Baseball drops two tough ones to Trinity

Author: James Edward Kerrigan

Middlebury baseball had two opponents at the opposite end of the spectrum. The men took care of business over the struggling St. Michaels squad 21-1 on April 26. On Sunday, Middlebury squared off for a double header against New England's top ranked Trinity club. They lost both games by one run, finishing 7-6 and 6-5.

With storms in the forecast, the St. Michael's game was moved a day ahead, but the Middlebury bats still stuck like lightning. On Tuesday, the Panthers collected 26 hits including five from junior shortstop Noah Walker. The game remained close for the first few innings, but once the bats got going, St Michaels was helpless. In the fourth inning Middlebury scored six runs to open up the game. Walker doubled home two runs and scored on a triple by Ryan Armstrong '06. The offense finished strong by scoring in each of the last four innings including seven runs on seven hits in the ninth inning. Walker finished with a five-for-seven night at the plate. He was responsible for 10 runs (7 RBIs and 3 runs scored).

Offense was not solely responsible for the win - flawless defense and stellar pitching factored in the win. The defense committed no errors behind the pitching staff's solid effort. Chris Fraser '05 started and earned the win for the Panthers. He surrendered only one run over five innings. Three first-year pitchers - Justin Wright, John Lanahan and Jack Britton - combined for four innings of shutout relief.

The weekend brought a tougher opponent. Trinity, ranked number one in New England, proved that the best teams play best in the biggest moments. In both games, Trinity came from behind in the late innings to earn themselves two wins. In game one, Middlebury took the lead with a four run fourth inning. Walker picked up where he left off and notched a two RBI double to give Middlebury its first lead. The men kept the momentum alive into the fifth inning with a leadoff homerun by Joe Ramoin '05. The 6-3 lead was short lived, however. Middlebury Head Coach Bob Smith deemed Trinity senior Jeff Natale "the best hitter in the country." If there was any doubt entering the weekend, Natale met the expectations with a game tying RBI double and by scoring the winning run. Middlebury could not bounce back against Trinity's version of the unhittable Eric Gagne, falling one run short.

"The sad thing is we had them beat," Smith notes, "but it was great that we could get to that point." The even sadder thing was that history repeated itself just a few hours later.

Trinity pulled in front 3-0 after three innings. This time, Middlebury fought back with four runs again the fourth inning highlighted by John Lanahan's '08 three-run homerun. Trinity rebounded once again with a run in the sixth inning to pull within one run. Russ Budnick '05 left with the lead after contributing six solid innings with seven strikeouts. In the bottom of the seventh (the game's last inning), Trinity's Jeff Natale once again proved he is deserving of his reputation with a walk-off two run homerun. The 6-5 loss dropped the Panthers to a 13-10 overall record. Losses like this are tough to swallow, but, after digesting the performance, Smith said he hopes that the men "learned from playoff like games."

Trinity, who stands atop the NESCAC East division, may likely be a first round opponent if Middlebury does make the playoffs. The Panthers need to split with Wesleyan in order to earn a birth into the playoffs. Smith highlights two keys to the rest of the season. "We will need to practice better and with more intensity, but most off all, we need to relax and enjoy it."

A stretch of five home games in five days concludes with a crucial, Sunday double header against Wesleyan. "We can't give any extra opportunities to [Wesleyan]," Smith commented.