Williams Splits Doubleheader Against Wesleyan

WILLIAMSTOWN, MA- As the ball screamed off Ryan Young's bat into center field, Mike Giove took off from second. With Coach Barrale waving his arm and sending Giove home, Ryan Molinari came charging up from center, scooped the ground ball and launched it towards home plate. Racing down the third base line, Giove arrived just in time, giving the Ephs their 5^th run of the afternoon in what would be the winning run as they took down Wesleyan 5-4 in the first game of a doubleheader.
 
Coming off a loss to the Cardinals just two days prior, the Ephs supplied all the energy on a cold New England day in their home opener. In a similar fashion to Friday's game, Williams scored three in the first inning to take an early lead. This time, however, the Ephs would hold onto the lead through the game's entirety.
 
Beginning with an RBI double from Ryan Young, Danny Lynch followed suit and smoked the 2-2 pitch up the middle, sending David Discroll and Eric Pappas home to put the Ephs up 3-0.
 
Wesleyan responded shortly after in the third with a solo shot from Dylan Judd, making the score 3-1. With bases loaded, Adam Geibel's ground out to first brought Matt Halas in from third, cutting the lead to 3-2.
 
In an effort to preserve that lead, the Ephs returned the favor in the bottom of the fourth. After singling to get on base, Lynch stole second. With Giove's swing sending a groundball past second base and into the outfield, Lynch rounded third with a full head of steam. As the throw to the plate zipped in, Lynch dove headfirst, extending his arm towards the plate and under the catcher's mitt to avoid the tag. The Ephs dugout erupted as the Homeplate ump signaled "safe" and Williams increased the lead to two.
 
With Giove now on second, Young's line drive into centerfield sent him to reach home, giving the Ephs a 5-2 edge.
 
Showing no signs of exhaustion, starter Sean Hogan remained on the mound for the Ephs while the Cardinals remained quiet through the fifth.
 
It wasn't until the 6^th inning that a Wesleyan runner would reach home when Jack Nally scored from third on a fielder's choice. Geibel would pick up one more RBI in the top of the 7^th to make the score 5-4 before Hogan would secure the final out on a batter's interference call, ending the first game of the afternoon.
 
Hogan put on a tremendous performance, pitching all seven innings, and striking out six in his third win of the season.
 
Following a short break and a chance for the scoreboard to reset, Williams and Wesleyan returned to the diamond at 4pm for the final of the three-game series. Unfortunately, the Ephs would come up just short, losing 4-3 in a nail-biter.
 
Will Jefferies got off to a rocky start, walking the first two batters and giving up one run before fighting back and recording two strikeouts to get out of a jam in the first inning.
 
Once again giving the crowd an exciting first inning, Young blasted his first career homer over the left field wall, evening the score at one a piece. With an RBI single, Discroll gave the Ephs the 2-1 advantage.
 
Jefferies made quick work of the Cardinals lineup in the second, adding two more strikeouts to his belt.
 
In the top of third, Wesleyan regained the lead, beginning with an RBI single from Wes Fritch to tie it and then a single from Ricky Finkel that sent Fritch home and gave the Cardinals the 3-2 lead.
 
That lead proved to be short lived as Discroll sent a ball into right center just half an inning later, scoring Young to tie the game at three all.
 
Jacob Martin relieved Jefferies in the 4th and showcased some impressive pitching, taking down the first three Wesleyan batters.
 
The Cardinals reclaimed the lead for the final time in the 6^th when Judd hit a sacrifice fly to centerfield with runners on the corners, allowing Molinari to score from third. The score would remain 4-3 as the Ephs came up just short.
 
Head Coach Bill Barrale was very impressed with how his team performed today. He was particularly proud of his pitchers' efforts, including a full game in the first from Hogan and two impressive games from first years: Jacob Martin and James Murray.
 
Additionally, the Ephs had a great day at the plate and in the field. "If you pitch like that and play great defense, you're going to be in every game," remarked Barrale. With the team missing Jakob Cohn and Brendan Stannard (two of their top three hitters), Barrale was impressed with how many guys stepped up.
 
Coming off an exciting weekend, Williams now turns their sights to Skidmore College who travels to Williamstown for a 4 pm matchup this Wednesday at Bobby Coombs Field.