St. Andrews junior Samson Williams played the outfield and saw time on the mound during his team’s 6-5 extra-innings loss to Clarion University on Thursday at Clark Field.
Both teams rallied late to win their respective games in extra innings, as both contests were scheduled for seven. The Knights maintain a .500 record at home (4-4) and hold a 4-15 overall mark heading into this weekend’s three-game Conference Carolinas series against Barton College. Saturday’s doubleheader starts at noon, while Sunday’s finale is slated for a 1 p.m. first pitch. The Eagles (1-5) snap a five-game losing streak to start the season.
Freshman Ethan Powell had five of the Knights' 14 hits on the day. Junior Josh Axelsen was 2-for-2 with a pinch hit in both games. Clarion had 13 hits, including three by junior Andrew Petruska.
GAME ONE: SAPC 4, Clarion 3 (8 innings)
The visitors took a 3-1 lead in the top of the eighth, but St. Andrews fought back with three runs in the home half to pull off the comeback.
Eagles senior Matt White hit a lead-off home run in the third inning to give Clarion an early 1-0 lead. Knights senior Andrew Mudd had an RBI-groundout in the fifth inning to deadlock the score.
Junior Erik Kempton started the eighth inning with a triple and scored on a sac fly by Matt White to put Clarion back into the lead. Petruska added an insurance run later in the frame with a single to left.
The Knights showed patience at the plate in the bottom of the eighth. Junior Charles Weber, senior Ivan Rodriguez and Powell drew three consecutive walks to load the bases. Axelsen tied the game with a two-run, pinch-hit single in the left field gap. Williams followed with a sacrifice fly that scored Powell for the game-winning run.
Sophomore starter Chris Dobbins had his best performance of the season, allowing three hits and two runs over seven-plus innings of work. Senior Travis Lee was credited with his second win of the season after recording three outs in the eighth. Dobbins had two strikeouts and Lee fanned one.
GAME TWO: Clarion 6, SAPC 5 (9 innings)
The hosts were looking for the sweep after taking a 4-0 lead into the fifth inning, but Clarion rallied to force a second straight extended game, and Rossi won it with his ninth-inning blast.
Powell was 4-for-5 for SAPC and started the scoring with a single in the third inning that plated freshman Brett Andrews. St. Andrews built its lead up with three more runs in the fourth. Senior Kyle Norris, who scored twice, led off with his team-high seventh double of the season. After a J.T. Maguire single, freshman Michael Hale plated Norris with a sac fly. Sophomore R.J. Blasi then drove in Maguire with a double, and eventually scored on a bases-loaded walk by freshman Michael Ficarro.
Maguire has hit safely in nine of his last 10 games.
The Eagles came back with one run in the fifth and three in the sixth. Senior Kirk Hays looked to win it for Clarion with a go-ahead RBI double in the top of the seventh, but Axelsen forced extra innings with a two-out RBI single in the home half.
St. Andrews had a chance at their second straight walk-off victory in the eighth when Ficarro smacked a deep double to right field. Powell tried scoring from first base on the play but the Eagles made a good relay throw to gun him out at the plate.
Lee (2-2) gave 5 1/3 strong innings in the start, allowing four runs (three earned) on just three hits. Williams tossed the final three innings but was tagged with the loss after allowing the home run to Rossi. Lee added four more strikeouts to his total and Williams whiffed three.
Sophomore Gregg Bandzuh earned the Eagles' first win by throwing two scoreless innings with three strikeouts. Bandzah started the first game, scattering three hits over six innings. Bandzuh did not allow an earned run in eight total innings of work.
Rossi and Petruska supplied Clarion with two hits apiece in the finale.
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