GAME 1
GAME 2
Saratoga Springs, N.Y.-- The playoff bound Skidmore College baseball team closed out the regular season with a home split against Union College, taking the first game 5-0 and losing the second in 11 innings, 10-8.
The Thoroughbreds finish 26-14 overall and 17-11 in Liberty League play. Skidmore will face Rensselaer in the first round of the Liberty League tournament, on Thursday at St. Lawrence University. The Saints play Rochester in the other first round game. The Dutchmen end their season at 18-22 and 12-16.
In the opener, junior Jordan Keysor tossed a two-hit shutout and Brian Lowry blasted a three-run homer.
Skidmore got the scoring started in the third as Lowry smashed his first homerun of the season to center to take a 3-0 lead. The Thoroughbreds added some insurance in the fifth as Erik Watkins plated Geoff Green with an RBI single and scored on an RBI double from Matty Tatkow. Skidmore scored all of its runs with two outs.
Keysor (5-4) allowed just two infield singles in the first two innings before holding the Dutchmen hitless over the final five innings. He struck out five, while walking just two and faced just three over the minimum in the shutout victory.
Seth Roberts (4-3) took the loss, allowing three earned runs on eight hits.
The second game was more wide open with the teams combining for 18 runs on 28 hits and eight errors.
Union led early 5-1 before the Thoroughbreds scored five in the bottom of the third to go in front, 6-5. The big hit was a two-run, two-strike, two-out single by Casey Quinn.
Skidmore tacked on two unearned runs in the fifth to increase the lead to 8-5. Union got one back in the sixth and then two unearned runs in the eight to tie it 8-8.
The Dutchmen looked to take the lead in the 10th with bases loaded and no outs, but the the Thoroughbreds got a force at home and then right fielder Tatkow made a diving catch on a line drive and threw out James Mulpeter trying to score from third for an inning ending double play.
Union scored two in the 11th
Jason Cohen singled to open the inning, advanced to second on a sacrifice and then scored on a double to the wall by
David Peretti.
Sam Caruso then doubled down the third base line to plate Peretti for the 10-8 final.
Watkins continued his hot hitting, going 4-6 with a double and two runs, finishing 6-9 for the day. Quinn was 2-3 with three RBI.
For Union,
Dylan Katz-Wicks was 4-5, while Peretti finished 2-2 with two runs and an RBI off the bench.