HARTFORD, Conn. -- If Sunday was in fact the final day of the 2026 season for the Amherst College baseball team, one could be confident in saying the Mammoths emptied the tank.
To open the day the Mammoths faced Trinity in their second elimination game of the championship weekend and trailed the Bantams, 9-6, entering the top of the ninth before erupting for seven runs and, ultimately, a 13-10 victory that sent them in the championship against unbeaten Tufts.
Needing to defeat the Jumbos twice, the Mammoths went toe-to-toe with them in game one, taking the lead three times and trailing 10-8 going into the bottom of the eighth before Tufts put the game away with a six-run frame en route to a 16-8 victory that gave them 2026 NESCAC Tournament championship.
With the split, Amherst is now 26-14. Monday, the NCAA's Div. III selection show is slated to begin at 12 p.m. The Mammoths are hoping for one of the 18 at-large berth awarded for the 60-team tournament.
GAME 1: Amherst 13, Trinity 10
* Down three entering the ninth, the Mammoths faced Trinity Tyler Fahey, who saved Friday's 6-3 Trinity win over the Mammoths and had thrown 2 2/3 innings of shutout relief. But
Aiden Dubetsky got things rolling with a single through the right side and
Tyler McCord followed with an RBI-triple into the gap in right-center field.
Charlie LaFreniere then crushed a double into the left-center field gap.
Justin Orridge followed by ripping an RBI-double down the left-field line that tied the game, 9-9.
*
Zander Carnahan then grounded a single up the middle that scored Orridge and gave Amherst a 10-9 lead.
Jackson Boyer then roped a double into the right center that Orridge scored on all the way from first. Carnahan advanced to third when
Leo Foust lined a single up the middle.
* After a pitching change, a Foust stolen base and an out,
Carson Ames ripped a two-run single that gave the Mammoths a 13-9 lead.In the bottom of the ninth, Trinity loaded the bases with two outs and one run in, but
Matt Tabet froze the Bantams' clean-up hitter for a strike three looking to end the game.
* The game was tied 2-2 when Amherst scored four times in the top of the fifth. With the bases loaded, Orridge drove a deep fly ball to straightaway center that fell for a two-run double and a 4-2 lead. Carnahan singled in Orridge and
Jackson Boyer had a sacrifice fly to plate the fourth and final run.
* Amherst starter
Naaveen Narayanan cruised through 4 2/3 innings, but four consecutive Bantam hits with two outs in the bottom of the fifth plated three runs. Amherst held the lead only because Boyer delivered a perfect throw to
Ben Smith at home to nail a Bantam runner and end the inning.
* Tabet earned the win, going two frames and allowing one run. Amherst had 15 hits. Orridge was 2 for 3 with 2 doubles and 4 RBIs. McCord was 3 for 5 with 3 runs scored.
Game 2: Tufts 16, Amherst 8
* Tufts took a 2-0 lead but the Mammoths rallied for three in the second as Boyer had a double off the wall in CF that scored one run and Foust and
Hudson Fulcher-Melendy had RBI-groundouts. Tufts scored twice in its alf of the second to take a 4-3 lead, but the Mammoths tied the game in the third when LaFreniere singled and Orridge doubled him home.
* First-year Laim Lennon started and went the first two innings for Amherst. He was replaced by
Walker Dellinger, who went one inning and was touched for four runs as Tufts took an 8-4 lead. They added one in the fourth off Amherst first-year
Chris Jaillet to take a 9-4 lead.
* Amherst rallied for three in its alf of the fifth to make it a 9-7 game. With the bases loaded, Fulcher-Melendy it an absolute seed down down the right-field line for an opposite-field, two-run double. After Ames was hit by a pitch, the Jumbos turned to Game 1 starter Cole Donato, their ace. With two outs, McCord worked a walk to force in a run, but Donato retired LaFreniere on a fly ball to center to end the threat.
* Tufts added a 10th run in its half of the fifth and led 10-7. The Mammoths answered with a run in the seventh when Fulcher-Melendy and Ames had back-to-back singles and a Dubetsky sacrifice fly made it 10-8.
* The Jumbos turned to Derek Desmarais in the eighth and he retired the Mammoths in order. Tufts put the game away with a six-run bottom of the eighth. Desmarais closed out the game in the ninth, getting a double-play grounder and a game-inning groundout in succession.
* Dellinger took the loss. Amherst had 13 more hits, with Orridge going 3 for 5 with an RBI and 2 runs scored. Fulcher-Melendy was 2 for 5 with 3 RBIs and a run scored.
