Pinto hits for the cycle as Ephs defeat Elms in home opener, 14-2
WILLIAMSTOWN, MA- Senior captain Max Pinto hit for the cycle and first year Wilson Barr pitched 7 strong innings to lead the Williams College baseball team (13-5) to 14-2 win over Elms College. In their first home game of the season, the Ephs exploded for 16 hits, a day after managing only two against Springfield, and committed only one error.
"Wilson Barr pitched a nice game and Max Pinto hitting for the cycle was pretty impressive," said head coach Bill Barrale. "We only had the one error that was late in the game and I think that if we eliminate the errors we'll be able to compete with anyone."
While the Ephs pulled off the victory in convincing fashion, it did not look as promising in the first inning. Barr was hit hard by the first three batters he faced, allowing two extra base hits and a run. He would settle down after that, however, and allow only four more hits over the next seven frames, while striking out 11.
The biggest story of the day was Pinto and his career day at the plate. Not only did Pinto collect all four hits of the cycle but scored three runs and drove in five. The most impressive hit of the day was a towering homerun in the sixth, which put Williams up 8-1 in what was a somewhat tight game.
Other key contributors for the Ephs were senior second baseman James DiCosmo and sophomore catcher Chad Brown. DiCosmo, batting in the second spot, went 3-4 with 3 runs and two RBIs.
Brown, who just started catching this season, did a little bit of everything out of the four spot. In the third, he smashed a double off the left field fence, which barely missed being a homerun, and then got an RBI single on a check swing pop fly that was just out of the reach of the diving pitcher. On the day, Brown was 2-4, with a run and three RBIs.
The final two innings were pitched by first year Dan Marcet, who allowed one unearned run and recorded three strikeouts.
The Ephs next see action with a home double header against NESCAC rival Tufts on Sunday, starting at 1 PM.
