Game 1 Box
Score
Game 2 Box
Score
CLINTON, NY- The Williams College baseball team completed the
sweep of NESCAC rival Hamilton, with two wins Saturday afternoon,
10-3 and 16-9. The Ephs improve to 17-7, with a 6-2 NESCAC
record on the season.
Williams continues to stay red hot on offense, pounding out 11
hits in Game 1 and 14 more in Game 2, including four
round-trippers. The Ephs also received strong outings from
junior Paul Burgdorf and senior Ben Horowitz, who started Game1 and
2 respectively.
"We had two great pitching performances today," said Eph head
coach Bill Barrale. "For the most part, we had a clean
defensive weekend and that was key for us."
The first game was to seven innings, and the Continentals
started their junior ace Max Foster, who entered the game with a
perfect 4-0 record. The Ephs jumped on Foster early, as
junior Al Matthews singled in freshman Stephen Maier to give
Williams an early lead. Two batters later, senior slugger
Taylor Mikell smashed a drive over the right field wall to put the
Ephs up 3-0 after one half inning.
After a one-two-three bottom half, Williams went right back to
work against Foster in the second, when Maier left the park to make
to a 5-0 score. Burgdorf shut out Hamilton through six
innings, allowing a mere 3 hits and walking just 2. The Ephs
put the game away in the top of the seventh, scoring 5 more runs
against the Continentals relief pitching. Both Maier and
sophomore Pat Barren hit 2-run doubles, and Matthews added one more
with an RBI single.
Burgdorf's complete game shutout was spoiled in the final frame,
as sophomore Joe Buicko and freshman Samuel Choate drove in
back-to-back runs with two outs, but it was not enough for the
comeback, as Burgdorf battled out of the inning for the 10-3
victory.
"Paul Burgdorf pitched a great game for us and it really set the
tone for both games," commented Barrale.
Game two was a nine-inning contest, and the Ephs again struck
first in the opening frame, as Matthews batted in junior Robin
Allemand after he singled, advanced to second on an error, and
advance to third on a passed ball. Horowitz cruised through
his first two innings of work for Williams, and Matthews came
through for him again in the top of the third with an RBI
double. After Hamilton went to the pen in the fourth, Barren
and Maier knocked in two more runs to give the Ephs a 4-0.
The Continentals finally got to Horowitz in the bottom half of
the fourth. After a leadoff walk and a fielding error, senior
Gideon Clark scored on a throw down to first, and junior Alex
Augustyn followed up by doubling in the second Hamilton run.
Williams threw the ball around after a single up the middle to
allow another unearned before finally getting out of the inning
with their lead still in tact at 4-3.
The Eph offense responded in a big way in the fifth.
Matthews began the hit parade with a solo homer. After
freshman Cameron Susk singled and stole second, Mikell singled him
in to make it 6-3. Two batters later, senior Zach Stone drove
in junior Chad Brown with an RBI single, and after Barren walked,
Maier cleared the bases with a 3-run homer to left field, his
second of the day. Mikell batted-in Matthews in the next
inning to put Williams ahead 11-3 after six innings.
Horowitz exited the game after six, having allowed just 1 earned
run and 5 hits while striking out 4. Junior Thomas Coleman
entered in relief at the top of the seventh and struggled in his
inning of work, loading the bases and allowing a run on 1 hit and 3
walks. Freshman Harry Marino came in to get the final out,
but not before surrendering 3 additional runs on 2 hits and a
walk. Williams went into the eighth holding just a 10-7
advantage.
Once again, Williams blew the game open late, scoring 5 runs in
the top of the eighth on a 2-run single by Stone, a sacrifice fly
by freshman Chase Davenport, and an RBI double by Barren, who later
scored on a wild pitch. Marino surrendered 2 more runs in the
bottom of the frame, but he and the Ephs held on for a 16-9 win.
"Horowitz pitched great in the second game," said Barrale.
"He walked some guys in the seventh but our offense had his
back..... Barren, Maeir, and Stone had a great weekend and
provided the big lift that our offense needed. It's nice to
be back and rolling on a win streak as we've made it six in a row
now and its always great to get those conference wins."
Up next for the squad is a home game against non-conference
opponent Southern Vermont this Wednesday. The first pitch
will be thrown at 4:00PM at Bobby Coombs Field, as the Ephs will
look to make it seven in a row as they head into an important
doubleheader against rival Wesleyan next weekend.
