Weekend Preview April 5th
Williams (12-1, 0-0 NESCAC) vs Amherst (9-2, 1-2)
Friday @ Amherst
Saturday Doubleheader @ Williams
After losing a close series to Wesleyan last weekend, Amherst will have a chance at redemption as they will open up a 3 game series versus in-state rival Williams. All three games that the Mammoths played last weekend were close ones and unfortunately for them they found themselves on the wrong side of two of them. Dan Lombardo ’19 provided a quality start for Amherst in the final game of the series and Jake Alonzo ’20 came in and pitched a scoreless 2 ⅔ innings to earn his first save of the year and salvage a NESCAC win for the Mammoths. One of the biggest surprises for Amherst this year has been the success of freshman Daniel Qin ’22. He is hitting at a .426 clip and has an OPS over 1.150. Despite his 0-2 record, Senior Andrew Ferrero ’19 is having a solid season thus far, maintaining an ERA of 2.08 while only allowing 4 walks in his 13IP. Amherst has the opportunity to make a playoff run but they will need more pieces to the puzzle than they have now. While Williams has not officially entered NESCAC play, taking 2 non-conference games from Colby last weekend, they have been nothing but impressive in their games thus far. Their 12-1 record is due, in no small part, to the explosiveness of their offense which has been on display this spring. Senior Doug Schaffer ’19 is playing out of his mind, putting up a slash line of .571/.571/.816. He is second in the conference in hits and slugging percentage, fourth in doubles and leads the league in RBI and batting average. When a guy in on a tear like that it is tough for his teammates to not want to get in on the fun. Sophomore Erik Pappas ’21 has also been impressive, scoring 23 runs and batting .468. As a team the Ephs are hitting .343 so it is safe to conclude that hitting is in fact infectious. Although the team era for Williams is not as impressive as their average, it does not matter so much when your opponent ERA is above 8.5.
Prediction: Williams takes 2 out of 3
Hamilton (8-8, 1-2 NESCAC) @ Wesleyan (8-9, 2-1 NESCAC)
All @ Wesleyan
Hamilton will return from their sunny spring break in Florida to face off against Wesleyan in their second NESCAC contest of the year. In their previous contest the Continentals were able to take one game out of three from Middlebury. This was in large part to Gavin Schafer-Hood ’21, who continued to pitch great in a complete-game one run victory. When it comes to swinging the bats Hamilton has struggled more than most. Leading the pace for the Continentals is sophomore Ethan Wallis ’21 who is posting an impressive .409 batting average. He is also the lone Continental to go yard this season. Hamilton will be looking for a chance to right the ship in what will be a difficult matchup with Wesleyan. While Wesleyan’s non-conference record seemed to be less than impressive heading into NESCAC play, it didn’t seem to matter as they were able to come in and get their first series win of the new campaign. Solid pitching is what propelled the Cardinals, only allowing 7 runs in the 3 game series. Kelvin Sosa ’21 collected the win in the first game while Dan Lombardo ’19 took game two. Offensively Wesleyan’s top performer has been Andrew Kauf ’20. Kauf is batting .426 and leads the team with 20 RBIs (10 more than second place). Wesleyan seems to be an upperclassmen heavy team who knows when to get hot. They could be very dangerous this season.
Prediction: Wesleyan takes 2 out of 3
Bowdoin (0-14-1, 0-3 NESCAC) vs Colby (6-6, 0-0 NESCAC)
Saturday doubleheader @ Colby, Sunday @ Bowdoin
The Colby College Mules enter this series with no previous NESCAC experience, although they did play Williams in two non-conference matchups. Colby had what looked to be a much improved spring break compared to last year as they are already just one win away from matching their season total last year. Lots of thanks is due to their much improved offense. Junior Will Wessman leads the team in hits, doubles, runs, RBIs and home runs. They do not seem to have two or three key starters in the rotation but rather there seem to be 7 or 8 guys who could take the mound to start the game. Perhaps this strategy will play as the spring break schedule has come to an end, but who’s to say? Their team ERA is still a little high, which will hurt them in NESCAC play. Although the transition to NESCAC play can be tough at times, Colby gets a very easy transition in the form of Bowdoin. Not much has seemed to go right for the Polar Bears this season. They are yet to win a game through 15 total contests. They are batting below .215 as a team and their team ERA is near 8. I am not really sure what their is to praise or say about this team. It has got to be tough to watch and even tougher to participate in. I would give most teams an automatic sweep, but given the rivalry and Colby’s problems in NESCAC play last season, nothing is guaranteed.
Prediction: Colby wins 2 out of 3
Trinity (14-2, 3-0 NESCAC) @ Bates (6-9, 1-2 NESCAC)
The Bantams are riding high right now, entering this series maintaining an 11 game win streak. This streak includes a clean sweep of Bowdoin to start their NESCAC play. Not only are they shining in NESCAC play, but in non-conference games they have some quality wins like their win over MIT. Nearly every guy up and down the lineup is hitting over .300 and it shows in their offensive production. Their 5 states that they rotate between have all been solid as well, maintaining ERAs between 2 and 4. Trinity appears to be a well-rounded team that has the talent and capabilities to go deep into the playoffs. Bates did not fare quite as well in their first NESCAC series. Tufts was able to take the first two games but the Bobcats managed to snatch the last game, which was a close one. Bates had an underwhelming preseason which does not project to a particularly exciting or prosperous conference play. While they may have individual players such as Christian Beal ’21 or Nolan Collins ’20 who can shine on their own, as a team they don’t seem to have what it takes to make it deep this year.
Prediction: Trinity sweeps