Courtesy Williams Sports Information

Box Score

WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. - Sophomore lefty Dan Benz tossed a complete game nine-inning one-hitter to lead Williams to a 1-0 victory over Bowdoin in game one of the 2007 NESCAC Baseball Championship on Friday afternoon at Bobby Coombs Field. Williams will play Amherst, an 8-7 winner over Tufts, on Saturday at 10:30 a.m.

The Ephs, host of the conference tourney and the top seed out of the West, improved to 23-9 on the year. Bowdoin, the second seed out of the East, fell to 18-15.

Benz surrendered just one hit and struck out seven during his nine scoreless innings, walking four. Polar Bear rookie starter Joe Pace was impressive as well, allowing just one earned run through seven-plus innings pitched. Pace gave up seven hits and walked one while striking out four.

The pitchers' dual took just under two hours to complete, as both teams looked sharp defensively in their first playoff contest. Neither team made an error. But, on the offensive side of things, both the Ephs and Polar Bears had trouble coming through in the clutch. Williams stranded eight base runners, Bowdoin left six.

Williams scored the lone run of the game in the bottom of the fourth inning. Pace walked senior shortstop Paul Morgan on four straight pitches to lead off the inning. Then, after Morgan advanced to second on a wild pitch, senior Sean Gleeson delivered an RBI base hit through the right side to give the Ephs a 1-0 lead.

It was all Benz would need, as he continued to cruise the rest of the way until he found himself in a bit of trouble in the top of the eighth inning. With two down in the inning, senior Chris McCann and sophomore Marc Dallaire sat on first and second for the Polar Bears. Williams Head Coach Bill Barrale came out for a chat with Benz, who was left in to escape the jam. He did just that, inducing a grounder to the first baseman, Gleeson, who fielded the ball cleanly and flipped to Benz covering the bag to just beat the runner.

Senior catcher Chris Kenney led off the bottom of the eighth with a triple, his second extra-base hit of the game. But Carter Butland came on in relief of Pace for the Polar Bears and retired three straight batters to end the threat. He struck out two in the inning.

But the Polar Bear offense could not scrap together a rally in the ninth. Benz finished up the shutout with a one-two-three inning. After getting an infield pop-out and a deep fly-out to center, Benz struck out the last batter of the game on a called third strike.

Kenney had three of the Ephs' seven hits on the day, going 3-for-4 with a double and a triple. Morgan also reached three times, going 1-for-2 with a walk and a hit-by-pitch.

McCann had the lone hit for the Polar Bears. The senior captain gave the Ephs trouble all afternoon, walking twice and stealing three bases. He was stranded in scoring position three times.

The Polar Bears will take on the Jumbos on Saturday at 10:30 a.m. at Joe Wolfe Field in North Adams, Mass.