The Hamilton College baseball team dropped both ends of a NESCAC West Division doubleheader to visiting Amherst College on Saturday afternoon, losing 5-2 and 8-2. The Lord Jeffs, who clinched a berth in the NESCAC playoffs with the victories, earned a three-game sweep of the weekend series.
Game one box score | Game two box score
Amherst (17-7, 9-0 NESCAC West) pitchers struck out 24 batters in Saturday’s games. The Lord Jeffs, who entered the weekend as the nation’s second-highest scoring team in Division III, collected six extra-base hits, including a four home-run performance in game two.
The Continentals (10-9, 2-4) left the bases loaded in the fifth and seventh innings of the opener after Amherst used a three-run fourth to take a 5-2 lead. Hamilton strung together three straight base runners with two outs in the fifth, with Zack Becker ’16 singling to center field and Joe Jensen ’15 and Brett Mele ’17 drawing walks. Amherst’s Jackson Volle ’17 worked out of the jam with a three-pitch strikeout of Hamilton’s No. 3 hitter.
In the bottom of the seventh, Tyler Reinhold ’15 walked with one out and two batters later Jensen kept the inning alive when his sky-high pop-up behind second base eluded two Amherst infielders in the swirling wind. Mele fought out of a 1-2 hole to draw a walk that brought the go-ahead run to the plate but Volle finished off the complete game by getting Hamilton’s final hitter to tap the ball back to the mound on a checked swing.
Volle remained unbeaten on the season (4-0), striking out 10 batters and allowing just five hits.
The Continentals tied the game with a pair of third-inning runs. Dean Rosenberg ’18 walked to lead off the inning and Reinhold followed with a single to center. Two batters later, Jensen doubled to deep left field to bring home two runs. Volle responded by striking out five of the next six Continentals while the Amherst offense retook the lead.
The Lord Jeffs loaded the bases with two outs in the fourth and Andrew Vandini '16 cleared them with a three-run double. Eric West ’15 had led off with a single up the middle before Ariel Kenney ’17 was hit by a pitch and Harry Roberson ’18 drew a walk.
Amherst scored a pair of unearned runs in the second with Sam Ellinwood ’18 singling home Kenney and Vandini bringing Roberson in with a single.
Vandini, who drove in four runs in the game, and Roberson both had two of Amherst’s eight hits. Jensen’s two hits gave him his ninth multi-hit game of the spring.
In the nightcap, Amherst homered in each of the first three innings to take a 5-0 lead. Vandini put the Lord Jeffs on the board two batters in with his fifth home run of the season. West hit his third home run of the year with one out in the second and Yanni Thanopoulos ’17 hit a three-run home run to break the game open in the fifth.
Kenney started a three-run sixth for Amherst with a one-out solo home run before Tyler Jacobs ’15 scored on a wild pitch and Roberson singled home Ellinwood.
The Continentals, who left 15 runners on base, got on the board in the fifth when David Rose ’16 scored on a wild pitch. They loaded the bases in the bottom of the ninth on walks to Chris Collins ’17 and Rosenberg sandwiched around a single by Ryan Wolfsberg ’17.
Robert Morris ’17 singled in a run before the Lord Jeffs brought in Chris Baldi ’17 to pick up the final out.
The Continentals are scheduled to play a non-league game against St. Lawrence University at home on Tuesday, April 21, at 4:30 p.m. Amherst plays at Castleton State on Monday afternoon.
