Williams Baseball falls to Wesleyan 11-3

MIDDLETOWN, CT- With the ballgame tied at 3 a piece, Kyle Sylvester laid down a bunt in the sixth inning, bringing in Matt Halas with the go-ahead run in what would be the game winning run, lifting the Cardinals over the Ephs.
 
Williams got off to a hot start with a three-run shot from Henry Juan in the first inning, bringing in Mike Giove and David Driscoll, giving Williams an early 3-0 lead.
 
Wesleyan quickly retaliated with a sacrifice fly from Adam Geibel to send Wes Fritch home and cut the Ephs' lead to two. Starting Pitcher, Eric Gage, then took care of the rest of the Cardinal batters to preserve the 3-1 edge after the first.
 
Both teams remained scoreless until the 4^th inning when Wesleyan finally broke the drought. With Dylan Judd reaching third from a triple, Wes Fritch connected for an RBI single, allowing Judd to score. Then, taking advantage of a wild pitch, Fritch stole second, putting himself in position to reach home. With a Sylvester single, that wish was achieved, and the score was evened to 3-3.
 
Wesleyan was then able to take their first lead of the game in the 6^th inning. With one out and Halas on third, Fritch stole second, giving the Cardinals an opportunity for a sacrifice bunt. Sylvester seized upon that opportunity, sending Halas home to give Wesleyan a 4-3 lead.
 
The Cardinals added to that lead the following inning. With their first two batters singling and then doubling, Molinari hit a sacrifice fly to left field bringing in Geibel, making the score 5-3.
 
Unfortunately, the Ephs' offense was unable to recover, getting only one more hit through the remainder.
 
Wesleyan's bats stayed hot, scoring six more in the 8^th and once more in the 9^th while they kept Williams quiet, resulting in an 11-3 final.
 
Despite the score, the Ephs were not without some phenomenal individual performances while the team fought valiantly. Mike Giove, the Sophomore from Berlin, Connecticut, batted 1.000, going three for three and scoring once. The first year, Henry Juan, continued to make a name for himself, homering in the first inning to give the Ephs their only points of the evening.
 
After giving up a couple of walks, Eric Gage fought back and did a great job on the mound for Williams. The first year, James Murray, came in during a tough situation and held his own while the senior, Danny Lynch, played a great game at second base
 
Ephs head coach, Bill Barrale, was happy with how his team played, but recognized there was room for improvement. "We played seven innings," said Barrale in response to two big innings from the Cardinals including the 6 runs allowed in the 8^th. "We've got to play 9 in order to close out a game," Barrale added.
 
Williams will try their luck against Wesleyan twice more this Sunday with a Doubleheader in their Home Opener starting at 1:00 PM.