Sports

Baseball struggles against offensive-powerhouse Amherst

By Tucker Hamlin ’17

Last weekend, the Continentals (10-9, 2-4 NESCAC West) took on league leading Amherst (17-7, 9-0 NESCAC West) in a three game series at Hamilton. Despite losing all three games, the Continentals put up a good fight against a very talented Lord Jeffs team that struck out 24 batters in Saturday’s games.

The Lord Jeffs entered the weekend as the nation’s second-highest scoring team in Division III and they collected six more extra-base hits including four home runs in game two on Saturday.

In game one, the Continentals left the bases loaded in both the fifth and seventh innings after Amherst had a three-run fourth inning to take a 5-2 lead. Amherst’s Jackson Volle ’17 pitched a complete game and remained unbeaten on the season (4-0), in a game where he struck out 10 and allowed just five hits.

Later that day, the Lord Jeffs hit home runs in each of the first three innings to jump out to a quick 5-0 victory. Ariel Kenney ’18 started a three-run sixth inning for Amherst with a home run with one out. Later in the inning, Tyler Jacobs ’15 scored on a wild pitch. The Lord Jeffs finished the inning with an 8-0 lead.

Despite the score, the Continentals had their chances as they left 15 runners on base and finally got on the board in the fifth inning when David Rose ’16 scored on a wild pitch. Hamilton picked up another run in the ninth after Robert Morris ’17 singled home a run before, ultimately losing 8-2.

Captain JJay Lane ’15 said, “We started the season with high expectations and despite suffering an important series loss to Amherst, the team knows that we can compete with anyone in the league.”

Although the team hit a rough patch last weekend, the men will look to bounce back and finish strong. The Continentals have 12 more games this season, including a three -game series against Williams and Wesleyan. With plenty of time still left in the season, Lane remained confident. “We are only halfway through our conference schedule and I believe that we are in a position to finish the season on a very strong note.”

They will then close the season with home games against non-conference opponents SUNY Polytechnic (double header) and Utica. The game against Utica will be the 28th annual Jackie Robinson Classic game.

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