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WILLIAMSTOWN, MA -- The Ephs trailed MCLA by a run in the
bottom of the ninth inning, but sophomore Pat
Barren singled to lead off the frame and jump start a four-hit
rally that ended with Stephen Maier's two-run, game-winning single
to give Williams the uplifting 7-6 victory over the
Trailblazers.
Both Williams and MCLA stand at 12-7 after today's contest.
The Ephs were coming off a difficult doubleheader weekend
against Amherst, as they were swept by their Little Three rivals by
scores of 12-1 and 4-1. It was important for the ballclub to
bounce back from these losses, as acknowledged by their head coach
Bill Barrale.
"We didn't have our best weekend against Amherst," admitted
Barrale, "but what's great about baseball is you have the chance to
come right back to the ballfield and redeem yourself.... We
got off to a really strong start today and we stayed close to them
the whole way through. It was nice to come up with the big
rally at the end for the win."
After struggling mightily Saturday, the Ephs offense didn't
waste any time getting on the scoreboard this afternoon.
Junior Al Matthews executed a hit-and-run to perfection, advancing
junior Robin Allemand to third. After Matthews stole second,
freshman Cameron Susk launched a drive that one-hopped the
right-center field wall for a bases-clearing triple. Mikell
drove him in with a grounder to first to give Williams an early 3-0
advantage.
Eph senior pitcher Ben Horowitz was tenous in his first three
innings of work, allowing 2 runs on 3 hits and 2 walks, but he came
up with big pitches in tight spots to limit the damage. In
the top of the fourth, the MCLA offense finally broke it
open. A two-out rally put runners at first and second base,
and sophomore John Ripepi laced a triple into the gap in
right-center field to put the Trailblazers ahead 4-3.
Horowitz would allow another run in the fifth before taking a seat,
leaving the game in the hands of the bullpen.
Junior hurler Thomas Coleman was first in relief. The
first two batters he faced reached base safely, but after Ripepi
failed to lay down the sacrifice bunt, Coleman induced a double
play, and then got senior Cory Burtman to ground out weakly.
After Coleman pitched a 1-2-3 seventh, freshman Ben Oliva took the
hill for the eigth. The first batter, sophomore Joe
Harrington, smacked a routine fly into right field that sophomore
Pat Barren misjudged. The ball bounced over his head for a
double and Harrington would later score on a sacrifice fly to give
MCLA a two-run lead. Senior Zach Stone came on in the ninth
and pitched a scoreless half inning.
"Ben Oliva did a nice job as did Stone at the end," remarked
Barrale. "[Coleman] kept his composure in his first
inning of work and hit his spots well.... We have a lot of pitchers
in that bullpen and that's why we need them."
After a rocky first inning, MCLA rookie starter Daniel Gaines
would stay in for seven more innings work, allowing just 2 more
runs on 5 hits and 4 walks. Junior Chad Brown
knocked in an important two-out RBI off Gaines in the sixth to
bring the Ephs within one, and Susk drove in Allemand on a
sacrifice fly in the eigth after MCLA took another two-run lead in
the top half of that inning to make it a 6-5 entering the final
frame.
Junior reliever Andrew Kelley came in to close out the game for
the Trailblazers. Barren, whose errant play allowed the
Trailblazers to score their sixth run, led off the bottom of the
ninth with a sharp single up the middle. After junior Jim
Entwisle singled and senior Barrett Allison bunted a single past
Kelley, the rookie Maier stepped to the plate with the bases loaded
and delivered the game-winning blow to right field for the dramatic
7-6 victory.
"The one thing we preach to the guys is to take it one pitch at
a time," said Barrale. "Pat Barren had that fly ball go over
his head, but he didn't let it take his head out of the game, and
he got that clutch hit to start the inning.... It was a fun
rally to watch and I'm proud of the guys for staying in it to the
end."
Up next for Williams is a matchup tomorrow night against the
Blazers of Elms College at MacKenzie Stadium in Chicopee, MA.
The first pitch is at 7:30PM.
