AMHERST, Mass. -- Some days, the stars just align somehow.
In the case of the Amherst College baseball team, the stars Saturday were senior
Naaveen Narayanan and first-year
Saahi Jetti, both of whom delivered masterpieces from the mound as the Mammoths swept Hamilton on Senior Day at Memorial Field, 8-1 in 7 innings and 4-1.
There was some help from the cosmos as well, no doubt. With Amherst putting the finishing touches on the win in the nightcap at home, rival Williams went into the top of the ninth at Middlebury down 6-0. The Mammoths were in need of a win from the Ephs, and somehow got it as Williams scored seven times in the top of the ninth and held on to defeat the Panthers, 7-6.
The Amherst sweep combined with the Williams win gave the Mammoths the top spot in the NESCAC's West Division. Both Amherst and Middlebury finished with 7-5 divisional records, but Amherst get the #1 West seed based on taking 2 out of 3 at Middlebury earlier this month.
The result is Amherst will be at home to host the NESCAC Tournament quarterfinals, a best 2 out of 3 format that begins Friday, May 1, at 3 p.m. against Colby College, the NESCAC East Division's #4 seed.
Game 2: Amherst 4, Hamilton 1
* Needing a win to secure home field advantage for the quarterfinal series, Amherst got to work quickly. Narayanan left a Continental runner on second in the top of the first by fanning the final two batters on swinging third strikes. His teammates responded by giving him a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the frame. With two outs,
Charlie LaFreniere -- doing his own version of 1989's Kirk Gibson -- lined a single to right center that advanced
Tyler McCord to third.
Justin Orridge then put just enough speed on a two-hopper back up the middle that it snuck through for an RBI-single and a 1-0 lead.
* Narayanan retired 12 straight Continentals from the top of the first through the first out of the top of the fifth. walking Anthony Palumbo to snap the string, He hit the next batter, but got out of the game with a pop up and a strikeout.
* One of Saturday's celebrated seniors -
Ben Smith - was it by a pitch leading off the bottom of the fifth. A sacrifice bunt from
Carson Ames moved him to second and a wild pitch advanced him to third.
Jackson Boyer delivered a big insurance run with a sacrifice fly to left field.
* Narayanan came out for the sixth, significant because once he retired the third out on a grounder to second - stranding two more runners - it became the longest outing of his Amherst career. He finished with a dominant six-inning performance, allowing just one it, walking only two and matching a career-high with eight strikeouts.
* In the bottom of the frame, LaFreniere did his part by leading off with a double to left-center field. With two outs, a muffed throw allowed him to score, and that man
Ben Smith came through again with a sizzling liner through the right side that scored
Leo Foust for a 4-0 lead.
* Sophomore
Walker Dellinger came on and pitched the final three innings to earn his first save of the season, cruising through the seventh and eighth before getting nicked for a run in the ninth. Narayanan improved to 3-0 with his victory.
* Amherst had eight hits in the win. McCord and LaFreniere each went 2 for 4.
Game 1, Amherst 8, Hamilton 1 (7 inn.)
* A five-run first was much more than Jetti needed from his 'mates, but it sure made life a little easier for the big first-year righty. Boyer ignited the rally by drawing a lead-off walk and stealing second, With one out, McCord was hit by a pitch. Boyer advanced to third on a wild pitch and one pitch later McCord stole second. LaFreniere walked to load the bases.
Justin Orridge then hit a grounder to short that resulted in an error and two runs. First-year
Zander Carnahan then ripped a liner into left that scored both LaFreniere and Orridge for a 4-0 lead. Foust then ripped a frozen rope into right for an RBI-single that scored Carnahan.
* Amherst added three more in the bottom of the second, Carnahan had the big hit, a two-run single to center. He came around to score on Foust's second RBI-single in as many innings for an 8-0 Amherst lead.
* It was all Jetti after that. He gave up just four hits over the final five frames, never really in trouble but stranding Continentals here and there. He finished with his fourth complete game of the season, giving up five hits and no earned runs over seven innings. He walked three and struck out eight to improve to 7-1 on the season.
* Amherst had 11 hits. Carnahan was 2 for 4 with 4 RBIs. Boyer was 2 for 3 with a run scored. Foust was 2 for 3 with 2 RBIs.
