Williams College Doubles Up Baseball, 16-8

NORTH ADAMS, Mass. – The MCLA Baseball team welcomed their geographically closest rival, Williams College, to town this evening, facing off with the Ephs in a non-conference matchup at Joe Wolfe Field. The Trailblazers knocked around a season-high 15 hits but were out-slugged by their counterparts with nine extra-base hits.

THE BASICS:

• Date: Tuesday, April 16, 2024
• Score: Williams 16, MCLA 8
• Records: Williams College Ephs 8-15 (NESCAC 2-4) | MCLA Trailblazers 5-17 (MASCAC 2-6)

HOW IT HAPPENED

• Williams College opened the game by taking advantage of some first collegiate start jitters for MCLA starter Ben Cornish. The Ephs finished the opening frame by plating five runs on three hits, two walks, and a hit-by-pitch.
• The Trailblazers clawed their way back into the game, starting with a pair of runs in the bottom of the first inning. Jacob Morren led off with a walk and moved to second on a wild pitch. TJ Platt was then hit by a pitch, and both runners advanced on the Ephs starter's second wild pitch of the inning. Matthew Castillo brought Morren home with an RBI groundout to second, and Matthew Belfance scored Platt with an RBI single to right field.
• MCLA cut the deficit to one run in the bottom of the third inning. Dariel Rodriguez brought in the first run with an RBI to right-center field that scored Platt. Bobby Lane scored Belfance with a single through the right side of the infield.
• One inning later, the Trailblazers pulled back to even with the Ephs, tying up the score at five all when Platt stole home while Belfance was caught in a pickle between first and second.
• Williams took the lead back in the top of the fifth, using one hit to score one run. They repeated the feat in the seventh, again scoring one run on a single hit. A five-run eighth then pushed their advantage to 12-5.
• The Trailblazers responded with a run in the bottom of the eighth when Belfance picked up his second RBI of the game, scoring Platt with an RBI sacrifice fly to left.
• Three extra-base hits by the Ephs in the top of the ninth capped off their offensive day with four runs on five hits, the biggest blow being a two-run home run to straight-away right field by Ryan Nakajima.
• However, MCLA wouldn't leave without a fight, scoring two more runs in the bottom of the final frame. Morren brought home Lane with an RBI fielder's choice. Isiah Tucker then scored when the Williams third baseman dropped a pop-up on the infield by Platt that would have been the third out of the inning. Some quick thinking by Eph's relief pitcher Jake Jeffries, however, caught an MCLA runner trying to go from first to third on the error for the game's final out.
• Six different Trailblazers had multiple hits, led by Platt's three hits and four runs scored. Belfance, Lane, Tucker, Matt Damon, and Joe Sardo rounded out the home team's multi-hit club.
• For Williams, Nakajima went 4-5 with a two-run homer and a double, four runs scored, and a stolen base.
• Jeffries pitched six innings of three-run relief to pick up the win, evening his record at 2-2. William Walsh was saddled with the loss despite four effective innings of relief.

UP NEXT:

On Wednesday, MCLA will be back in action when they play host to Skidmore College for a non-conference matchup with the Thoroughbreds at Joe Wolfe Field. The first pitch is scheduled for 7:15 p.m.

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