DAVENPORT, Fla. - The Hamilton College Continentals split their non-conference doubleheader with the Worcester State University Lancers, losing 6-2 in Game 1 and rallying for their largest win of the season in Game 2, 15-4, at Northeast Regional Park on Saturday, March 22.
 

Season Update

• Hamilton (7-3 overall) won two out of three in two days and are off for the next two days. The Continentals now set their sights on Tuesday, March 25 when they are set to face Lawrence University in a doubleheader at Northeast Regional Park starting at 1 p.m.
• Worcester State (8-4), which is a member of the Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference, won seven out of 10 in Florida.

 

Game 1

 

How it Happened

• Hamilton's Eddie Taylor '25 dueled Worcester State's Gavin Price for the first five innings as the teams combined to score just three runs. Taylor struck out the side in the bottom of the first.
• Worcester State got on the board in the third inning. Ryan Jewett walked, advanced to second on a balk, went to third on a wild pitch, and scored on a line-drive single to right field by Kevin Doyle.
• The Continentals tied the score in the top of the fifth. Quinn Perkins '25 led off with a double to left field and crossed home plate after Louis Friedrich '28 executed a well-placed bunt down the third base line. The play forced a throwing error over to first by the third baseman that allowed Perkins to score.
• In the bottom of the fifth Worcester State followed up Hamilton's quest for the short game by executing a play of their own. Doyle bunted for a single between first and second that scored the leadoff hitter Nathan Thurber, who had reached on an infield single.
• Taylor (0-1) wrapped up his outing after the fifth inning. He surrendered two runs on six hits and recorded six strikeouts.
• The tightly contested game slipped away from the Continentals in the bottom of the sixth. Worcester State's Anthony Iamarone sparked the inning with a leadoff home run to left field. The Lancers scored their next three runs on a single, two walks, two hit batsmen and a passed ball.
• The Continentals refused to go down quietly in the top of the seventh as Perkins and Friedrich once again sparked the rally. Perkins led off with a single and Friedrich reached on a third baseman's error that allowed Perkins to advance to third. Jeremy Diaz '27 battled through a two-strike count to deliver an RBI single to right field. Chester Boynton '27 followed with a single that loaded the bases, but Worcester State retired the next two batters and secured the victory.

 

Notes

• Perkins went 3-for-3 and scored both runs for Hamilton. It was his second three-hit game this season and his first career double.
• Boynton continued his hot start to the year by going 2-for-4.
• Diaz notched his first RBI of the season.
• Nathan Thurber went 2-for-2 for the Lancers.
• Worcester State's Price didn't allow a single walk, scattered eight hits and fanned 10 in a complete game effort.  

 
 

Game 2

 

How it Happened

• The Lancers picked up where they left off in the first game with two runs in the top of the first inning.
• The Continentals erupted in the second inning as Hamilton home run king Michael Tallarida '26 hammered the 15^th of his career to left field. The offensive surge continued as Alfonso Rada '27 singled and Perkins, Lucas Herman '26 and Diaz loaded the bases on walks. Boynton delivered a clutch bases-clearing double and racked up three runs batted in. Ethan Righter '27 kept the momentum going with an RBI triple that extended the Hamilton lead to 6-2. Righter later crossed home plate on a wild pitch for the seventh run.
• Aden Soroca '27 struck out two in the top of the third and gave the bats back to the Continentals.
• The Continentals notched two walks and shortly after a run was driven in by a Boynton sacrifice fly. Diaz moved to second on the sacrifice fly and was driven in by a Greg Kopp '25 single for a 9-2 advantage. 
• The Continentals poured on six more runs in the bottom of the fifth. Diaz hit a one-out single and stole second before Boynton walked. Righter followed with an RBI single, and a passed ball advanced both runners. Tallarida's sacrifice fly brought in another run and Rada and pinch hitter Henry Boehm '25 contributed RBI singles. Perkins was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded and forced in another run. A wild pitch allowed pinch runner Andrew Millington '28 to score for a 15-2 Hamilton lead.
• The commanding lead proved insurmountable, as Worcester State managed just two more runs in the top of the seventh on a bases-loaded single. Carlos Castillo '26 shut the door by striking out two of the next three batters and securing the victory.

 

Notes

• Hamilton collected 10 hits and 11 walks.
• Tallarida, Righter and Rada had two hits each. Righter, who tripled, leads the team with 13 runs batted in.
• Boynton doubled and drove in a career-high four runs.
• Boynton is hitting a team-best .500 (14-28) through 10 games. He also leads the team with 14 hits and 12 runs.
• Diaz paced the Continentals with three walks and three runs scored.
• Aden Soroca '27 (1-0) gave up only three hits and no earned runs over six innings. The righty struck out six and walked five.