In the opening games of NESCAC Baseball Championship Weekend at Trinity College in Hartford, Connecticut, the Tufts Jumbos and host Bantams earned wins to move into the winners bracket.
No. 1 Tufts 14, Middlebury 7 | Box Score
In Game 1 of Championship Weekend, Cole Donato tossed eight innings of near-flawless baseball and Tufts erupted for six first-inning runs in a 14-7 victory over Middlebury.
Donato surrendered just two earned runs on six hits while striking out four to improve to 8-1. The Jumbos sent 10 batters to the plate in the first inning, aided by a Middlebury error, and never looked back.
Jesse McCullough drove in four runs, going 2-for-5 with a two-run single in both the first and second innings. Tom Pender added three RBIs, including a sacrifice fly in the seventh, while Malcolm Whitfield went 3-for-5 with two RBIs and a stolen base.
Middlebury starter Chase Zidlicky lasted 1.2 innings, allowing six runs, but only two earned, before exiting. The Panthers made things interesting with a five-run ninth against reliever Jack McLaughlin, highlighted by Joe Basso's home run and Alexander Glasscock's two-run single, but the deficit proved insurmountable.
Will Ashley went 3-for-5 to lead Middlebury's 12-hit effort.
No. 1 Trinity 6, Amherst 3 | Box Score
In Game 2, the final game of Friday's opening day of Championship Weekend, Andrew Oppenheimer pitched eight dominant innings, and Dylan Schnitzer drove in three runs as Trinity defeated Amherst 6-3.
Oppenheimer, who improved to 8-1, allowed three runs on five hits while striking out two and walking two. Tyler Fahey worked the ninth inning for his sixth save of the season.
Trinity broke the game open with a three-run third inning, capped by Schnitzer's two-run single to right field that pushed the lead to 4-0. The Bantams added single runs in the fifth and seventh to extend their advantage.
Amherst pulled within one in the fourth when Justin Orridge launched a two-run home run to right field, cutting the deficit to 4-3. But Trinity starter Oppenheimer was steady the rest of the way, retiring the final 15 Mammoth batters he faced before giving way to Fahey.
Schnitzer finished 4-for-5, while Andrew Park added two RBI. Nick Fassert absorbed the loss for Amherst, falling to 3-3 after allowing five earned runs in six innings.
Day 2 of Championship Weekend begins with Game 3 at 9 a.m. (note an earlier start time) with Middlebury (W2) facing Amherst (W1) in an elimination game. Game 4 features Friday's winners adn the top two teams from the East Division - Tufts (E1) versus Trinity (E2) at 2 p.m.
