Amherst handily won the opening game, securing a final score of 12-1. Sophomore Ryan Healy pitched a complete game, posting seven K’s and only one base on balls, dropping his overall ERA to 2.56.
The game was close until the top of the fifth, when the Jeffs blew it wide open by scoring 10 runs that inning. Sophomore Jose Espinosa started the melee when he was hit by a pitch. Espinosa, along with Thomas Wheeler ’12 and Will Lawton ’10 hit RBI singles during the inning, while sophomores Scott Shaffer and Alex Coborn smacked RBI doubles.
Co-captain Brendan Powers ’09 summed up the Jeffs’ success: “What really propelled our success this weekend was that we came together so well as a team. Our pitching was unbelievable, and we played great defense in the field. We got some key hits when we needed them, and we really swung the bats aggressively all day.”
The second game, which the Jeffs won 4-1, saw five innings of sophomore Max McKenna’s pitching for the win and four by Ryan Platzbecker ’09 for his first save of the season. Co-captain Angus Schaller ’09 commented on the series: “The pitching staff did an awesome job and held the Williams lineup down all day.” McKenna, 2-3 for the season, allowed only two hits, while Platzbecker threw four strikeouts and shrunk his ERA to 2.88.
Williams was first to score in the bottom of the first on a passed ball. Amherst immediately responded, with Schaller putting the Jeffs on the board with a double to left center in the second. The Jeffs’ offense was further supported by three more doubles by Brian Merrigan ’11, Coburn and Powers. Powers extended his hitting streak to nine games and Shaffer got his to seven as they batted .447 and .361 respectively.
Amherst also played out-of-conference Keene State University last Tuesday, losing 18-12. While outhitting the Owls 21-17, the Jeffs were put quickly on the defensive as the Owls scored seven runs in two innings, before tying it up in the fifth, 9-9. The Owls kept to their guns, and the Jeffs were unable to keep apace. Amherst hit two doubles in the game, along with Powers’ third homerun of the season. Right-fielder Kevin Heller ’12 went 3-4 to put his season average at .462.
Amherst’s captains agree that the Amherst-Williams rivalry was ever-present during the series. “It’s always big to play Williams in any sport. The stakes are a little higher, and there’s some extra pride on the line,” said Powers. Amherst happily grabbed that pride this weekend.
Schaller acknowledged camaraderie between the teams while agreeing that “there is always a sense of urgency in an Amherst-Williams game” — extra urgency this series because of the Jeffs’ poor results since Spring Recess (going 4-6 after starting 7-3).
This weekend’s wins keep the Jeffs’ post-season hopes alive. Schaller believes the team has “had the best Florida trip since I’ve been at Amherst” and contends that the atmosphere changes between the sunny south and chilly Massachusetts, which “challenges us, as players, in many ways.”
While the Jeffs will face Williams again on May 3 to celebrate the 150th anniversary of college baseball, Amherst looks first to an in-conference three game series at home against Middlebury College this weekend.