The Jeffs drew first blood during Friday's victory in the top of the second inning when rookie designated hitter Evan Bruno doubled to drive in shortstop Zach Schonberger '06. Bruno then scored on a double by co-captain third baseman Josh Santry '05, and a pair of errors by the Hamilton infield led to a 3-0 Lord Jeff advantage.
Hamilton struck back in the bottom of the third, however. Starting pitcher Chris Edgar '08 struggled to find the plate as he walked a pair of batters before allowing Hamilton DH John Porges to extend his hitting streak to 10 games with an RBI single. After Porges stole second base and Edgar issued another walk, a Continental double drove in two more runs. Hamilton tacked on its fourth and final run of the inning with a sacrifice fly.
The Jeffs were poised to bounce back, as Bruno led off the fourth inning with his first career home run, a solo shot that evened the game at four all. The score would remain tied until the sixth inning when Bruno struck again for the Jeffs, leading off with a double. Santry then moved Bruno over to third on a ground ball to the right side of the infield, setting up an RBI groundout for catcher Josh Card '08.
Senior co-captain left fielder Dave Powers provided all the insurance the Jeffs needed. After ripping a solo home run in the top of the seventh inning, Powers drove in first baseman Dave Levinson '06 with a single in the ninth to push the Amherst lead to 7-4.
Reliever Joe Vladeck used this comfortable cushion to close out the contest, striking out the side in the ninth inning. The junior fireballer pitched a perfect final four frames while fanning seven batters. Despite some control problems, Edgar's four earned runs on four hits earned him the win. The victory pushes his record to a team-best 5-1.
"It's good we have such great pitching to get us through the close ones," said Bruno, who finished the game 3-4 with two doubles, a homer, two RBIs and a pair of runs scored. Powers, Levinson, Santry and second baseman Mark Mazzone '07 all finished with two hits while Powers drove in two runs.
Brian Considine took the loss for the Continentals, allowing five earned runs on 10 hits. The loss drops Hamilton to 0-7 in conference play and 6-16 overall.
"I think it was good to get a win up there even though we weren't necessarily as sharp as we can be," stated Levinson. "I think we're pretty confident about the rest of the year. We've been playing pretty steadily and well from day one, and I think one of our keys is just to keep it steady and play hard for nine innings every day. The wins are coming."
The Jeffs eked out their ninth in a row in a bizarre 17-16 win over non-conference foe Brandeis University yesterday.
On an uncharacteristically windy day, the Jeffs pounded seven home runs and were looking at a blowout with a 10-run lead in the seventh inning. Donahue, Kehoe and Vladeck combined efforts to give the Jeffs what should have been all the cushion they needed.
The dynamics of the game suddenly changed, however, when the Judges' coach Pete Varney was ejected for disputing a catch made my Levinson in foul territory. Brandeis then rallied to score four runs in the eighth.
The Jeffs nearly fell apart in the ninth, committing an error, issuing two walks, delivering a wild pitch and hitting a pair of batters. In addition, Brandeis managed five hits. The freakish inning resulted in nine runs scored by the Judges, as they climbed to a remarkable 16-15 lead.
Senior Mike Erkkinen, who usually plays the role of back-up infielder, entered the game as a pitcher. He ended the inning by forcing a foul-out with runners on first and third, earning his first career win.
When Amherst stepped up to bat, Schonberger knocked in his fifth run of the day with a sacrifice fly. Lavery ended the game with a bases-loaded two-out single.
Powers and Schonberger each homered twice, while Scott, Banner and Santry also hit home runs.
The Lord Jeffs look to extend their nine-game winning streak during this weekend's crucial series versus archrival Williams College. The series will be a rematch of last season's NESCAC Tournament championship in which Amherst was victorious. The Jeffs will travel to Williamstown for a doubleheader on Saturday and then return on Sunday to host the Ephs.
"We're really looking forward to this week," said Powers. "Williams will be out for blood after we beat them in the NESCAC final last year."