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TIGERS STAY AFLOAT IN PLAYOFF RACE WITH SWEEP OF EMU Williams sets triples record, Brown hits two homers in Saturday sweep
Game 1 Box Score Earlier, the Tigers (16-16, 8-7 ODAC) took game one of the set 8-4 and with the two wins, put themselves back into serious contention for a top-six finish and berth in the 2009 Old Dominion Athletic Conference tournament in Lynchburg, Virginia. With a triple off the right center field wall in the second frame of game two, Williams notched his seventh triple of season, surpassing Kelly's mark of six set in 1986. Most importantly, the hit came with two outs and cleared the loaded base paths, erasing an early two-run deficit and handing Hampden-Sydney a 3-2 lead after two. Trailing 4-2 in the top of the fourth, Eastern Mennonite (9-19-1, 4-10 ODAC) turned two costly Tiger errors into five unearned runs and ultimately an 8-4 advantage. But Hampden-Sydney returned the favor in the bottom of the stanza, reclaiming the lead for good with the help of six runs, all coming with two outs. A.J. Prill's (Midlothian, VA/James River) two-out, two-run single to right field kick started the dramatic rally. Zach Harrelson (Danville, VA/George Washington) followed with an RBI double to right center before Brown, who had already driven a shot over the wall in right in the third inning, crushed a high fly ball over the left field fence for his second homer of the game to give the Tigers a 9-8 edge. Evan Rogers' (Chester, VA/L.C. Bird) made it back-to-back blasts with his second home run of the season, concluding the two-out barrage and staking Hampden-Sydney a 10-8 lead that it would never relinquish. Brown enjoyed a plentiful game at the dish, finishing 3-for-4 with five RBI and the two home runs. Williams went 2-for-4 with three RBI, two runs scored and two stolen bases, upping his league-high stolen base count to 27. Will Wiseman (Danville, VA/George Washington) earned the win in relief, pitching 5.1 innings while allowing just one run on five hits and striking out four. In game one, Tigers' starter John West (Lanexa, VA/Lafayette) lasted all seven innings, giving up just two earned runs en route to securing the win. Hampden-Sydney raced out to a 2-0 lead after one inning on RBI singles from Prill and Brown. After the Royals cut the Tigers' lead to 3-2 with a Matt Atkins sacrifice fly in the Eastern Mennonite part of the fourth, Hampden-Sydney exploded for five runs in the bottom half to put the game out of reach. Williams led the Tigers in game one going 1-for-1 with two RBI and two runs. Prill, Harrelson, Brown, Rogers and Chris Martin (Chesterfield, VA/Manchester) all drove in a run in the victory. Hampden-Sydney will return to ODAC action on Wednesday, April 15 when it welcomes Washington and Lee University to Yank Bernier Field for a 3:30 pm contest. www.hsc.edu/athletics- |