Hartford, Conn., May 9 -- The Trinity College baseball team, which finished the 2000-01 regular season as the second-place team in the New England Small College Athletic Conference (NESCAC) East Division, will visit NESCAC West first-place finisher Williams on Friday, May 11 in the first round of the inaugural NESCAC Championship Tournament.

The Bantams, coached by Bill Decker, posted a best-ever 25-8 overall record and a 9-3 mark in the NESCAC East. This season is the first in which the NESCAC will use a post-season league tournament to determine its automatic bid to the NCAA Division III Championship. The top two teams in each division earned a bid to the NESCAC Championship tourney, which will be a round-robin, double-elimination format. Williams, which was 18-3 overall and 11-1 in the NESCAC West, earned the right to host the tournament on its campus and at Wahconah Park in Pittsfield, Mass. Tufts, which finished atop the NESCAC East standings with a 10-2 league record and a 19-11-1 overall mark will face Amherst, the second-place squad in the NESCAC West at 8-4 in the division and 19-12 overall, in the other first round game on Friday.

The Trinity/Williams game will be at 3 p.m. at Williams’ Bobby Coombs Field, and the Tufts/Amherst game will be at 3 p.m, at Wahconah Park. Games 3 and 4 will be played on Saturday, May 12 at 11 a.m. at the two sites, and Game 5 will take place at 3 p.m. at Williams. Game 6 and game 7 (if necessary) will be on Sunday, May 13 at noon at Williams.

The Trinity offense batted .340 as a unit during the regular season, led by junior middle infielders Andrew Freimuth (Bristol, Conn.) at .403 and second baseman Greg Spanos (Auburn, Mass.) at .391 . Freimuth totaled 52 hits, 35 runs, 39 RBI, 14 doubles, and seven homers at shortstop, while Spanos notched team-highs of 39 runs, 41 RBI, 18 doubles (also a College-record), 52 hits and three triples. Seven other Bantam regulars batted over .300, including junior outfielder Alan Andreini (Greenwich, Conn.) at .352 (43 hits, 26 runs), sophomore Kurt Piantek (Wallingford, Conn.) at .349 (44 hits, 33 runs, 36 RBI, seven homers), and sophomore catcher Robert Dolliver (Norwich, Conn.) at .349 (30 hits).

Trinity boasts three of the top three starting pitchers in the NESCAC, led by senior co-captain right-hander and 1999 NESCAC Pitcher of the Year Jarrett Bayliss (Williamstown, Mass.). Bayliss, who owns the Trinity all-time win record with 27, is 6-3 in 66.3 innings this spring with 66 strikeouts and a 1.90 ERA. Bayliss’ younger brother Jonah Bayliss (Williamstown, Mass.) is 5-1 with a 45 strikeouts and a 3.65 ERA in 37.0 innings, while senior co-captain right-hander Jack Richardson (Arlington, Va.) is a team-best 6-1 with 51 strikeouts and a 4.60 ERA in 45.0 innings. Freshman righty Kevin Tidmarsh (Meriden, Conn.) is 1-1 with four saves and 33 strikeouts in 34.3 innings, working predominantly in relief.

Williams, coached by Dave Barnard, is 28-3 and 11-1 in the NESCAC West. Freshman Jabe Bergeron (Keene, N.H.) leads the Eph offense with a .438 batting average, 10 doubles, six homers, and 49 RBI. Classmate Ryan Paylor (Braintree, Mass.) is 6-0 on the mound with a 1.30 ERA in 48.1 innings pitched.