Hamilton College scored in each of the first three innings and the Continentals cruised to a 7-2 NESCAC West Division win against the Williams College Ephs at Williams' Bobby Coombs Field on Tuesday.
 
Hamilton (16-14, 7-5 NESCAC West) clinched second place in the division -- their best finish in team history -- and will play in the postseason for the first time. The Continentals host East Division third seed Trinity College in a 2022 NESCAC Baseball Championship quarterfinal series on Saturday, May 7. The teams will play two games starting at noon and a third game, if necessary, on Sunday, May 8 at 11 a.m.
 
The Ephs (8-18, 2-10) scored a run in the bottom of the third inning and another in the ninth. Williams pitchers issued nine walks and hit a batter.
 
Gavin Schaefer-Hood '22 led the Hamilton offense with three hits, including his third double. Schaefer-Hood is hitting .409 with an on-base percentage of .552 in 44 at-bats. Jay Schlaefer '23 added two singles and Brady Slinger '22 walked four times.
 
The Continentals used seven pitchers, five of whom didn't allow a run. Jack Clougherty '23 (2-1) started and picked up the win after tossing two scoreless innings. Preston Perez '22 shut out the Ephs in the fifth and sixth innings. Perez leads the staff with 41 strikeouts in 27.1 innings.
 
Hamilton scored three runs in the first with the benefit of just one hit. Ethan Harrast '23 and Slinger drew one-out walks and Jackson Sattinger '24 was hit by a pitch. Shane Dux '24 forced in a run with another walk and, after a pitching change, Greg Kopp '25 plated Slinger with a single to left field. Jackson Johns '24 drove in the third run with another bases-loaded free pass.
 
The Continentals made it 5-0 in the second without a hit. Phil Bernstein '23 led off with a fly ball that was dropped by the left fielder and he made it to second base. Bernstein stole third, Slinger walked and Bernstein scored on a double steal. Sattinger walked and Hamilton pulled off another double steal before Slinger scored on Dux's pop-up into foul territory that was caught by the first baseman. The Continentals finished with seven stolen bases.
 
In the third Schaefer-Hood led off with a double down the left field line and eventually scored on a one-out single to center by Schlaefer for a six-run cushion. Hamilton scored its last run in the fifth inning when Schaefer-Hood led off with a base hit to center and came around on Johns' double down the line in left.
 
Williams left three runners on base the next four innings but put up one last comeback bid in the ninth. The Ephs loaded the bases on two walks and a hit batsman before a run scored on a fielder's choice. Sattinger got the next batter to hit a fly ball to Jack Griffin '24 in right field for the final out.
 
The Continentals won the season series two games to one. The teams split a doubleheader back on April 23.