Springfield, Mass. – Sophomore Robert O’Leary (Easton, Mass.) hit a pinch-hit, two-out grand slam in the bottom of the seventh inning to lead the Trinity College Bantams to a 9-8 win over the Williams College Ephs in the first game of the New England Small College Athletic Conference (NESCAC) Baseball Championship Tournament at American International College this afternoon.
Trinity, which improves to 20-8, advances to the winner’s bracket of the double-elimination tournament and will play at Amherst tomorrow at 10:30 a.m. Williams, which drops to 26-9, will play Tufts in the loser’s bracket game tomorrow at American International at 10:30 a.m. Amherst defeated Tufts, 5-1, in the other NESCAC Tournament game today at Amherst.
Trailing, 1-0, in the bottom of the second inning, Trinity scored two runs on two walks, a fielder’s choice, and a two-out, two-run single by sophomore Jeff Natale (Hamden, Conn.). The Ephs tied the score in the top of the fourth frame when sophomore Scott Johnson (Windsor Locks, Conn.) singled home senior tri-captain Bobby Coppola (Orange, Conn.). Coppola, who took the loss on the mound for Williams, had helped his own cause with his second double of the game.
Trinity went back ahead, 4-2, as sophomore Andrew Fries (Dublin, Ohio) singled home Natale, who had doubled to start the inning, and senior Rob Dolliver (Norwich, Conn.) scored on a wild pitch. Each team added a run in its half of the sixth inning, before the Ephs finally figured out Trinity junior starter Kevin Tidmarsh (Meriden, Conn.) and scored three runs in the top of the seventh. With two out in the inning, Tidmarsh walked Williams junior Jabe Bergeron (Chesterfield, N.H.), and three consecutive singles resulted in a 6-5 lead for the Ephs.
In the bottom of the eight, Bantam senior co-captain Kurt Piantek (Wallingford, Conn.) led off with a single to right field, but Coppola got the next two batters to strike out and pop up to third base. With Piantek on second base, Coppola walked the next two Bantams to load the bases for O’Leary, who blasted an inside pitch just over the right field wall to give Trinity a 9-6 advantage.
Bantam freshman right-hander Kyle Cox (Hinsdale, Ill.) relieved Tidmarsh, who improved to 8-0 for the season with the win, and pitched a scoreless eighth frame, and freshman Matt Brown (Danville, Calif.) did the same for Williams in the bottom of the inning. Trinity senior closer Craig Tredenick (Cornwall, Prince Edward Island) allowed a pair of runs in the ninth, before recording the last out on a strikeout with the tying run on third and the winning run on first.
| Teams | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E |
| Williams (26-9) | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 8 | 13 | 1 |
| Trinity, Conn. (20-8) | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 4 | 0 | X | 9 | 9 | 2 |
BATTERY
W- Bobby Coppola , Matt Brown (7) and Matt Casey.
TC- Kevin Tidmarsh, Kyle Cox (8), Craig Tredenick (9) and Andrew Fries.
WP: Tidmarsh (8-0)
LP: Coppola (4-1)
S: Tredenick (3)
HR: TC- Robert O’Leary (3)
Offensive
Highlights
W-
Bobby Coppola – four hits, two runs, two RBI, two doubles,
Jabe Bergeron – two hits, two RBI, Austin lehn – two hits.
TC- Jeff Natale – two hits, double, Jayme Dorr – two hits, Kurt Piantek –
two hits.