Amherst, Mass. Senior co-captain Kurt Piantek (Wallingford, Conn.) went 5-for-8 with three home runs, four runs, and six RBI, breaking his own season records for home runs and runs batted in, leading the visiting Trinity College Bantams to a 11/5-6/3 sweep of the Amherst College Lord Jeffs in the New England Small College Athletic Conference (NESCAC) Baseball Championship Finals this afternoon. Trinity wins the league tournament for the first time and earns its fourth bid to the NCAA Division III Championship Tournament. Trinity, ranked No. 2 in New England and No. 22 in the nation, improves to 23-9, while the Lord Jeffs close the season at 21-12.
The Bantams pounded out 18 hits to overcome six errors in game one. Amherst
led, 2-1, early on until Bantam senior Robert Dolliver (Norwich, Conn.)
and Piantek tagged solo home runs in the third and fifth innings, respectively,
to give the Bantams a 3-2 lead they would never relinquish.
Trinity tacked on two more runs in the fifth on an RBI double by sophomore
Aaron Goldstein (Edina, Minn.) and a bases-loaded balk called on Amherst
freshman righty reliever Rob Anderson (Winnetka, Ill.). Trinity added two
runs in the seventh and four runs in the eighth inning, highlighted by a solo
homer over the 400-foot sign in centerfield by sophomore Andrew Fries
(Dublin, Ohio), his third of the tournament, another solo shot by Piantek,
his 13th of the season to break his own Bantam record set last spring, and a
three-run blast by sophomore Billy Wise (Longmeadow, Mass.).
Trinity received a heroic pitching performance from freshman southpaw
Matthew Krant (Portsmouth, N.H.), who, despite pitching only 9.1 career
innings entering Sunday, surrendered just two run on five hits with two
strikeouts, upping his record to 2-1. Classmates Kyle Cox (Hinsdale, Ill.)
and Greg Talpey (Westbrook, Conn.) and senior closer Craig Tredenick
(Cornwall, Prince Edward Island) each threw an inning of relief. Piantek,
Dolliver, Fries, Goldstein and sophomore Matt Engster (Glastonbury, Conn.)
each registered three-hit games for the Bantams. Engster also made a sparkling
defensive play, robbing Amherst freshman Zach Schonberger (Rye, N.Y.) of
a three-run homer in the second inning.
The second game was more of a pitchers dual, as Amherst senior Jonah Ansell
(Oak Park, Ill.) went the distance, scattering just six hits in the loss,
while four Trinity pitchers, including Talpey, who drew the game-two start,
limited the Jeffs to six hits.
Trinity won the game with a two-run single by Piantek in the seventh inning.
Piantek also drilled his 14th round tripper of the season and third of the day
in the sixth, highlighting a four-RBI outing which included his 53rd
of the season to break another of the Trinity season records he set a year ago.
Talpey gave up two runs in 5.0 innings before giving way to senior right-hander
Kevin Tidmarsh (Meriden, CT), sophomore Mark Tremblay (Hooksett, N.H.)
and Tredenick. Tidmarsh picked up the win to up his record to 9-0 and Tredenick
struck out the side in the ninth to earn his fourth save of the year.
Piantek batted .438 with three home runs, a double, six RBIs and six runs
scored in five games. Fries drove in a combined 10 runs on eight hits, including
a trio of homers.
Game 1
| Teams | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E |
| Amherst (21-11) | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 6 | 11 | 3 |
| Trinity, Conn. (22-9) | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 4 | X | 11 | 18 | 6 |
BATTERY
A- Joe Vladeck, Rob Anderson (5) and Tom Sullivan.
TC- Matt Krant, Kyle Cox (7), Greg Talpey (8), Craig Tredenick (9) and
Andrew Fries.
WP: Krant (2-1)
LP: Vladeck (3-1)
HR: TC- Kurt Piantek, Rob Dolliver, Andrew Fries, Billy Wise.
Offensive Highlights
A- Brandon Cody two hits, Tom Sullivan two hits, Paul Whiting two
hits, triple, John Schneider two hits.
TC- Kurt Piantek three hits, three runs, two RBI, two home runs, Rob
Dolliver three hits, three runs, double, home run, Andrew Fries three hits,
two runs, two RBI, home run, Aaron Goldstein three hits, two runs, double,
Matt Engster three hits.
Game 2
| Teams | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E |
| Amherst (21-12) | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 6 | 2 |
| Trinity, Conn. (23-9) | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0 | X | 5 | 6 | 0 |
BATTERY
TC- Greg Talpey, Kevin Tidmarsh (6), Mark Tremblay (8), Craig Tredenick
(9) and Andrew Fries.
A- Jonah Ansell and Tom Sullivan.
WP: Tidmarsh (9-0)
LP: Ansell (2-4)
S: Craig Tredenick (4)
HR: TC- Kurt Piantek
Offensive
Highlights
TC-
Kurt Piantek two hits, four RBI, home run
A- Zach Schonberger two hits, double.