Ephs defeat Division 1 Fordham, 5-2, for 11th consecutive victory
BRONX, NY- The Williams College baseball team (11-5) extended its win streak to 11 with an impressive victory against Division 1 Fordham Tuesday afternoon, 5-2. The Ephs took advantage of several Ram mistakes in the final two innings to improve their northeast record to 2-0.
"Our pitchers did a great job on a pretty cold day," said head coach Bill Barrale. "We played good defense and didn't commit an error, and that was key."
Both teams had trouble throwing strikes, as they combined for 14 walks in the first six innings. Fortunately for both squads, the score was only 2-1 Williams entering the eighth.
That is when it all fell apart for Fordham, as 4 costly errors in the eighth and ninth allowed Williams to score three unearned runs on only one hit. Even a run for the Rams in the eighth was not enough as the Ephs capped off the exciting three run victory.
Senior Dan Benz started for the Ephs and struck out three in two innings for the win. Fellow senior Zach Stone pitched a scoreless ninth to capture his second save in as many chances since returning from Arizona.
On offense, junior Robin Allemand, who had an RBI and three runs, and Stone, who had a hit and an RBI, led the Eph attack.
"We've now won eleven in a row by beating a good Babson team on the road and a Division 1 team on the road, and we are excited to play Amherst this weekend," said Barrale. "It's hard to believe that we've gone 11-5 and have yet to play a home game."
Next up for the Ephs is the crucial aforementioned double header against NESCAC rival Amherst at home April 11th. The action begins Saturday at 1 PM.
Notes: With the win the Ephs are now 3-0 all-time vs. Fordham, the winningest team in all of college baseball... previous Eph wins came in 1892 (7-0) at Fordham and 16-1 in 1894 at Williams... Fordham has expressed an interest in returning the game at Williams next season and a late April date is being considered... Williams, Amherst and Fordham all began playing baseball in 1859... Williams and Amherst met on July 1, 1859 in the first college game and Fordham played its first game in November.
