Courtesy of Wesleyan Sports Information
MIDDLETOWN, CT - The Amherst College baseball team fell into an early 3-0 hole and never recovered during its series opener against Wesleyan University, as the Lord Jeffs kicked off their weekend with an 8-3 loss to the Cardinals in NESCAC West play.
Led by junior Mike Barsotti's 12-strikeout, complete-game effort, Wesleyan evened its record at 16-16 and improved to 6-4 in NESCAC West action, moving one step closer to its third straight NESCAC Championship appearance. Amherst, which has already clinched a postseason spot, fell to 19-7 and 8-2 in the NESCAC West.
Wesleyan still must sweep Saturday's doubleheader at Amherst to clinch a postseason berth, as Amherst and Middlebury both have eight divisional wins. With Wesleyan winning the season series against Middlebury, 2-1, a Cardinal sweep would result in a three-way tie atop the NESCAC West standings, a scenario that would lead to Wesleyan earning its first division title since 2002. A single win by Amherst on Saturday would give the Lord Jeffs the division title, their first since 2005.
The Cardinals touched Amherst senior Max McKenna (Lexington, MA) for three runs in the first inning, the first runs McKenna has surrendered in an opening frame this year. Junior Kyle Weiss led off with a single through the right side, and junior Alex Meadow followed with a triple to the gap in right-center to score Weiss. Senior Julian Sonnenfeld followed with a walk, and following a popup, senior Joe Giaimo singled to center to plate Meadow. Sonnenfeld came around to score on a single by senior Derek Dettorre before McKenna induced a double play to end the inning.
Hoping to climb back into the game, junior Kevin Heller (Brooklyn, NY) led off the Lord Jeff fourth with a double to left-center, before junior Mike Samela (Westport, CT) beat out a bunt down the third-base line to put runners on the corners with nobody out. After a strikeout, Heller scored and Samela advanced to second on a wild pitch, but Barsotti got a grounder and another strikeout to end the inning with no further damage.
Looking to break the game open, Wesleyan plated five runs in the fifth to bring the score to 8-1. Sophomore Chris Bonti was hit by a pitch to open the inning--snapping a streak of eight straight batters retired by McKenna--and Weiss followed with a single to put two aboard. Meadow then laid down a bunt that was fielded by McKenna, whose throw to third was not in time to nab Bonti. Sonnenfeld followed with a grounder to the right side, where Amherst second baseman Jose Espinosa (Ridgefield, CT) made a great diving play to keep the ball in the infield but did not have a play at any base. Senior Justin Freres followed by crushing a ball over the left-field fence for his first career grand slam, staking the Cardinals to a seven-run lead.
Trying to cut into the deficit, Amherst led off the seventh with consecutive singles by senior co-captain Brian Merrigan (Holbrook, MA), Espionsa and first-year Alex Hero (New York, NY), which brought the score to 8-2. Espinosa later scored on a sacrifice fly by fellow first-year Taiki Kasuga (New York, NY) and the Jeffs would soon load the bases, but Barsotti got a big strikeout and popup to end the inning and the Lord Jeffs' threat.
McKenna, who entered the game holding opponents to a .199 average, lasted five innings, giving up eight runs and 10 hits in suffering his first loss of the season (4-1). First-year reliever Robert Cahill (Wellesley, MA) allowed one hit over the final three innings.
Samela finished 3-for-5 on the day, while Merrigan, Espinosa and Heller recorded two hits apiece. Merrigan, who accounted for one of the Lord Jeffs' three runs, became just the eighth player in program history to crack the 100-run plateau, while Heller extended his hit steak to 19 games.
For Wesleyan, Barsotti improved to 3-3 and increased his seasonal strikeout total to 53 with the complete-game victory. He allowed 10 hits but consistently pitched out of trouble, stranding 10 Amherst baserunners.
Sonnenfield and Weiss combined to go 4-for-8 with a pair of RBIs and four runs scored, while Meadow and Freres added two hits and five RBIs.
The first pitch for tomorrow's doubleheader is scheduled for 1 p.m. on Memorial Field.
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