In one of the biggest weekends of the season, the Jeffs demonstrated that they are a team to be reckoned with. With a doubleheader against undefeated Trinity College on Saturday, the Jeffs had the opportunity to prove that they can play with the best. Although they did not come out victorious, they played very tough, coming very close to putting an end to the Bantams’ unbeaten streak.
“There was definitely extra motivation to try and be the first team to beat Trinity,” said junior third baseman Brendan Powers. “Not only would it be great to end their run, but we’ll most likely see those guys again in the playoffs. We wanted to show them that not only can we play with you, but we can beat you too.”
In the opening game the Jeffs could have completely bowed down, facing arguably one of the nation’s top pitchers in Tim Kiely. Coming into the game, the hurler had only given up nine earned runs in 43 innings, struck out 51 batters, and walked just one.
However, the Amherst hitters came out fearless at the plate, tagging Kiely for three earned runs in five and one-third innings. After sophomore pitcher Teddy Blank surrendered five runs in four and one-third innings, first-year pitcher Jeff Keenan came in and shut down the Bantams. In what was supposed to be the final frame, the Jeffs found themselves down by a run in the bottom of the seventh inning.
Having gotten Kiely out of the game, the Jeffs still had to face a tough pitcher in Jeremiah Bayer. However, Neal Allar ’08 led off the inning with a double to start a rally. Pinch running for Allar, Nick Boehm ’08 scored an unearned run with Angus Schaller ’09 at the plate to tie the game, sending the game to extra innings.
After three scoreless innings, in the top of the 11th inning, the Bantams were able to put up two runs that the Jeffs were unable to answer.
In game two, Trinity took an early lead scoring four runs in the first inning. The Jeffs chipped away at the Bantam lead, out-hitting Trinity 12-10, but came up on the short end of a 6-4 score. “It was certainly disappointing, especially after we had several chances to put them away earlier in the game,” commented Chris Edgar ’08.
Although dropping two games was a tough pill for Amherst to swallow, Edgar feels that the team was encouraged by their play. “We knew that this weekend would be a challenge and in spite of the losses, we now know that we are capable of playing close with Trinity and have the potential to beat them in the NESCAC Tournament.” Evan Bruno ’08 added, “I think it showed our guys that we can play with anyone.”
The team, however, had no time to dwell on the losses. Immediately after completing the Saturday doubleheader, they jumped on a bus to Vermont, where they had another double-header scheduled for Sunday against Saint Michael’s. The team had to work hard to stay positive heading into the series against the Purple Knights, especially after co-captain Josh Card ’08 was injured against Trinity.
“It was important to beat St. Michael’s to get back on track. We had to re-establish our old style of playing to prove ourselves after the loss of Josh,” said Edgar, who started the first game. Edgar’s performance, a seven inning shutout, went a long way in helping the Jeffs to regain momentum. “I felt I had good command of my fastball, especially on the inside corner,” he said. His catcher, Neal Allar, who switched to the position to fill in for Card, went 3-4 with five RBIs in Amherst’s 11-0 victory.
Game two proved to be more tightly contested as the score was tied 5-5 after seven innings. In the top of the eighth inning, Bruno tripled home Scott Shaffer who had walked earlier in the inning. The go ahead run proved to be decisive as the Jeffs were able to shut out Saint Michael’s in the home half to win the game 7-5 and sweep the series.
There was definitely extra motivation for the Jeffs to win after the losses to Trinity and the injury to Card. “Everyone wanted to take two and get back on the winning track after losing two close games Saturday,” said Bruno.
Since Trinity is in the East Division and the Jeffs are in the West, this weekend the Jeffs will be even more important as the Jeffs meet up with Williams College at Wahconah Field, the site of the first ever college baseball game between the schools. The teams enter the game with identical 8-3 records. The winner will be champion of the NESCAC West division. The loser of the game will be matched up against Trinity in the semifinals of the NESCAC championship, and while Amherst would like to beat Williams, as Bruno describes, the thought of a rematch against Trinity does not intimidate them.
“It’s important to beat Williams because we want to win our division, but as far as avoiding playing Trinity I don’t think there’s a guy on our team that doesn’t want to play Trinity again for a shot at redemption. We realized as a team that we certainly have the potential to win against teams like Trinity and as long as we’re playing solid baseball, we have a chance to beat anyone.”