Williams, Amherst Rivalry Returning to Pittsfield
 |
| The Ephs will meet the Lord Jeffs on Sunday at Wahconah Park in Pittsfield to determine the NESCAC West Division champ. |
The Ephs and Lord Jeffs were set to play there three weeks ago, but the game had to be canceled because of rain.
So this Sunday, May 4, the baseball teams will meet in the city where it all began 149 years ago this July. The game also marks the 149th year of college baseball in America.
Williams and Amherst met in the first intercollegiate contest back on July 1, 1859 in Pittsfield in a game won by Amherst 73-32 in 25 innings.
Sunday's game will determine the champion of the New England Small College Athletic Conference West Division as both Amherst and Williams enter the contest with a record of 8-3 in conference play.
Former Eph baseball player Michael Barbera, class of 1989, got the ball rolling on this project and was assisted by Amherst graduate Dan Duquette, who grew up in Dalton.
Barbera and Duquette, former general manager of the Boston Red Sox and owner of the Pittsfield Dukes, worked with Williams head coach William Barrale and Amherst head coach William Thurston to move the game from the Williams campus to Pittsfield.
Barbera and Duquette also enlisted the support of the Pittsfield Mayor James. M. Ruberto and secured the use of historic Wahconah Park.
The 291st meeting Sunday between the archrivals is setting the stage for what is expected to be an even larger celebration in 2009 when the 150th year of college baseball will be noted.
Pittsfield, of course, is famed for being the earliest home of baseball, based on the discovery of a 1791 bylaw banning its playing near the meetinghouse.
U.S. Rep. John W. Olver, D-Amherst, has introduced legislation in the U.S. House to proclaim Pittsfield the "Birthplace of College Baseball." He is expected to speak on the resolution before the game.
Also on the field for the ceremony beginning at 1 p.m. will be Ruberto and Barbera; the first pitch will be thrown out by former Williams College baseball player Jim Briggs, class of 1960.
The game begins at 1:10.
It will be preceded by a youth baseball clinic for local leagues provided by the Dan Duquette Sports Academy of Hinsdale from 10 to 11:15 a.m. All children attending the clinic will receive a free baseball hat commemorating the first college game.
Both teams will then take turns at practice on the field until 12:35.
A free fan bus for Williams students will depart from Chapin Hall at 11:30 a.m. Each Eph riding the bus will receive a coupon for a free gelato in the Paresky Center and other prizes will be given out on the ride. The fan bus will return to campus immediately following the game.
All Williams students and children will be admitted free.. The price of an adult ticket is $5.
