Zaffino '21 extends hit steak to 13 games in baseball loss

Recap, photo courtesy of Hamilton College

The Utica College Pioneers scored three runs in the third inning and two more in the fourth and went on to post a 7-2 non-conference win against the Hamilton College Continentals at Hamilton's Loop Road Baseball/Softball Complex on Tuesday.

The Continentals (10-10 overall) had won their first six home games this spring. Hamilton finished with two runs on eight hits and didn't commit any errors. 

Matt Zaffino '21, Craig Sandford '19 and Sam Rowley '20 collected two hits each for the Continentals. Zaffino extended his hitting streak to 13 games, and Rowley hammered his first career triple. Sandford reached base three times as he also drew a walk.

Hamilton threw seven pitchers with none going more than two innings. Ev Johnson '21 started on the mound and took the loss after he allowed three runs on three hits and three walks in two innings. Spencer Vogelbach '18 and Carter King '19 retired all three batters they faced in the fifth and sixth innings, respectively.

Ryan Palmer led the Pioneers' offense with three hits and four runs batted in, and Tom Carrigan and Adam Nell added two hits apiece. Six Utica pitchers combined to allow two unearned runs. Alex Rocci pitched the second inning and improved his record to 3-1 with the victory.

The Continentals grabbed a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the second. Hamilton loaded the bases on two singles and an infield error before Ethan Wallis '21 drove in Dean Rosenberg '18 with a fielder's choice ground ball to the shortstop.

The Pioneers (10-7) took the lead for good with three runs in the third inning. Palmer plated two runs with a single and Zachary Schellenger scored Carrigan with a base hit. Utica extended its advantage to 5-1 in the fourth. Jake Ryan hit a one-out triple and scored when Palmer grounded out to second base. A single to center field by Nell drove in the second run of the inning.

The Continentals cut their deficit to 5-2 in the bottom of the fifth. Zaffino reached base on an infield single and crossed home plate on Rosenberg's two-out double to center.

The Pioneers added single runs in the eighth and ninth innings. Palmer made it 6-2 with a two-out single that scored Matthew Leviton, and Nell accounted for the final margin when Ben Julian grounded out to second base and scored Nell from third.

Hamilton hosts Wesleyan University for the opener of their NESCAC West Division weekend series on Friday, April 13 at 4 p.m.

Morse '19 nets three goals for men's lacrosse in loss at Williams

Recap, photo courtesy of Hamilton College

Chad Morse '19 scored three goals and Clay McCollum '19 and Henry Hunt '20 contributed one apiece as the Hamilton College Continentals fell 9-5 to the Williams College Ephs at Williams' Farley-Lamb Field on Tuesday night.

The Continentals (1-11, 0-8 NESCAC) received 15 saves from Kyle Gately '20 and nine faceoff wins from Eric Zurmuehle '18. Zurmuehle scooped up six ground balls and Alex Choy '21 collected four. Morse, Chris Conley '20, Brock Bowers '20, James Sanderson '21, Rob Arrix '19 and John Ennis '19 all collected two. Sanderson caused a pair of turnovers.

James McFarland and Kevin Stump scored four goals apiece for the Ephs. John Hincks had three assists and Cory Lund added two. Alex Kitt scored a goal, won seven faceoffs and picked up five ground balls. Rock Stewart caused three turnovers and George Peele made 13 stops.

Williams (5-6, 4-3) took the lead 52 seconds into the first quarter on Stump's first goal of the day. Neither team scored again until 12:41 left in the second quarter when McFarland put home his first. Stump followed 1:02 later to claim a 3-0 lead.

Morse followed with his first on a man-up advantage off a pass from Hunt with 9:40 left in the quarter. Morse put home another goal with 39 seconds to play in the half to cut Hamilton's deficit to 3-2 at the break.

McFarland scored the first goal of the second half 7:01 into the third quarter and Kitt followed with another just 13 seconds later for a 5-2 lead. McCollum scored on the man-up advantage off a pass from Zach Larsen '19 with 6:02 left in the third to pull the Continentals within 5-3. Larsen leads the team with 12 assists, and Hamilton scored on both of its extra-man opportunities. Stump restored the Ephs' three-goal lead with 2:00 remaining in the quarter.

McFarland tallied again 1:19 into the fourth quarter for a 7-3 cushion, but Morse responded 47 seconds later with his team-leading 22nd goal. McFarland pushed Williams' advantage to four goals again with 9:46 to go, and Stump closed out the scoring for the Ephs with 3:22 left. Hunt scored with four seconds left for the final margin.

The Continentals will travel to Connecticut College for another conference game on Saturday, April 14 at 1 p.m.

Hamilton Women's tennis posts win in 2017-18 home debut

Audrey Chor '21 (Josh McKee photo)

Three Hamilton College players won both their singles and their doubles matches, and the Continentals came away with a 6-3 non-conference win against the Union College Dutchwomen inside Hamilton's Margaret Bundy Scott Field House on Thursday night.

Audrey Chor '21 and Ajla Karabegovic '21 teamed up for their fifth victory as a pair at second flight doubles. Chor improved her record to 9-4 as she triumphed in third flight singles, and Karabegovic defeated her opponent at fourth flight singles for her ninth win.

Ndanu Mutisya '21 and Katherine McNally '18 were winners at third flight doubles. McNally, who joined the team after the fall season, recorded her first doubles win for the Continentals (3-5 overall). Mutisya went on to even her record at 4-4 in dual matches with a victory at fifth flight singles.

Sophia Aulicino '21 posted her team-high 10th singles win when she blanked her second flight opponent, 6-0, 6-0.

Hamilton hosts nationally ranked No. 4 Wesleyan University in NESCAC action on Saturday, April 7. The Continentals will play inside Scott Field House again and the match will start at approximately 1:30 p.m.


RESULTS

Hamilton 6, Union 3

SINGLES
1. Natalia Pezzuco (U) d. Jane Haffer 0-6, 7-6, 10-8.
2. Sophia Aulicino (H) d. Megan Brown 6-0, 6-0.
3. Audrey Chor (H) d. Julianne Loree 6-3, 6-0.
4. Ajla Karabegovic (H) d. Alissa Sangiuolo 6-3, 6-4.
5. Ndanu Mutisya (H) d. Alex Greenberg 6-4, 6-0.
6. Allison Remmell (U) d. Katherine McNally 6-4, 7-6 (5).

DOUBLES
1. Brown/Pezzuco (U) d. Aulicino/Haffer 8-6.
2. Karabegovic/Chor (H) d. Loree/Sangiuolo 8-4.
3. McNally/Mutisya (H) d. Maddie Hamparian/Cathy Xing 8-1.

Records: Union 3-4 overall; Hamilton 3-5.

O’Brien ’21 pitches two-hit shutout in softball win over Oswego

Hamilton College split a non-conference doubleheader against SUNY Oswego at Hamilton's Loop Road Softball Complex on Wednesday afternoon. The Continentals fell 11-7 in the first game before shutting out the Lakers 4-0 in the second game.

Hamilton (6-9 overall) totaled 19 hits and nine runs batted in through both games. Oswego moves to 7-5 overall and has its win streak snapped at three games.

The Continentals open their NESCAC West Division schedule with a three-game series against nationally ranked No. 14 Williams College at home this weekend. Hamilton and the Ephs will play a single game on Friday, March 30 at 3:30 p.m. and a noon doubleheader on Saturday.

Game Two: Hamilton 4, Oswego 0

Claire O'Brien '21 got the nod for game two and the first-year pitcher did not disappoint,

Baseball wraps up Florida trip with fourth straight win

Craig Sandford '19 (Josh McKee photo)

The Hamilton College Continentals took the lead with a five-run fifth inning and held on for a 9-8 non-conference victory against the Worcester State University Lancers at Lake Myrtle Field in Auburndale, Fla., on Thursday.

Hamilton (4-7 overall) wrapped up its annual Florida trip with its fourth straight win. The Continentals have scored 36 runs during their current win streak. Hamilton is scheduled to host SUNY Canton for a doubleheader on Sunday, March 25. The first pitch is scheduled for 12:30 p.m.

Craig Sandford '19 led the Continentals' offense with two hits. Sandford owns a .364 batting average with eight hits in 22 at-bats. Matt Zaffino '21 and Nate Goodman '20 added a double apiece, and Zaffino drove in two runs. Zaffino finished the Florida trip with 11 runs batted in and a .741 slugging percentage.

Arlyn Lopez '21 picked up his first collegiate win after he came on in the top of the fifth inning and pitched into the seventh. Lopez allowed three earned runs on three hits and struck out two batters in 2.1 innings. Ian Nish '19 got the final four outs for his second save in the last three games. Nish allowed one unearned run on no hits and fanned one.

Cooper Bigelow had three hits out of the ninth spot in the lineup for Worcester State (2-9). Mike Ferrara chipped in two hits and two runs batted in, and Ben Palatino went 2-for-4. Patrick Grow's three-run homer in the top of the seventh inning pulled the Lancers within 9-7. Luke Brennan suffered his second loss on the mound as he allowed five earned runs on three hits in 4.1 innings. Brennan, who struck out seven batters, got into trouble by issuing six walks and left the game after throwing 121 pitches.

Worcester State grabbed a 1-0 lead in the top of the first inning but Hamilton seized a 2-1 advantage by scoring on an infield error and a groundout. The Lancers came right back with two unearned runs off Continentals starter Spencer Vogelbach '18 (4 IP, 5 H, ER, BB, 3 K) in the top of the fourth. Hamilton tied the score in the bottom of the inning on a sacrifice fly off the bat of Ethan Wallis '21 that scored Sandford.

The Continentals sent 10 batters to the plate in the fifth inning. Dean Rosenberg '18 drew a one-out walk and came around to score on Zaffino's double to left center. Zaffino moved to third base on a wild pitch and Goodman walked, which set up a perfectly executed double steal and led to Zaffino scampering home for a 5-3 advantage. After a single by Sandford, David Braverman '19 singled to left and plated Goodman. Wallis' base hit between first and second loaded the bases, and Jordan Northrup '19 came through by coaxing a two-out walk out of the reliever that forced in Sandford. Braverman made it 8-3 when he scored on a wild pitch.

Hamilton added a huge insurance run in the bottom of the sixth. Rosenberg and Zaffino led off the inning with walks and Sandford's single to left-center field scored Rosenberg from second base.

The Continentals' defense, which committed six errors, nearly gave the game away in the top of the ninth. The first two Worcester State hitters reached on infield miscues to put runners at the corners. The Lancers put on a double steal that resulted in the run that cut Worcester State's deficit to 9-8, but the runner going to second was cut down by Sandford. With the bases clear, Nish punched out the next batter on a called third strike, and ended the game by getting the No. 7 hitter to pop out into foul territory on the first-base side.

Three goals for Hunt '20, Larsen '19 in men's lacrosse setback

Zach Larsen '19 (Josh McKee photo)

The Nazareth College Golden Flyers took the lead for good with three straight goals late in the third quarter and posted a 14-12 non-conference victory against the Hamilton College Continentals on Wednesday in Rochester, N.Y.

Hamilton (1-5 overall) held the advantage in faceoffs, ground balls and shots. Nazareth (2-5) recorded a season high for goals in a game as the Golden Flyers ended their losing streak at three contests.

Henry Hunt '20 and Zach Larsen '19 paced the Continentals' offense with three goals apiece. Chris Conley '20 recorded four points on two goals and two assists, and Chad Morse '19 chipped in two goals and a helper. Morse leads the team with 14 goals and shares the team lead of 17 points with Conley. Henry Hill '19 and Clay McCollum '19 added a goal and an assist. 

Eric Zurmuehle '18 won 16 of 27 faceoffs and scooped up eight ground balls, and Alex Choy '21 picked up five for Hamilton. Kyle Gately '20 made nine saves.

Jeremy Jacob led Nazareth with three goals and Jacob Gray and Jack Crowley finished with two goals and an assist apiece. Tristan Gosselin won nine faceoffs and collected four ground balls. Alex Winkler started in goal and stopped four shots. Joe Whitmore replaced Winkler with six minutes left in the third quarter and registered three saves.

Larsen gave the Continentals a 9-8 lead with his goal on a feed from Conley with 6:00 remaining in the third quarter and the Golden Flyers replaced Winkler with Whitmore in goal. Nazareth responded with a three-goal run that put the Golden Flyers in the lead to stay. Gray started the spurt with a goal on a pass from Myles Young with 4:35 to go in the third. Anthony Basile found Paul Walter for another goal that put Nazareth up 10-9 with 2:37 left and Jacob made it a two-goal advantage on his unassisted tally with 58 seconds remaining.

Larsen's unassisted goal 32 seconds into the fourth quarter pulled Hamilton within 11-10, but the Golden Flyers answered with another three-goal run that all but clinched the victory. Jacob scored with 13:07 left, Crowley found the back of the net with an assist from Chris Murphy with 8:40 remaining, and Colin McElligott made it 14-10 with 4:01 to go. Crowley's man-up goal represented the first time either team led by more than two goals the entire afternoon. Morse passed to Conley for a man-up goal with 3:00 left and Morse scored with 37 seconds remaining but it was too little, too late for the Continentals.

Morse gave Hamilton a 1-0 edge early in the first quarter and the teams alternated scores until Hunt and McCollum put together two goals in a row for a 5-3 Continentals advantage 1:15 into the second quarter. Gray and Gosselin scored goals seven seconds apart a little more than two minutes later, and Crowley put Nazareth in front for the first time at 7-6 with 3:41 to go in the second. Hamilton's Hill scored with 11 seconds left and sent the teams into the break tied at 7-7.

The Continentals are at nationally ranked No. 6 Amherst College on Saturday, March 24 for a NESCAC game at 1 p.m.