers for Vassar, Erkis has a 1-1 record with a team-low 2.88 ERA while Mrlik is 3-1 with two complete games to his name. Both are tied for the team lead with 18 strikeouts, one ahead of Trent Berg who has the lowest opposing batting average at .240. Last season the two teams met in Florida, with Clarkson coming away with four victories, outscoring the Brewers 26-12 in the four game set.
The teams will start the series on Sunday at 1:00 pm and will follow with a rare Monday doubleheader, beginning again at 1:00 pm.
