Ephs Offense on Fire with 8-2 Victory over Skidmore

WILLIAMSTOWN, MA- As the pitch skirted past the catcher, Billy Shea raced home to put the Ephs up 3-0 in the first inning- a lead Skidmore would fail to overcome, giving Williams their 7^th win of the season in a decisive 8-2 victory over the Thoroughbreds.
 
For the 4^th consecutive game, Williams scored 3 runs in the first inning. This time the Ephs took advantage of a few wild pitches. All three runs resulted from passed balls and Tyler Spiezio being hit by a pitch with bases loaded to bring in Eric Pappas.
 
JH Vaughan, the first-year from North Carolina, got his first start on the mound and did a tremendous job, holding Skidmore to only three hits and two runs through 4 innings.
 
That first run came in the third inning when Brendan O'Neill grounded out to second, allowing Danny Melillo to score. Skidmore added one more run to the scoreboard in the 4^th with a sacrifice fly that brought them within 1 of the Ephs' lead.
 
Williams responded in the bottom of the inning with an RBI single from Mike Giove that sent Nate Orluk home and increased the lead to 4-2.
 
With Max Hart, another first-year, entering the game, the Ephs bullpen decided to cut off the Skidmore offensive. Giving up zero runs and only two hits through 3 innings, Hart helped showcase the strength of the Williams' bullpen.
 
The Ephs, on the other hand, got hot again in the fifth. Beginning with a single into right field from Eric Pappas, Williams batted through the lineup and put up four runs on five hits. A double from David Discroll scored Pappas. A Shea single sent Discroll home. Spiezio connected for a triple, bringing in Shea before Kurt Oelschlager singled to send Spiezio home.
 
Bo Peponis closed the game for Williams and got the save.
 
Head coach Bill Barrale was very excited with his team's performance against such a strong Skidmore team (18-2-1), especially when considering Williams was missing a few key players.
 
Barrale thought they played well in all aspects, mentioning, "we got good pitching from our first-year pitchers JH Vaughan and Max Hart."  Barrale went on to add, "it was the first time in a long time we played a complete game with good pitching, some stolen bases, timely hitting, and we were solid on defense."
 
The Ephs will hope to keep up their level of play as they travel to Middlebury, VT to take on the Middlebury Panthers this Friday at 4pm.