We promised predictions so here they are. One thing to keep in mind here is that we have no info about what the pitching matchups are going to look like this weekend. For instance, last year’s NESCAC Pitcher of the Year John Cook from Amherst pitched the second game while Bowdoin opted to pitch their ace Oliver Van Zant in the first game. We will tell you who we think will be pitching each game, but the variability is high here. Yes, we are already making hedging our predictions before we even make them.
First Round
East 1. Tufts (30-5,9-3) vs. West 2. Amherst (28-7, 9-3)
The Prediction: Tufts 4- Amherst 2
Why: Expect Tufts to start Kyle Slinger ’15 here in order to get Tufts off to a fast start. Projecting Amherst’s starter is a little harder, but we think John Cook ’15 to get the call. This pick comes down to Slinger being too good for even the powerful Amherst lineup. Cook has been pitching almost as well, but Tufts’ depth will challenge him.
West 1. Wesleyan (24-10, 10-2) vs East 2. Bates (19-19, 7-5)
The Prediction: Wesleyan 6- Bates 3
Why: Both teams should go with their lefty aces: Nick Cooney ’15 for Wesleyan and Brad Reynolds ’14 for Bates. Wesleyan knows their conference best record means nothing if Reynolds shuts them down and sends them to an elimination game against Amherst. They will make Reynolds work and try to get him out of the game early before scoring late to advance.
Winner’s Bracket
West 1. Wesleyan vs East 1. Tufts
The Prediction: Tufts 7- Wesleyan 5
Why: This is where things start to get tricky in projecting pitchers, but expect Wesleyan to go with Jeff Blout ’14 and Tufts to start freshman phenom Tim Superko ’17. The winner of this game is in the drivers seat needing only one more game to win while the loser needs to win three more games to win the championship. Tufts roughs up Blout enough to hold off a late Wesleyan rally after Superko leaves a short but successful outing.
Loser’s Bracket
West 2. Amherst vs East 2. Bates
The Prediction: Amherst 9- Bates 1
Why: Bates turns to Chris Fusco ’14 on the mound who can’t contain the Amherst offense led by Mike Odenwaelder ’16. Facing elimination Dylan Driscoll ’14 rebounds from recent tough outings to go the distance and save the other Amherst pitchers for later in the weekend.
West 1. Wesleyan vs. West 2. Amherst
The Prediction: Amherst 8- Wesleyan 7
Why: The weekend’s most intense and exciting game will end with a late inning Amherst rally downing their rival. Gavin Pittore ’16 gets the call for the Cardinals while Amherst counters with Quinn Saunders-Kolberg ’14. Neither pitcher is able to last more than six innings, but the difference is the Amherst bullpen holds up when the Wesleyan one can’t.
The Championship
East 1. Tufts vs West 2. Amherst
The Prediction: Tufts 6- Amherst 4
Why: The advantage of the winner’s bracket is that Tufts can use their final weekend starter Christian Sbily ’14 while Amherst has to go with Keenan Szulik ’16 who only entered the rotation near the end of the season. Tufts won’t let this go to a winner take all championship game by jumping on Szulik early. A potential wild card for Amherst is Fred Shepard ’14 who pitched a complete game for Amherst to clinch the championship last year but has only one appearance since April 14.
Sorry if you think our predictions light on game analysis, but predictions are inherently tricky tasks. Predicting specific games is even more of a toss-up. Enjoy the games this weekend if you can make watch live in Massachusetts or watching online with Northeast Sports Network.