The baseball team was eliminated from contention for the NESCAC tournament by a tough-hitting Williams squad in three games this weekend. Williams (25-7) was stifled by the Cardinals’ pitching in the early innings of each game, but managed to take advantage of Wesleyan fielding gaffes and strike for runs in the middle and late innings to seal the victories.
In the first game of Saturday’s doubleheader, Cardinal ace Andre Sternberg ’07 had a solid performance against the Eph hitters, pitching a complete game and allowing only three earned runs. Williams capitalized on an error by the Cardinals in the third inning, however, as the Ephs struck for all five of their runs in the third.
The Cardinals were unable to mount any kind of offensive, managing only two hits in the game. In the second game on Saturday, the Cards were able to get out to an early 1-0 lead on an RBI single by Alexander Brooks ’06 in the third. In the fifth, Williams again took advantage of a Cardinal defensive error with a three-run triple off of pitcher Kit Tholen ’08. Williams scored in every subsequent inning and was victorious by a 15-3 score.
Co-captains Anthony Gray ’06, Jeff Maier ’06, and Brooks each had multiple hits in the losing effort.
In the final game of the series on Sunday, the Cardinals dropped a nail-biter. Six strong innings by starter Dusty Mones ’09 and a two-run single by shortstop Drew Dominguez ’09 had the Cardinals clinging to a 2-1 lead. In the seventh, though, a Williams base runner was able to advance on a passed ball and he scored on a wild pitch to tie the game.
In the bottom of the ninth, the Cards rallied for two hits and got a man to third, but were unable to drive in the winning run. In the 11th inning, Williams was able to produce the winning run.
The losses this past weekend in many ways exemplified the problems that have plagued the Cardinals for the entire season. Errors in the field combined with inconsistent hitting undermined solid starting pitching performances.
The baseball team still has four games remaining, including a doubleheader next Saturday versus Trinity. The team hopes that the final games will provide experience and confidence for next year.
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