After falling behind 4-3, the Jeffs had their work cut out for them going into the final inning of play. Krall stepped up to the plate and knotted the game at four with a single to knock in pinch runner Paul Whiting '04. Joe Katuska '03 laid down a beautiful sacrifice bunt to move the runners to second and third, and Schneider walked to load the bases. Brian Rohnayne struck out Jeff's catcher J.R. Drabick '02 and right fielder Devin Haran '03 to end the Amherst threat.
The Corsairs immediately struck back, scoring three runs in the top of the 10th. But the Jeffs were not done either. With two outs, first baseman Josh Sadlier '03 walked, Ryan Whitmarsh '01 reached on a throwing error, and Krall reached first on a passed ball to load the bases. Katuska and Schneider then walked to bring the Jeffs within one hit of victory.
The Corsairs brought in ace closer Steve Lauzon to stop the bleeding, yet he was faced against Drabick who had already gone three for five in the game, including an RBI blast over the left fielder's head that would have left most other ballparks. In a marathon plate appearance that included eight foul balls and went to a full count, Lauzon got Drabick to pop up to the third baseman, ending the ball game and earning UMD its 11th victory.
On Saturday the Jeffs captured a much-deserved victory before suffering yet another agonizing defeat. Amherst traveled to Loudonville, NY (home of Siena College) to play NESCAC rival Hamilton College in their first conference games of the season.
Amherst won the first game behind the spectacular pitching of Jeff Leduc '02, who notched his second complete game of the season. The Jeffs also pounded out 11 hits including two doubles from Co-captain Dave Siegle '01. Brett Nicol '03, Katuska and Whitmarsh all drove in runs for Amherst.
"Jeff pitched a great game for us," said Whitmarsh. "The complete game helped rest the others pitchers on the staff."
In the second game Siegle again recorded two doubles, but it was not enough for the Jeffs. Amherst held on to a 2-2 tie until the sixth inning when Hamilton freshman catcher Jack Halas ripped a triple and drove in two runs. The Jeffs were unable to come back from Halas' crushing blow.
"Overall it was a bad weekend for the team," said Co-captain Kevin Downes '01. "We had the right intensity, but we didn't step up our play when we needed to."
Although the Jeffs dropped two this week, the team has showed a great and unexpected upside. Whitmarsh leads, or is tied for the lead, in seven of the eleven offensive categories, including batting average, slugging percentage and runs scored. The Jeffs' offense will have to continue to perform behind a pitching staff that will be there come playoff time. After fighting through three games this week, the Jeffs will only get better as the season wears on.
The Jeffs will play at Eastern Connecticut State University (ECSU) this Wednesday before coming home to meet Colby on Saturday for two games that are not to be missed. ECSU has been ranked as high as first in the country this season, and they always prove to be a a difficult foe.
"We need to start making the plays when it counts," said Downes. "If we can come through in the clutch, we can beat Eastern."
After the game against ECSU, the Jeffs face NESCAC opponent Colby College on Saturday. The White Mules play in the NESCAC East division, so the two games will count towards conference record but not division record. Colby is currently 5-5 and in fourth place in the East division.