SARATOGA SPRINGS — The Skidmore College baseball team opened its season with a pair of victories against St. Joseph’s University Brooklyn at the Verrazano Babe Ruth Field in Staten Island on March 3.
The first game featured a three-run home run from Sam Kornet. Reliever Christian Giresi notched six strikeouts while earning the save. The Thoroughbreads finished with a 6-5 win. In game two, Skidmore dominated, 17-1. Freshman outfielder Owen Roy hit a grand slam in his collegiate debut. St. Joseph’s pitching was unruly throughout the contest, resulting in 12 walks and 7 hit-by-pitches.
The team next headed south for the Gene Cusic Classic in Fort Myers, Florida, where they lost both games of a double-header to Haverford College on March 10. The first game was a narrow 2-1 defeat, but Skidmore was blown out 20-6 in the second contest.
On March 11, the Thoroughbreads eked out a razor-thin, extra-innings 10-9 victory against Wisconsin Lutheran. The game had a wild conclusion. With 2 outs in the bottom of the 10th, sophomore Eddie Galvo reached first base with a single, scrambled to second after a wild pitch, stole third, and then ran home for a walk-off win.
As of press time, Skidmore was 3-2 on the year. Sam Kornet had been stellar thus far, earning a 1.402 OPS across all five games. Jaden Torrado, a senior outfielder from the Bronx, was also off to a great start, with 2 doubles, a triple, and a 1.158 OPS.
On the pitching front, senior Ameer Hasan has led the way with a 2.89 ERA in 9.1 innings. For his efforts, Hasan was named to the Liberty League Honor Roll.
Skidmore will have a busy schedule this week, playing a double-header against Rhode Island College on March 13, a game against Franklin and Marshall on the 14th, and two more games on the 15th against Wisconsin Lutheran and Ohio Wesleyan. The team will wrap up its trip to Florida against the University of Pittsburgh at Bradford on Saturday.
Skidmore’s first home game will be on Friday, March 22 against Bard College at the David Alexander Castle Diamond in Saratoga Springs.
Skidmore had been scheduled to begin their season on March 2 at Baruch College, but the game was canceled. Another scheduled game against SUNY Oneonta on March 6 was postponed.
