DUDLEY, Mass. – The Nichols College baseball team upset No. 25 Amherst 13-6 in non-conference action Tuesday afternoon at the Nichols Baseball Field. The Bison clawed across six runs in the eighth inning to help secure the victory over the nationally-ranked Purple and White.

This was the first-career win for Nichols head coach Nick Puccio against a nationally-ranked opponent.

Senior Benjamin Harrow (North Reading, Mass.) reached base in all five of his at-bats going 3-for-3 at the plate with a pair of runs scored including a solo-blast in the third to give the Bison a 3-0 lead.

Six different student-athletes had multi-hit efforts for the Bison including sophomores Nick Roy (Middletown, Conn.) and Ross Caswell (Randolph, Vt.) who each had three hits. Roy scored three runs in the game while Caswell drove in four and scored another. Sophomores Cam Cook (Phoenixville, Pa.) and Spencer Madden (Nashua, N.H.) along with freshman Joe Assenza (Poughkeepsie, N.Y.) each had two hits.

The Purple and White were paced by junior centerfielder Yanni Thanopoulos (Highland, Calif.) who finished the game 2-for-4 with two runs scored an RBI. Sophomore Ariel Kenney (Chula Vista, Calif.) did not register a hit in the game but did drive in two runs off a pair of sac-flys.  

The Bison led 5-0 after three but in the fifth inning the Purple and White's bats picked up. Amherst scored three runs in the fifth, one in the sixth, and two in the seventh to take a 6-5 lead over the Bison.

Harrow led off the seventh for the Bison with a walk and moved to second on a single to right field from Roy two batters later. Both runners moved up a bag on a wild pitch before Madden drove them both in on an RBI-double to right center field to give the Bison the lead for the rest of the game.

Nichols added six runs in the eighth inning to seal the deal for the home team.

Sophomore Jackson White (South Dartmouth, Mass.) started the game for the Bison but did not get the decision after tossing the first five frames and only allowing three runs (two earned) on four hits while striking out three. Freshman Cam Beaulieu (Newburyport, Mass.) earned his second win of the year by getting the last two outs of the seventh inning before Madden put the Bison in the lead in the home half.

The Purple and White saw eight different student-athletes toe the rubber but it was junior George Long (Newtown, Pa.) that ultimately took the loss after allowing four runs on four hits in an inning of work.

All-Time Series

This was the first meeting between the two teams since 2008 – in which Amherst ran away with a 23-4 win.

Quotes

"They are a really good ball club but we treat every ball game the same way, it doesn't matter who it is. I think our conference is one of the best in New England and I think it is showing." – Nichols head coach Nick Puccio

"The hitters did a great job today grinding out at-bats. Guys stayed after it and took advantage of their opportunities." – Puccio on scoring 13 runs on Amherst

"The program has been coming along a little at a time and this year we have beat a few really good teams. To come out and play against a team like Amherst and come away with a win is huge for our program." – Nichols senior Ben Harrow on defeating No. 25 Amherst

Next Games

Nichols (15-12) – Wednesday, April 20 vs Mitchell, 2:00 p.m.
Amherst (16-7) – Wednesday, April 20 at Curry, 4:00 p.m.