Williams Drops the Ball Against Tufts
WILLIAMSTOWN - Offense was hard to come by Sunday afternoon as the Williams College baseball team (13-7) dropped consecutive 2-1 decisions to Tufts. The losses mark the third time in four games that the Ephs have been held to one run or fewer."These were two well-pitched games and we just couldn't get that clutch hit," said head coach Bill Barrale. "There was good defense and good pitching, and I'd much rather lose 2-1 than 15-12 where we go out and kick the ball around."
In game 1, the Ephs looked to their ace, junior Dan Benz, to shut down the potent Jumbo offense. Although his command was unusually erratic, Benz battled through five scoreless innings.
In the sixth, the Jumbos put runners on first and second with no out, but a double play started by junior Barrett Alison left a runner on second with two outs. Benz looked poised to escape the inning with a 1-0 lead, but two walks and double chased the left-hander and handed the Ephs their first deficit of the game, 2-1.
The Ephs loaded the bases with nobody out in the bottom half of the sixth, but the Jumbos were able to escape with no damage and hold on for the one run victory. In the loss, senior captain James DiCosmo went 3-4 at second base and
Benz finished the game allowing two earned runs and striking out three in six innings.
Game 2 saw junior Ben Horowitz getting the start for the Ephs and he looked sharp throughout the contest. In six innings, the left-hander allowed only two earned runs and struck out seven. However, those two runs were all Tufts
needed as first year pitcher Pat O'Donnell went all nine innings, allowing only one run on two hits while striking out seven. The only Eph offense came from an RBI double by first year Pat Barren in the sixth.
The Ephs will now have a week of practice before embarking on a three-game weekend series against archrival Amherst starting April 12.
