Hamilton Baseball Sent Packing in Last Inning

Author: Jacob Heller

The estimated driving time from Middlebury, Vt., to Clinton, N.Y., is four hours. This weekend the Middlebury baseball team ensured that drive would be a long four hours for the Hamilton Continentals. Middlebury won all three games by scoring a run in the final inning - 7-6, 8-7, 10-9. These clutch one-run victories over Hamilton leave Middlebury at 8-4-1 with less than a month left in the regular season.
In the first game, Russ Budnick '05 pitched six strong innings before giving way to reliever Ben Christensen '04 who picked up the win. Game two of the series saw Middlebury give up a late four run lead before scoring a run in the final inning to give Dave Irwin '05 his first win of the season.
Starter Tyler Bak '06 pitched well through seven innings surrendering only four earned runs. The final game of the three provided the most exciting with Captain John Prescott '03 contributing a stellar individual performance.
In the bottom of the eighth inning, Prescott launched his first home run of the season to tie the game at nine. Prescott followed his home run with a sliding catch in the top of the ninth that preserved a tie, which Middlebury would break in the bottom half of the inning. Over the three game stretch Prescott hit .615 with six runs scored and three RBI, earning him honors as the NESCAC Baseball Player of the Week. Jim Muhlfeld '04 started the final game but did not factor into the decision as Alex Casnocha '06 closed out with three scoreless innings to record the win.
At this point in the season the Panthers have played 13 games but have only practiced once on their field. The absence of practice outside due to the weather has hampered the Panthers ability to prepare but they still continue to perform on the field. As the team continues to come together on the field the possibility of the playoffs is on the players' minds. Captain Denny Smith '03 described the status of the team during this drive for the playoffs:
"It was a tough adjustment from shoveling snow off the field Thursday to turning around and playing 25 innings of baseball in two days after only one outdoor practice since our spring trip. We did not play as well as we are capable, but certain individuals stepped up and got the job done when we needed them. Several players had great individual performances, but we need to improve as a team in order to contend for the playoffs in May."
The goal is to make it to the playoffs and anything less will not satisfy what this team believes it can achieve. With eight wins already the Panthers know they have played well, but not as well as they would like.
Despite sweeping the season series from Hamilton it is clear the Panthers did not play their best baseball this weekend. Over the three games, Middlebury committed 16 errors including seven in the final game. These miscues allowed Hamilton to stay in each game and put more pressure on the Middlebury pitching staff than Coach Smith hoped for.
"Defensively it was not a good weekend. Frequent errors made our starters throw more pitches and forced our relievers to step up and get the win in each game. I feel we have the ability to beat any team we face when we bring our best game. This weekend we brought our game down from the level we can play at and we need to rebound. Simple mistakes like outfielders missing the cutoff man and infielders overthrowing bases will cost us against better teams."
Better teams certainly lie ahead as Middlebury takes on Massachusetts College at home this Wednesday and New England Small College Athletic Conference (NESCAC) rival Wesleyan at home this weekend. The Cardinals (3-3 NESCAC, 12-9 overall) currently sit at third in the NESCAC West Divison, one spot below the Panthers. Last season, the Panthers dropped two of three games to the Cardinals. Played on consecutive days, Middlebury could not compete with the obviously stronger Wesleyan team, who took the first two games 12-4 and 3-2. In the last game, the Panthers finally managed to pull out a win, 2-1.
Middlebury, who sits at 4-2 in league play and 8-4- overall, will take on number-one ranked Amherst May 2 and 3. The Lord Jeffs are undefeated in league play so far this season.