Troy, N.Y. - The Williams College Baseball team had their first game of the season today on the road against RPI and the Ephs were defeated by a score of 6-1.
The game started out with two tough innings for the Ephs. RPI scored three runs in the first with a notable sacrifice fly to right field by RPI's Ayush Krishnappa, allowing Aidan Hicks to score the first run of the game. This was followed with runs by Julian Scarpa off a throwing error and Michael Lebenson off another RBI hit by Kameron Levesque, making the score 3-0.
The Ephs allowed two more runs in the second, with Charlie Lapp and Jack Mullins scoring for the Engineers. Despite the tough start, the Ephs showed a lot of perseverance throughout the rest of the game, only allowing one more run.
First year pitcher Lucas Brandt led this defensive performance. Brandt made his first collegiate appearance at the bottom of the third and did not disappoint. He provided a much-needed spark on the mound for the Ephs, striking out the first hitter he faced. Brandt had two more strikeouts and did not allow a single run or walk in his four innings.
Offensively, the Ephs flipped the script in the later part of the game, totaling five hits after the third inning. In the top of the fourth, the Ephs were in scoring position, with seniors James O'Connor and Brendan Stannard getting onto third and first, respectively, but they failed to capitalize. Undeterred, the Ephs continued to fight back. At the top of the seventh, with bases loaded, first year Ben Swank hit a sacrifice fly to center field, earning an RBI and allowing junior Dave Mosrie to get the Ephs on the scoreboard, making it a 5-1 ballgame.
Despite RPI's Julian Scarpa earning his second run of the game in the bottom of the seventh, the Ephs played hard throughout the final two innings. Defensively, another first year pitcher, Lucas Asanovic, showed up when his number was called. Asanoivc closed out the game for the Ephs, allowing no runs and striking out two RPI batters in a commanding fashion.
Eph head coach coach Bill Barrale, entering his 19th season for the Ephs, was very optimistic about his team's future. Commenting on the standout play from his first year players, he said, "Some Young guys came in and did some good things." He was not concerned by first-game jitters, as RPI had an earlier start to the season, saying, "That team played 8 games, and it showed… there are some things we can easily clean up going forward."
The Ephs look to bounce back at their home opener this Saturday at noon against Norwich University.
