Success Continues for Amherst Baseball

Coming off a 2-1 series win against Wesleyan University, the Mammoths traveled to Clinton Park, NY for two games against Hamilton College on Saturday, April 17. The team then headed back to host a home game in Amherst on Sunday, April 18. 

Saturday certainly had its drama in both contests. The first game of the doubleheader began at 1:30 p.m. The Mammoths started out strong as Luke Padian ’24 knocked a single to left field that brought home Joe Palmo ’21 and put the Mammoths up 1-0 in the first inning. Pitcher Sachin Nambiar ’22 also looked sharp in the first inning, holding the Continentals to zero runs.

However, Hamilton responded with a surge of their own in the second inning as Jackson Sattinger hit a single to center field that brought home Jacob Han, scoring an unearned run. Headed into the third, the contest was tied at one a piece. 

Once again, Padian racked up two runs batted in (RBI) with a clutch performance at the plate. He singled to right field, but an error by Wesleyan’s right fielder allowed Daniel Qin ’22 and Palmo to score. The Mammoths went into the bottom of the third 3-1, looking poised to take this game. But Hamilton responded once again. 

In the bottom of the third, Ethan Harrast homered to left, scoring two. After a triple by Matt McGoey and a sacrifice fly by Jacob Han, Hamilton led 6-3. Hamilton and Amherst managed to get one more run each, ending the contest at 7-4 in favor of Hamilton College.

However, in the second game of the doubleheader, Amherst bounced back, putting together one of the most dominant pitching performances in the history of the college. 

First-year Nick Giattino ’24 was called to pitch the first game of his Amherst career, and he did not disappoint. Giattino tossed a flawless 6.2 no-hit innings, teaming up with Alan Dai ’24 for the fourth no-hitter in the last 50 years of the program.

Heading into the fourth inning, neither team had managed to put a run on the board. However,  Chris Murphy ’23 jump-started the Mammoth offense, doubling down the right field line, allowing Padian to score the first run of the game and putting another runner in scoring position. Dai took full advantage in the next at bat, singling into right field and scoring  Tyler Marshall ’21 and Murphy, putting the Mammoths up three to zero.  

In the seventh inning, Hamliton managed to score its first run of the game with a bases-loaded walk. After that, Amherst head coach J.P. Pyne turned to Dai, who struck out the first batter he faced to end the game. The 3-1 win tied the series at 1-1 before the two teams headed to the Pioneer Valley for the rubber match. 

Amherst rode their Saturday momentum with a resounding 12-5 win on Sunday, cementing another 2-1 game series win. Once again, the offense was ignited by Padian. Bringing in Palmo, Padian singled to center to put the Mammoths up 1-0 in the bottom of the first inning. A wild pitch allowed Qin to take advantage, run in from second base and score another run for Amherst. Marshall kept the scoring alive with an RBI ground-out, putting Amherst up 3-0 heading into the second inning. 

Hamilton indeed battled, as they made a scoring run of their own in the second inning. Phil Berstein doubled to right-center field, bringing home Han and Gavin Schaefer-Hood. Hamilton was able to tack on one more as Brady Slinger brought in Berstein to tie the game at 3-3 headed into the third inning. 

However, this would be the closest the game would get as Amherst broke the game open in the fourth inning, scoring four runs. Dai doubled to left center, bringing home Camden New ’24. The Mammoths loaded the bases, and a walk by Palmo allowed Dai to score again. The run continued as Qin flew out, scoring Jackson Reydel ’23. After a sacrifice fly by Murphy, the Mammoths led 7-3 headed into the fifth inning. In the sixth, Murphy doubled to bring the contest to 9-3.

The run continued in the seventh, Michael Perales ’24 hit a two-run double, while Qin and Palmo strung together RBI groundouts, bringing the Mammoths’ total to 12 runs. While Hamilton scraped together two runs in the ninth, it wasn’t nearly enough to stop an Amherst victory. 
The Mammoths now move to 4-2 on the season. After back to back 2-1 series victories, this weekend brings big momentum heading into a three game series with rival Williams College this upcoming weekend on April 24 and 25.