Clinton, NY — The Williams College Ephs opened up their doubleheader against Hamilton College with a dominant 9-1 victory in Game 1, fueled by timely hitting and strong pitching from sophomore
Owen McHugh.
Williams wasted no time getting on the scoreboard plating a run in the top of the first. After a lead off single by
Ben Swank and a base hit by
Marcus Burrell II, the Ephs put runners in scoring position early setting the stage for
James O'Connor, who delivered a sacrifice fly to center field, allowing Swank to score the game's first run. McHugh set the tone early on the mound, working out of a bases-loaded jam in the bottom of the first with back-to-back strikeouts to keep the Continentals scoreless. The Ephs continued to apply pressure through the next few innings, with O'Connor and
Luca Lopetrone notching hits in the third, though the runners were left stranded.
The breakthrough came in the top of the fourth. Anothony Lods worked a lead off walk and was moved around the bases by a perfectly executed sacrifice bunt from
Sasha Palma and a flyout by
Dave Mosrie. Swank then drew a walk, and Burrell came through with a clutch RBI single to right-center to send Lods home.
Henry Juan followed with a base hit of his own, allowing Swank to score, extending the Ephs' lead to 3-0.
Hamilton finally got on the board in the sixth inning. The Continental's Jermey Diaz scored an unearned run after a passed ball and a throwing error. But the Ephs wasted no time in responding.
In the top of the seventh, the Williams offense exploded for five runs. Lopetrone led off with a double and stole third, setting the tone for an inning filled with disciplined at-bats and aggressive base running. Nakajima and Lods walked, and Palma followed with a bases-loaded walk to drive in a run. Hamilton walked another hitter allowing Nakajima to score, before Burrell delivered a dagger; hitting a 2-RBI single up the middle, which sent Palma and Lods home. The Ephs tacked on two more runs with Mosrie stealing home and another sacrifice fly by O'Connor, which allowed Burrell to score.
McHugh wrapped up his day on the mound with 12 strikeouts, while only allowing one run.
Jacob Martin came in to close out the seventh, striking out two and sealing the win. This game gave McHugh his second win of the season. Eph head coach
Bill Barrale was pleased with McHugh's performance, saying "Owen was dominant and kept competing all day". McHugh gave all the credit for his performance to his teammates saying, "The team played great today and never quit, they brought a bunch of positive energy that I fed off."
Looking to prevent a sweep for the weekend the Continentals put forth a great effort, however, in a gritty comeback effort, the Ephs rallied late to defeat Hamilton 6–4 in Game 2 of the doubleheader, completing the sweep with clutch execution in the final innings.
Hamilton struck first in the bottom of the third inning with a string of well-executed at-bats. After back-to-back singles by Alfonso Rada and Jeremy Diaz, Chester Boynton laid down a perfect bunt single to load the bases. Greg Kopp then hit a sacrifice fly to deep center to send Rada home for the game's first run. Moments later, Henry Boehm knocked a single through the right side, letting Diaz score, giving the Continentals a 2–0 lead. However the Ephs quickly got out of the inning with a much needed double play just one at bat later. Hamilton added another run in the fifth when Rada doubled down the left field line and came home on a sharp single RBI from Kopp, pushing the Hamilton advantage to 3–0.
After being held scoreless through the first seven frames, Williams entered the eighth inning needing to make some plays. The offense sparked to life after Hamilton walked
Dave Mosrie, and
Ben Swank hit a single past the first baseman. This setup
Marcus Burrell II to hit an RBI single, allowing Mosrie to score. Building on this momentum,
Henry Juan roped a double to left field, sending Swank home and cutting the deficit to one.
James O'Connor continued the rally with a sacrifice fly to left that brought home Burrell and tied the game 3–3. Moments later, Juan advanced to third on a wild pitch and scored the go-ahead run on a ground out from
Luca Lopetrone, giving Williams a 4–3 lead.
Hamilton refused to go quietly, tying the game in the bottom of the eighth. Quinn Perkins, pinch-hitting for Dylan Schmidt, was hit by a pitch, stole second, and advanced to third on a sacrifice bunt. He then crossed the plate on a ground out by Max Tallarida to make it 4–4.
In the top of the ninth, after Hamilton walked Palma, Mosrie once again delivered, launching a triple to right-center that drove in Palma to give the Ephs the lead for good. Swank followed with a swinging strikeout but reached first on a passed ball that went between the catcher's legs, allowing Mosrie to score an unearned insurance run.
On the mound, first year
Lucas Brandt kept Hamilton at bay for most of the game, recording four strikeouts in six innings. Junior's Michael Ammendola and Issey Getsel gave relief in the seventh and eighth innings respectively, with Getsel recording his first win of the season. To seal the game, first year
Lucas Asanovic came in the ninth inning, getting his third save on the season.
Eph head coach
Bill Barrale praised the team's persistence saying "We grinded out some good at-bats to end the game."
This double header moves Williams to 10-6 and 3-0 in NESCAC on the season and is their fifth consecutive win. This was also the first time Williams has swept Hamilton in a series since 2014. The Ephs look to build on these wins this Tuesday at 4 PM when they travel to Skidmore College in Saratoga Springs N.Y
