Box Score
CLINTON, NY—K.C. Murphy and Cameron Susk homered and Matt Kastner added three hits as the Ephs completed a three-game sweep of Hamilton. After taking 3-2 and 7-6 victories on Saturday, thirteen hits propelled Williams to a more decisive 10-3 win Sunday.
Williams wasted no time in jumping out to a fast start in the team's conference finale, a game that was never close. The away team batted around in the top of the first, tallying five runs in the process and providing some cushion for starter Ben Oliva. Murphy, Jimmy Ray, and Adam Marske each had RBI singles in the inning.
Murphy added more fireworks in the third. After Marco Hernandez led off the inning with a walk, Murphy took a Joe Wagner offering over the left field fence to stretch the lead to 7-0.
The support was more than Oliva needed in the nine-inning contest. The lefthander scattered eight hits through his eight innings of work, granting three runs while fanning eight batters. The win improved him to 3-1 on the year.
Oliva's start came in stark contrast to senior Continental Brendan Rafalski. Rafalski lasted just two-thirds of an inning before yielding to Wagner, who lasted through the third inning. In the fourth, Mike Affuso relieved Wagner but to no avail. For the second time in the game, Kastner led off the inning with a double. After a wild pitch moved him to third, James Allison scored him by rolling an RBI grounder down to first. With the bases now empty, Susk swatted a homer out of left-center field to cap off the inning.
The final Eph run came in the fifth inning. Freshman leftfielder Marske started the inning with a single to left and advanced to second when the ball was mishandled. He moved to third on a wild pitch, and scored on an RBI groundout from Kastner.
The sequence illustrated much of the Eph offensive success that has come of late from the freshman class. Tom Stephens, Saturday's hero after a go-ahead 10th-inning home run, added two more hits in the game on Sunday. Marske has been more than solid in left field and hitting at a .327 clip at the dish. Kastner, hitting from the leadoff spot for the first time, was 3 for 5 on the day to raise his average to .371, third on the team. Freshman Marco Hernandez, meanwhile, reached in each of his three plate appearances on walks, and scored twice. His day was representative of the respect he has earned in becoming one of the NESCAC's most feared hitters.
Reliever Dan Grossman worked a scoreless ninth, stranding two runners and preserving the victory. Williams improved to 22-10 with the win and 5-7 in the NESCAC.
Although the win ended Williams' NESCAC run, the Ephs take the field against Springfield on Monday and MIT the following weekend to wrap up their season.
