ANNANDALE-ON-HUDSON, N.Y. - The Bard College baseball team split a pair of home games Saturday afternoon, beating Liberty League rival, Skidmore College, 10-4 in the first game, before falling 11-5 in the second.
With the split, the Raptors' record is now 8-10 overall, 3-3 in Liberty League play. The Thoroughbreds of Skidmore meanwhile, sit at 7-9 overall, 2-6 in league play.
Game One opened with three and a half scoreless innings, before Bard bombed the visitors for eight runs in the bottom of the fourth.
The runs came off smart at-bats, as an
Esteban Rivera two-run single started the scoring.
Lee Perry then doubled in Rivera on the next at-bat, to put Bard up 3-0 early.
Following a
Preston Gittelson groundout to first, the Thoroughbreds' first baseman proceeded to throw to 3rd base trying to catch Perry stealing, but the throw was wide, allowing Perry to score and extend the inning.
From there, Bard made the most of the extra life they had been given, as
Matt Lasky (single),
David Schlosser (double) and another Skidmore error gave the Raptors four more runs in the frame.
Skidmore came back in the top of the fifth to cut the lead in half, 8-4, but Raptors' starter,
Evan Richardson, finished the day off strong, not allowing the visitors anymore in the contest.
Richardson picked up the win, after he went six innings, allowing just four earned runs on six hits. He also struck out seven.
Lasky led the way for Bard with two hits, two runs, two walks and the game-winning RBI single. Schlosser finished with two hits and two RBIs as well.
Andrew Aikins (Rumson, NJ) received the loss for Skidmore after going just three and two-thirds innings. He allowed eight hits, eight runs (three earned) and three walks. He also hit three batters. Josh Brown (Cold Spring Harbor, NY) finished with two RBIs in the losing effort.
After a beatdown in Game One, the Thoroughbreds returned the favor in Game Two, as they topped the Raptors, 11-5.
The visitors jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the second inning, before Bard tied in up in the bottom of the third thanks to a hit by pitch, an error and an RBI groundout.
From there, Skidmore dominated the rest of the way, scoring the next eight runs in the game (five in the sixth and three in the seventh) to take a commanding, 11-3 lead.
Bard was able to add two in the bottom of the ninth, but never really threatened Skidmore's lead.
Steve Marotta was credited with the loss for Bard, following his relief appearance for starter,
Zach Hayes. Marotta went three and a third innings, giving up just three hits and three runs (one earned).
Jay Gamboa (Portland, OR) came out with the kind of pitching performance Skidmore needed after a tough outing in Game One. He went eight innings, allowing just two earned runs on seven hits.
Lasky finished with two more walks in Game Two, in addition to a hit, an RBI and a run.
Carafotes meanwhile, doubled in Game One to extend his hitting streak to 13 games, but failed to record a hit in Game Two. He did reach base thanks to a hit by pitch though, which extended his streak of reaching base safely to 19 games dating back to last season's finale.
Matt Chipkin (Poughkeepsie, NY) led the way for the Thoroughbreds, he finished with two hits, one of which was a triple, four RBIs, a walk, a run and a stolen base.
Up next for the Raptors is another doubleheader with Skidmore College. Those games will take place in Saratoga Springs tomorrow, beginning at noon. You can follow them right here.
