Davenport, FL – The Williams Ephs (5-5, 0-0 NESCAC) defeated the Colby Mules (9-5, 0-0 NESCAC) in a thriller Thursday night to kick off a three-game series between the two squads. The combination of clutch hitting and defense was the story of the day for the Ephs.
Colby opened the scoring in the top of the first, as Duncan Cullinane lined a single with the bases loaded and two outs to score two runs. The Ephs would be retired in order in the bottom half, giving the Mules a 2-0 lead after one.
Colby added on in the second with a bunt from Patrick Shrake that resulted in a run. Myles Gythfeldt drove in two more with a soft line drive that just barely fell out of the reach of the Williams infield. Williams would answer in the bottom of the second, however. After a
James O'Connor single and
Owen McHugh double put runners at second and third with no outs,
Ryan Nakajima scored O'Connor with a sacrifice fly to left field. After advancing to third on a ground ball hit by
Anthony Lods, McHugh took home on a wild pitch from Colby starter Matt Mahoney. Colby held a 5-2 lead after two innings.
Williams tied the game in the third after starter
Peyton Rose set the Mules down in order in the top half. The bases were loaded with no outs after a
Ben Swank walk,
Marcus Burrell II single, and
Henry Juan walk.
James O'Connor then crushed a ground-rule double to left-center field, scoring Swank and Burrell II. After a Colby pitching change, Nakajima grounded out to shortstop, driving in Juan. The score was 5-5 after three.
Colby continued to apply pressure in the fourth, adding two more runs on an RBI single hit by Tony Silva. The Ephs would cut their lead in half in the home half.
Dave Mosrie reached on a single, and
Luca Lopetrone would follow with a perfectly placed bunt single. Burrell II hit a ground near second base, but the Colby first baseman was unable to handle the throw from the shortstop to complete the inning-ending double play. Mosrie took advantage of the confusion and scored, making the score 7-6 after four complete.
Colby would again extend the lead to two in the fifth on an RBI single from Max Diamond. After Williams went scoreless in the bottom of the fifth,
Issey Gestel replaced Rose on the mound and provided a scoreless sixth inning, striking out two Mules to finish the frame.
The Ephs would take their first lead of the game in the the bottom of the sixth. Once again, they loaded the bases after Mosrie singled, Swank walked, and Burrell II walked. Juan hit a sharp ground ball that was fielded by the Colby third baseman for a force out, but Mosrie was able to score. Now with two outs,
James O'Connor grounded to second base but reached on an errant throw, while Burrell II sprinted home to tie the game at 8-8. O'Connor then stole second base, setting up McHugh to rip a single into center field that gave Williams a 10-8 lead.
After the first two Colby hitters reached base on walks in the seventh,
JH Vaughan entered the game to pitch for Williams. Colby was able to score a run on a sacrifice fly, but Vaughan limited the damage to just that. Williams led 10-9 after seven innings.
Colby tied the game in the top half of the eighth on a bases-loaded walk with one out. Sam Nigro followed up with a fly ball to right field, but
Ryan Nakajima would cut down Marco Zirpolo at home with a perfect throw to complete the double play and end the half inning with the score knotted at 10.
Swank led off the decisive bottom of the eighth with a walk and advanced to second base on a sacrifice bunt from Burrell II.
Henry Juan would then provide the go-ahead runs with a monster home run to right field, and
James O'Connor extended the lead with a long homer of his own. Nakajima tripled to right with two outs, but that would be all for Williams in the inning. The score was 13-10 Williams going into the final inning.
Luca Lopetrone moved from left field to the mound to close the game for the Ephs. After a lead off single, he induced a pop-up to shortstop for the first out. After another Colby single, a fly out to center would provide the second out. After one more single to load the bases, Lopetrone would dial up a slider on the outside corner for a strikeout to end the game.
JH Vaughan earned the win for Williams, pitching two innings out of the bullpen. Adam Schwartz took the loss for the Mules. Lopetrone got the save, his first of the season.
Eph head coach
Bill Barrale was excited following the game, describing it as a "resilient team win where we were down five twice and never quit." He was quick to point out "outstanding efforts from
James O'Connor,
Ryan Nakajima,
Owen McHugh, and
Peyton Rose."
The Ephs will play Colby in game two of the series Friday in Davenport, Florida at 1pm.
