Championship Effort Falls Just Short for Williamson in Title Game

A phrase used widely in sports states 'To be the champion you have to beat the champion'.  The Williamson baseball team came ever so close to living that out in Tuesday's Eastern States Athletic Conference championship game.  The Mechanics were leading defending champion and #1 seeded Central Penn College 6-5 heading into the bottom of the eighth inning, only to see the Knights score single runs in the eighth and ninth innings to defeat Williamson, 7-6 and claim the 2024 ESAC Title. 

 The game was a classic back and forth contest between two evenly matched programs.  Central Penn jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the second inning, only to see Williamson grab the lead in the top of the third on an RBI double by Joshua Illing and a 2 RBI single by Cody Grande. 

 The Knights scratched home a run to tie things up in the bottom of the 3rd and then went up 5-3 in the bottom of the 5th.

This time it was Williamson's turn to battle back. Williamson loaded the bases and then scored on an infield RBI single by Grande, but on the play an alert Shane McLaughlin managed to score all the way from second to tie things up at 5-5. Senior Joe Kelly promptly broke the tie with an RBI single and Williamson went back on top 6-5.

Lost in the back and forth between the teams was the gem of a game freshman Jacob Naumann was throwing on the mound for Williamson.  Against one of the top hitting schools in the country, he went the distance for Williamson, allowing 12 hits but just the seven runs, while striking out six. 

"Jacob was a warrior for us all year and he proved that again today for us," shared Williamson head coach Doug Thompson.  "I wish we could have pulled it out for him-he deserved it. We would not be where we are this year without him!"

Indeed, Naumann kept the Knights at beyond until the bottom of the 8th when they rallied to tie the game at 6. 

 Williamson would then go down in order in the top of the ninth.  The Knights then loaded the bases with one out before the game winning single sent them home with the ESAC title.

"I could not be prouder of our guys.  They gave it all they had and we went toe-to-toe with Goliath.  Few people would have given us a chance and yet our guys battled with such heart today. Even with the loss, I could not be prouder."

Indeed, Williamson has much to be proud of. After going 1-16 last year and 3-32 the previous two years combined, they pulled of largest turnaround by any sport in Williamson history, winning 16 more games this year than last year while going 17-9 in the regular season and qualifying for the ESAC Title.

"Our seniors deserve all the credit in the world.  They are the ones who turned things around. They could have abandoned ship after the previous two years but they didn't. They hung in there and took it upon themselves to right the ship. And boy did they.  They now have set the standard. 

"Our guys are already talking about next year and not just getting back to the title, but winning it."

If the team continues the upward trend from this year, a league title and USCAA World Series invite might just be possible in 2025.