May 1, 2004 

MIDDLEBURY, VT - Thanks to a complete-game three-hit shutout by senior hurler Andy Kerns (Barrington, IL) in the opener, the Amherst College baseball team clinched a spot in the four-team NESCAC Postseason Championship Tournament with a doubleheader split at West Division rival Middlebury College on Saturday. Amherst won the opener 1-0 before dropping the finale 9-5. 

Kerns (3-3) was lights out in Game 1, striking out five while facing just three batters over the minimum en route to his first shutout of the season. Meanwhile, Amherst managed just three hits off Middlebury pitchers Chris Fraser and Russ Budnick but made the most of its lone scoring opportunity - a first-and-third double-steal in the second inning that saw sophomore rookie Mark Mazzone (Chicago, IL) scamper home with the winning run. Sophomore Andrew Green (Lexington, MA), junior David Powers (Andover, MA) and Mazzone each singled for the Jeffs. 

The nightcap was a different story, as Middlebury pounded out 17 hits off three Amherst pitchers. The Jeffs took a 4-3 lead in the top of the sixth inning when Green reached with a leadoff double and later scored on a wild pitch. Middlebury battled back with a backbreaking six-run rally in the bottom half of the inning to seal the win. Powers went 3-for-5 with two RBIs in the nightcap for the Jeffs. 

Amherst (14-15/6-6 NESCAC West) returns to action tomorrow (Sunday) at noon with a non-league doubleheader at Bates College. 

Game 1 Box Score/Play-by-Play 

Game 2 Box Score/Play-by-Play