A pair of close games in the late innings fell to the side of the Yellow Jackets as the St. Lawrence University baseball team suffered 4-3, and 8-6 losses to Rochester on Saturday afternoon at Tom Fay Field

The Saints fell to 8-17 on the season and 3-12 in Liberty League play, while the Yellow Jackets improved to 22-11, and 14-2 in the conference.  
 
Jimmy Liberatore and Caleb Clark each brought in two runs in game two, while Jackson Brinker had the lone RBI in game one for the Scarlet and Brown.

Game 1: St. Lawrence 3, Rochester 4 (7 Innings)

Game one cruised from the get-go as Jack Sylvia and Rochester's Trevor Van Allen each dominated from the mound.
 
Neither hurler flinched until the top of the third, when the Yellow Jackets earned a double off Sylvia and singled the runner home.
 
The contest would remain 1-0 until the bottom of the sixth, where the Saints would finally get to Van Allen. John Donnellan started the inning reaching on an error and was moved to third by a Stephen Colangelo bunt single. Brinker brought the first-year home with a sacrifice fly to tie the game.
 
In the next at-bat, Timothy Connor hit a double down the right field line that was botched by the fielder. The error allowed Colangelo to come all the way around and score to take the 2-1 lead.
 
Rochester would respond in their last ups loading the bases with two outs. A passed ball would tie the contest before Matzat brought two Yellow Jackets home with a single bringing the score to 4-2.
 
Sean Desjardins opened the bottom of the seventh with a walk and would advance to third on a pair of groundouts. The sophomore came home on a wild pitch, but the Saints were unable to tie the game up.
 
Sylvia turned in a good day on the bump pitching a complete game giving up just two earned runs. The senior struck out four batters in seven innings.
Game 2: St. Lawrence 6, Rochester 8 (9 Innings)

The Saints were close to getting the scoring in the first after two consecutive two-out walks, but could not bring the runners home.
 
Instead, it was Rochester in the next half-inning that brought three runners home. A one-out single, double, and walk led to a bases-loaded opportunity. Leadem would single to right field but the ball was misplayed allowing all three runners to come around the paths. They would extend the lead to 4-0 in the third on a stolen base that brought the runner at third home.

St. Lawrence finally hit the scoreboard in the bottom of the third when Clark brought Connor, who singled his way aboard, home with a single of his own to left field.

The game went into the bottom of the fifth, where the Scarlet and Brown inched closer. A series of walks from Rochester loaded the bases for the Saints. They would bring a run in off a wild pitch, then Connor would score on a Clark ground out to make it a one-run game at 4-3.

St. Lawrence would then take the lead in the bottom of the sixth. With two outs away early, Colangelo singles aboard and advanced to third on a stolen base and a wild pitch. Tynan Creagh would reach on an error scoring a run and keeping the inning alive. Brinker would single, and Connor would walk to load the bases again. Liberatore would scorch a single to left field to bring in two runners and take the 6-4 lead.
The Yellow Jackets would get one back with a sacrifice fly in the top of the seventh.

The contest rolled into the top of the ninth where the Saints had a chance to shut the door. Instead, three straight one-out singles would tie the game at 6-6. A sacrifice fly and another single would give Rochester the lead at 8-6.

The Saints were unable to mount a comeback in the last half-inning.

Michael Hutchins started and pitched six innings giving up just one earned runs on five hits. The pitcher also had three strikeouts. Joshua Polumbo pitched two and a third in relief, while Brett Parker finished off the final two-thirds innings.

The Saints will be back in action this week with a pair of non-conference games against Plattsburgh and Hamilton. On Tuesday, the Saints play the Cardinals at Tom Fay Field at 3:00 p.m. , then travel to Hamilton on Wednesday to face off against Hamilton.