Ephs Sweep Hamilton to End Regular Season on High Note

Box Score 1 | Box Score 2 Scores:
Game 1: Hamilton 9, Williams 10 (F/8)
Game 2: Hamilton 1, Williams 9 (F/5)
 
Location: Williamstown, MA
Records: Williams 23-13, Hamilton 16-14
 
The Short Story: After a wild Game 1 in which the Ephs rallied from multi-run deficits in the 7^th and 8^th innings and won the game on a walk-off single by second baseman Rachel Neugart '22, Williams cruised to a 9-1 victory in Game 2 to earn a three-game sweep over Hamilton to finish the regular season. The Ephs finished the season with a 7-5 record in the NESCAC.
 
Coach's Take: "It's fun to win the way we did [in Game 1], but our pitching and defense has to be better. On offense, though, we stayed in our process and got one good at-bat after another. We took advantage of their mistakes and we didn't get too high or too low. That's the key to sports, in general." – Kris Herman


 


How it Happened

• Just like yesterday, the Continentals took an early 4-1 lead in Game 1. In the fourth, the Ephs cut into the deficit with a sacrifice fly by right fielder Kayla Chang '25 and an RBI single by left fielder Tayler Wise '24, but the Continentals responded with three runs in the fifth and sixth to make it 7-3.
• After scoring one in the sixth, the Ephs rallied in the seventh. With one out, catcher Sydney Fleming '25 hit a two-run home run on a deep fly ball down the left-field line, and two batters later, Neugart tied the game on a line-drive homer to right-center with the Ephs down to their final out.
• Hamilton scored two runs in the top of the eighth, the second of which came on an error by third baseman Kelly McGuigan '24. McGuigan responded, however, with a bases-loaded, two-out, two run single on a ground ball through the left side to tie it. Neugart followed with a floater that landed in shallow center field to seal the Ephs' second consecutive walk-off win.
• The Continentals got on the board in the first inning of Game 2 on an RBI single by right fielder Ella Heftved, but the Ephs exploded for four runs in the bottom of the inning, punctuated by a towering, no-doubt, two-run home run to dead center field by McGuigan. In the second, An error in right field by Heftved allowed two more Eph runs to score and made it 6-1.
• Designated player Mara Kipnis '22 hit an RBI single in the fourth to make it 7-1, and Wise hit a two-run triple to left in the bottom of the fifth to give the Ephs their second walk-off of the day, this time via the eight-run mercy rule.

Inside the Box Score

• The Ephs finished the regular season on an eight-game winning streak, their longest of the season.
• In Game 1, Neugart became the second Eph in as many days to record the game-tying and game-winning hits in the same day, after Burger-Moore hit a game-tying home run and walk-off single in yesterday's 6-5 win.
• Fleming's home run in the seventh inning of Game 1 was her fifth of the season, good for second on the team behind Kipnis (9).
• In her final regular season outing as an Eph, pitcher Maya Hartman '22 threw a complete game, scattering five hits and not allowing a single walk. 

Next Up for the Ephs

• With their Game 1 win, the Ephs clinched third place in the NESCAC West division. Next Saturday, Williams will play either Trinity or Colby in the first round of the NESCAC tournament (time TBD).