AMHERST, Mass. (taken from an Amherst College press release) -- Rookie CF Sean O'Hare (Southampton, Mass./Hampshire Regional) went 3-5 with a double, two RBI and three runs scored, while senior David Packard (Laguna Beach, Calif./Sage Hill School) picked up the win with his longest career outing and sophomore Nick Pollack (Brooklyn, N.Y./Berkeley Carroll School) retired all nine batters he faced for his first save as the Brandeis baseball team defeated Amherst College, 9-6, in a nonconference contest.
Brandeis (16-21) jumped out in the first inning, when a lead-off
single by rookie SS Julian Cavin (Brooklyn, N.Y./Beacon
School) led to a pair of wild pitches by Amherst hurler
Pat Harris (Rochester, NY). Cavin scored on a sacrifice fly by
rookie LF Jon Chu (Hollis Hills, N.Y./Bronx
Science), before the Judges scored their second run of the
frame on an error. Harris was able to limit the damage, and get out
of the top of the first with Amherst trailing just 2-0 on a pair of
unearned runs.
After a pair of ground-outs to second base to start the bottom of
the first, Amherst sophomore Scott Shaffer (Boulder, CO) hit a solo
homerun to left-center field. The opposite way shot was
Shaffer’s second homer of the season.
In the top of the second, Harris left the game with an injury,
giving way to junior left-handed pitcher John D’Angelo
(Woodbridge, CT). Brandeis put the Lord Jeff reliever to work
immediately, opening up a 5-1 lead before the second was half over.
The big blow was a two-run single by junior DH Drake Livada
(Cape Elizabeth, Maine/Cape Elizabeth) Once again, in the
bottom of the second, Amherst took a run back on a solo shot to
left-center. Senior captain Angus Schaller (Leucadia, CA) provided
the fireworks this time, hitting a line-drive shot off
Brandeis’s Packard. The homerun was the 17th career
round-tripper for Schaller, leaving him one short of the all-time
Amherst career mark of 18.
Amherst was unable to score another run over the next few innings,
as Brandeis increased its lead to 7-2 heading into the top of the
fourth. The Jeffs looked to start a one-out rally, before the
Judges ended the fourth with a 6-4-3 double-play.
The Lord Jeffs closed the gap to four in the bottom of the fifth
inning, riding a superb individual effort by first-year John Wagner
(Evanston, IL). The Amherst rookie led off the inning with a
double, and then scored on a play at the plate as the attempt to
catch him stealing third went into left field. The effort
jump-started the Amherst offense, which then quickly loaded the
bases for first-year catcher Thomas Wheeler (Minnetonka, MN).
Senior Mike Neff (New York, NY) scored from third to close the
margin to 7-4 on a passed ball, as Kevin Heller (Brooklyn, NY) and
Brendan Powers (Walpole, MA) advanced to second and third. Wheeler
reached on a fielder’s choice, as Heller was gunned out at
home by sophomore 3B Tony Deshler (Pepperell,
Mass./Lawrence Acad.) for the second out of the fifth.
Schaller delivered once again, scoring Powers from second with a
bloop single to short left-center with two outs.
Brandeis added another two runs in the top of the sixth, starting
the inning with a pair of singles and a walk to load the bases.
Livada delivered a bases-loaded single to knock on one run, before
the Judges added another run on a John O'Brion (Portland,
Maine/Portland) groundout. Over the next two innings,
Amherst was unable to close the gap any further, sending the Judges
to take the field leading 9-6 in the bottom of the eighth.
Packard took the win for Brandeis, going 5.0 innings while giving
up six hits and five earned runs. Pollack pitched three innings of
no hit relief to close out the game with the save for the Judges.
Harris took the loss for the Lord Jeffs, while Blank was a bright
spot out of the bullpen with 4.0 innings-pitched, and three hits
and no runs allowed.
Shaffer paced the Lord Jeff’s at the plate, going
2-for-5with an RBI on his homerun, and scoring two runs. Schaller
went 2-for-4 with two RBIs and a run-scored. Cavin and Sean
O’Hare led the Brandeis offense, as each scored three runs,
while combining to go 5-for-10 with two RBIs.