Winter Haven, FL – The Williams College Ephs (2-3, 0-0 NESCAC) opened their 2025 Spring Break trip with a 5-4 loss to the College of Wooster Fighting Scots (7-10, 0-0 NCAC).
The game was tight throughout, with the Ephs ahead for much of the first six innings before Wooster captured the lead for good in the bottom half of the sixth. Thomas Gfell was the winning pitcher for Wooster with a strong performance out of the bullpen, while
Michael Amendola took the loss for Williams.
Williams opened the scoring in the top of the second inning.
Owen McHugh reached on a single off Wooster starting pitcher Dame Frayne and advanced to second on a
Ryan Nakajima walk. After
Lucas Asanovic loaded the bases on a sacrifice bunt and error by the Wooster third baseman,
Dave Mosrie hit a sacrifice fly to right field to score McHugh. Wooster was quick to respond in the bottom half of the inning, with Leo Widtmann driving in Alex Gerdenich on a groundout. Gerdenich reached base earlier in the inning on a walk issued by Williams starter
Peyton Rose.
The third inning was similar to the second. After reaching base on a walk and advancing to third with two outs, Williams catcher
Henry Juan scored on an infield single from
Ryan Nakajima. In the bottom of the third, Wooster's Zach Barienbrock singled to center and scored on an RBI double from Ryan Kramer, tying the game 2-2.
Strong pitching and defense from both teams was the story of the next two frames, but in the sixth inning both teams would break through again.
Luca Lopetrone and
Anthony Lods sparked a rally for Williams with back-to-back singles. After a well-executed double steal, Marcus Burrell drove in Lopetrone with an RBI ground out to second base, making the score 4-2 in favor of Williams. In the home half, Nick Pett reached base on an infield single and quickly scored on a double from Colin Leslie, cutting the Ephs' lead in half. After a walk and two-out infield single, Aidan Krantz hit an RBI single to drive in Gerdenich and Leslie and put Wooster ahead with a lead they would not relinquish, 5-4.
Grant Greiner and
Max Hart provided a spark on the mound for the Williams with scoreless outings in the seventh and eighth innings, but it would prove to not be enough. Eph head coach
Bill Barrale emphasized that it was a "great, well pitched game where we came up a little short." He is excited about the team's progress moving forward.
The Ephs will look to bounce back in a doubleheader against SUNY Purchase on Sunday in Davenport, FL. Game one begins at 1pm, with game two scheduled to be played thirty minutes after.
