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WALTHAM, MA -- Despite only have one loss in
the tournament, Williams entered today's loser's bracket
championship game against Bowdoin knowing that the best they could
finish was second. In a hard fought game, the Ephs fell just short,
ending their season with a 7-3 loss. Due to a rain-altered format,
the Ephs could not advance from the loser's bracket to claim
the title because Tufts held the tiebreaker.
Williams got on the board in the top of the
first inning when designated hitter Robin Allemand '10 (Ft.
Lauderdale, FL) hit a sacrifice fly to score center fielder Stephen
Maier '12 (Orange, CT), but Bowdoin answered right back. After a lead off double, a
walk and a single loaded the bases with one out for the Polar
Bears. A sacrifice
fly and a single by Kevin Zikaras (Milford, CT) allowed Bowdoin to
take a 2-1 lead after the first. Those would be the only two
earned runs that sophomore Eddie Nadel (San Mateo, CA) would
allow.
Bowdoin capitalized on an error in the third
to add another run and then broke the game open with three runs in
the fifth. A pair of
walks and a pair of errors allowed Bowdoin to score two runs in the
inning before recording a hit. Zikaras then added a single to
increase the Bowdoin lead to 5-1.
Williams got a mini rally going in the
sixth. Third baseman
Taylor Mondshein '13 (Larchmont, NY), a star of the future
for the Ephs, led off with a walk. Second baseman Jim Entwisle
'10 (Lower Gwynedd, PA) then hit a one-out walk before Maier
sent Mondshein home with a single up the middle. Maier and Entwisle advanced on a
wild pitch and the bases were loaded when Allemand drew a walk, but
the Ephs were unable to capitalize from there.
An error in the eighth allowed right fielder
Pat Barren '10 (Worthington, OH) to score after he led off
the inning with a single, but that would be all the offense
Williams would get.
Sophomore Ben Oliva (Pacific Palisades, CA)
had another brilliant performance, pitching two scoreless innings
in relief, allowing one hit, a walk, and striking out one. Nadel finished allowing
two earned runs on four hits and two walks, striking out one over
four and a third innings of work. Tim Welch (Portsmouth, N.H.)
notched the complete game victory for Bowdoin giving up three
earned runs on eight hits and nine walks while striking out four.
Bowdoin eventually lost 6-1 to Tufts in the
championship game as Tufts claimed their first conference title
since 2002.
Offensively, the Ephs were led by Maier and
Allemand who had two hits each.
Head Coach Bill Barrale honored his seniors
after game: “The Seniors did a great job and I can't say
enough about them.
They're an awesome group of players, people, and leaders and my
heart goes out to them. I thank them for all
they've given to the program over the past four
years.” As far
as the game went, Barrale was optimistic: “We pitched great
again, but we committed five errors and its tough to win like
that. We were in a
tough spot because we knew whoever we were going to play was going
to be coming off a win. We played hard and tough but it
wasn't our day.”
The Ephs finish the season with a 23-12-1
record. They came
together as a team in April, winning twelve straight and fourteen
of fifteen at one point. The team won both the little
three and NESCAC West division crowns and finished third in the
NESCAC postseason tournament. The Ephs graduate six seniors:
star left fielder Al Mathews, ace Paul Burgdorf, hard hitting Robin
Allemand, clutch-hitting Chad Brown, defensive specialist Jim
Entwisle, and hard throwing Tom Coleman.
