WINTER HAVEN, FL – Behind seven shutout innings from first-year Fred Shepard (Amherst, MA), the Amherst College baseball team improved to 3-2 at the RussMatt Central Florida Invitational with an 8-0 win over Stevens Institute of Technology Tuesday morning. 

Amherst got its eight runs on 12 hits, with Kevin Heller '12 (Brooklyn, NY) going 3-for-5 to continue what has been an impressive trip for the right fielder. Mike Samela '12 (Westport, CT) was 2-for-2 with a pair of walks, while Nolan Stewart '13 (New Canaan, CT) went 2-for-4 with two runs scored and a pair of RBIs. 

The Lord Jeffs got all they would need in the fourth inning, when Heller and Samela led off with back-to-back singles. Stewart delivered a two-out, two-RBI double and would come around to score on a single up the middle by Brian Merrigan '11 (Holbrook, MA), as Amherst held a 3-0 lead after four. 

Amherst chalked up two runs in the sixth on sacrifice flies by Bob Cook '13 (Winnetka, IL) and Dan Pillitteri '13 (Ramsey, NJ), adding another two in the seventh when Thomas Wheeler '12 (Minnetonka, MN) belted a two-run homer to left field to make it a 7-0 game. The Jeffs' final run came in the eighth, when Heller delivered a two-out single up the middle to score Max Einhorn '11 (Scarsdale, NY). 

Shepard (1-0) hit the first batter of the game and got into a jam in the second inning, but he escaped unharmed both times thanks to solid defense by the Lord Jeffs, who did not commit an error on the day. Shepard retired 10 of the final 12 batters he faced and sat down the side in order in the seventh, wrapping up his day with one strikeout, one walk and five hits allowed in seven complete innings. Adam Medoff '13 (San Francisco, CA) and Ryan Healy '11 (Westport, CT) each pitched an inning of shutout relief. 

The Lord Jeffs will next take on SUNY Oneonta Thursday, Mar. 17 at Chain of Lakes Park in Winter Haven, Fla.

BOX SCORE