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MEDFORD – Nick Giattino and Sachin Nambiar each had strong starts and Joe Palmo had four hits and rbis in each game as Amherst College won the 2021 NESCAC Baseball Championship with 6-2 and 4-1 victories at Tufts University on Saturday afternoon.
In lieu of the typical four-team championship tournament, division winners Tufts and Amherst played a best two-out-of-three series to determine the 2021 champion. Amherst (10-3), who last won the NESCAC title in 2018, wins their fifth championship overall. Tufts (10-5) was playing in the final for the 11th time.
Giattino went six innings and allowed three hits and one run in the opener to improve to 4-0 this season. Palmo homered in the first inning and finished 2 for 3 with two runs scored as Amherst got a leg up in the series. In the second game, Nambiar (2-1) went the distance (seven innings) allowing five hits and one run. Palmo's rbi single in the fifth inning broke a 1-1 tie and gave the Mammoths the lead for good.
The Mammoths had a 5-0 lead after two innings in game one. In addition to Palmo's home run, Daniel Qin singled and scored on another base hit by Tyler Marshall for a two-run first. Qin's two-run single then highlighted Amherst's three-run second inning. He would finish 2 for 4 with a run and two rbis in the game.
Tufts got on the scoreboard in the fourth when Jimmy Evans led off with his second home run of the season. He would be the only batter to get past second base against Giattino.
Amherst added a run in the sixth after Marshall led off with a walk. He took second on a wild pitch, then third on a single by Aidan Park and scored on a fielder's choice from Jackson Reydel.
Miles Reid homered for Tufts off reliever Jacob Ribitzki with two outs in the seventh for the 6-2 final. Michael Volgende (1.1 IP, 5 H, 3 R) took his first loss on the mound for Tufts (4-1).
Game two was 1-1 through four innings. For Amherst, playing as the home team, Michael Perales led off the first with a single, went to third on Palmo's base hit and scored on a sac fly by Qin. Tufts tied it with Kyle Cortese's solo home run to lead off the fourth.
Perales was the table-setter again for the eventual game-winning run in the fifth. He singled with one out, took second on a wild pitch and came around to score on a single through the right side by Palmo for a 2-1 Mammoths advantage. Amherst added two unearned runs after two were out in the sixth, which included an rbi single from Perales.
Nambiar put the finishing touches on his game and Amherst's championship with a 1-2-3 seventh. Beside's Cortese's home run, he allowed just one runner to third base all game (Reid leading off the game).
Perales finished 3 for 4 with two runs and an rbi in game two for Amherst. Ryan Daues was 2 for 3 for Tufts. Brendan McFall (2.1 IP, 3 H, 1 ER) was the losing pitcher in relief.
