Trinity Earns Shutout Over Wesleyan in Game 2 of Baseball Championship
Courtesy Amherst Sports Information
SPRINGFIELD, Mass. – Trinity College junior Greg Talpey (Westbrook, CT) tossed a five-hit, complete-game shutout to guide the Bantams to a 3-0 NESCAC Baseball Tournament win over Wesleyan University at Western New England College (WNEC) on Friday. With the win, Trinity improved to 29-5 and advanced to face tournament host Amherst College, who topped Tufts University 5-3 in the day’s other NESCAC tilt, tomorrow morning at 10:30 a.m. with a berth in Sunday’s NESCAC Championship game at stake. Wesleyan falls to 11-23-1 and will face Tufts in tomorrow’s elimination game at 10:30 a.m. at WNEC.
Talpey was dominant throughout, fanning four batters and surrendering no walks. Trinity got all the offense it would need in the opening frame as senior Matt Engster (Glastonbury, CT) led off with a double down the left-field line and later scored on a sacrifice fly by classmate Jeff Natale (Hamden, CT). Senior Aaron Goldstein (Edina, MN) plated an insurance run in the third inning, outracing a double-play relay throw from second while rookie Thomas DiBenidetto (Fort Myers, FL) scampered home. The Bantams tacked on one more in the fourth as senior Rob O’Leary (Easton, MA) smashed a triple to center and then trotted home on an error.
Wesleyan threatened in the 9th, placing runners on first and second and bringing the potential tying run to the plate with two outs, but Talpey struck out Cardinal sophomore Adam Kopiec (Rancho Santa Fe, CA) to end the threat and seal the win. Goldstein finished 2-for-4 with an RBI and a stolen base, while Engster and DiBenidetto each went 2-for-5 with a run scored.
Wesleyan senior Tom Bloss (Las Vegas, NV) took the hard-luck loss despite allowing just a pair of earned runs and striking out seven in eight innings. Sophomore Rob Coughlin (Saratoga Springs, NY) went 2-for-4 with a double and a bunt single to pace the Cardinal offense.
