Clarkson Tries To Break Slump Against Bard

After a 4-2 start in conference, the Clarkson University Baseball team has slumped to just one win its last five starts. The Green and Gold will try to turn that around with a four game set against Bard on Friday and Saturday in Jack Phillips Stadium.

Clarkson is 8-11 on the season and is 5-5 in the Liberty League which puts the Golden Knights in the fourth and final playoff spot. Last weekend Clarkson traveled to RPI and lost three of four games before falling to SUNY Canton in the home opener. Clarkson is fourth in batting in the conference, as the Golden Knights are hitting .286 in league games and fourth in pitching as well with a 4.66 ERA. Ted Wilson has been the most consistent performer for Clarkson as he leads the Liberty League with four wins on the mound and is second with an ERA of 1.50. Wilson has a team high 30.0 innings and has thrown one of Clarkson's two complete games with Andrew Smith tossing the other. Smith leads Clarkson with 18 strikeouts in 18.1 innings pitched while Ryan Riley and Jeremy Barber have 14 punchouts of their own.

Dom Pirro, Chris Miller, Ben Knauf, and Joe Fraser combined for all 11 of Clarkson's hits in the 10-7 loss against Canton on Tuesday afternoon. Pirro leads Clarkson with a .375 batting average and Knauf is right behind him with a .354 mark. Miller leads the team with seven extra base hits, all of them doubles, while Fraser is second with four two-baggers of his own. Pirro is also the team leader in RBI's (14), slugging percentage (.528) and home runs (2). Knauf is the team leader in on-base percentage, at .456.

Bard has an 8-12 overall record and a 3-5 conference mark. After being picked to finish last in the league standings in the preseason poll, the Raptors are in seventh and are just two games out of a playoff spot. Bard was at 3-2 in conference after opening a four game series against Skidmore with a win, but Bard dropped the next three to take a three game losing streak into the series at Clarkson. Adam Carafotes is fourth in the Liberty League with 27 hits, tied for first with eight doubles, and tied for second with three triples. Matt Lasky leads the league with 20 walks and is second in on-base percentage (.547). Evan Richardson has struck out a team high 30 batters in only 27.1 innings.

Clarkson swept a four game series at Bard last year by the combined score of 30-10. Clarkson has now won all eight conference games it has played against Bard with the other four coming in the 2014 season.

The two teams will start the weekend off with a doubleheader on Friday starting at 1:00 pm. That will be followed with another doubleheader on Saturday with first pitch scheduled for 10:00 am.

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Players Mentioned

#24 Ben Knauf: OF; 6' 4"; Junior; R/R

#11 Chris Miller: OF; 6' 0"; Senior; L/L

#22 Dom Pirro: RHP/OF; 6' 1"; Senior; R/R

#34 Ryan Riley: RHP; 6' 0"; Sophomore; R/R

#2 Andrew Smith: RHP; 6' 2"; Junior; R/R

#31 Ted Wilson: LHP; 6' 2"; Senior; L/L

#26 Jeremy Barber: RHP; 6' 4"; Senior; R/R

#30 Joe Fraser: IF; 6' 0"; Freshman; L/L

Players Mentioned

#24 Ben Knauf
: 6' 4"; Junior; R/R
: OF

#11 Chris Miller
: 6' 0"; Senior; L/L
: OF

#22 Dom Pirro
: 6' 1"; Senior; R/R
: RHP/OF

#34 Ryan Riley
: 6' 0"; Sophomore; R/R
: RHP

#2 Andrew Smith
: 6' 2"; Junior; R/R
: RHP

#31 Ted Wilson
: 6' 2"; Senior; L/L
: LHP

#26 Jeremy Barber
: 6' 4"; Senior; R/R
: RHP

#30 Joe Fraser
: 6' 0"; Freshman; L/L
: IF