DAVENPORT, Fla. – The St. Olaf College baseball team was unable to get its bats going in a 4-2 loss to Williams College to conclude its week at the RussMatt Invitational on Wednesday at Chain of Lakes Park Stadium.

Trailing 2-0, St. Olaf (6-6) tied the game with single runs in the third and fourth but did not score after that, as Williams (4-8) gained a split of the two meetings between the two programs. Three Ephs' pitchers held the Oles to just four hits in the game.

Williams took a 2-0 lead in the second on a two-run home run by Mike Giove that came after a throwing error but a runner on base. St. Olaf got on the board in the next half inning, as fifth-year senior Matthew Muller drove in a run with a sacrifice fly after first years Matthew Kulesa and Evan Hammonds started the inning with consecutive singles.

First year Jacob Fickenscher pitched out of a second-and-third, one-out jam in the bottom of the third to keep it a one-run game. The Oles went on to tie the game at 2-2 in the top of the fourth when senior Andrew Nomoto drew a one-out walk and scored on a two-out double by junior Lucas Ammons.

The Ephs scored the eventual game-winning run in the home half of the fourth on a two-out RBI single by Brendan Stannard after Giove started the inning with a single and stole second. Williams added an insurance run in the fifth when Kurt Oelschlager singled with one out, got to third on a failed pickoff, and scored on a single by Daniel Lynch.

St. Olaf got at least one runner on base in each of the final three innings but could not capitalize, leaving two runners on in the seventh and eighth. Lavin tripled to deep center field with one out in the eighth for his second three-bagger of the season and the fourth of his young career.

Fickenscher allowed four runs (two earned) on nine hits over five innings but took the loss for the Oles. Sophomore Derek Hanson struck out three while pitching scoreless innings in the sixth and seventh before senior Jonah Smith tossed a 1-2-3 eighth inning.

Will Jeffries earned his first win of the season for Williams, limiting St. Olaf to two runs on three hits over six innings with one walk and seven strikeouts. Kedar Veeraswamy added two scoreless innings of relief before Oelschlager got three strikeouts in the ninth to record the save.

The Oles are slated to open Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) play with a doubleheader against Augsburg University on Saturday, April 2. First pitch is scheduled for 1 p.m. at Parade Stadium in Minneapolis.