FORT MYERS, Fla. – The victories keep coming for Haverford College's baseball team which runs it's season-opening win streak to five after sweeping Pitt-Bradford on Monday by scores of 4-3 and 13-8 in a pair of non-conference, seven-inning games at Terry Park.
Freshman catcher Nick Ott registered Game 1's game-winning RBI on a single that scored Casey Fox in the bottom of the sixth after Pitt-Bradford had tied the score at 3-3 in the top half of the inning. The Fords (5-0) then had to rally from a 7-2 deficit to the Lions (0-3) in the nightcap, scoring five runs in the top of the fifth to tie things up and adding four more runs in the sixth before closing out the win with a pair of insurance runs in the top of the seventh.
In the opener (box score), Haverford led 3-0 heading into the top of the sixth but the Panthers squared things at 3-3 on an RBI-double and then a two-run homerun by Derek Smith. Fox led the bottom of the frame off with an infield single to the left side then came around to score what would prove to be the winning run on Ott's single through the same left side of the diamond.
Haverford starting pitcher Brett Cohen kept the Pitt bats muzzled for most of his five-plus innings of work, allowing just four base-runners to reach as far as second base until surrendering three runs to the first three batters in the fifth. Kevin Goff came on in relief and limited the Panthers to one hit and a walk while fanning three over the final two innings. Goff (1-0) earned the win when Fox and Ott combined to provide the winning tally.
Game 2 saw the Fords ball behind for the first time this season as Pitt broke out to a 7-2 lead against starter John Miraglia.
The five-run fifth began with three walks served up by Pitt starter Greg Taylor who gave way to James Iversen before the fourth Ford stepped into the box. That batter, Nick Miranda, pounded a grounder far enough to second baseman Scottie Frisina's right that the Panther had no other choice but to go for the force-out at second base allowing lead-off batter Mike Tentilluci to score the first run of the frame.
A Fox double and singles from Alex Hudak and Matt Liscovitz provided the other RBIs in the inning allowing Haverford to knock out another Panther pitcher and tie things up at 7-7 after sending 10 men to the plate.
Yet another pitching change to start the top of the sixth didn't help Pitt as Haverford scored four more runs off two Panther pitchers to complete the rally from the earlier five-run deficit.
Meanwhile on the mound for the Fords, George Hatamiya (1-0) settled things down in relief of Miraglia, earning the win after throwing two innings and allowing one run while Haverford was pushing nine across the plate. Patrick Falkoff came in during the sixth and recorded the final four outs of the game in Haverford's victory.
On the day, freshman shortstop Zach Taylor collected four hits, two RBIs and scored four runs. Fox also registered a four-hit day and scored three times including the winning run in Game 1. Liscovitz finished 3-for-3 in the opener and added two more hits in the nightcap. He also had two stolen bases.
Next up for the Fords is a Tuesday afternoon rematch against Drew University. The two teams last met in the 2012 NCAA tournament at the Mid-Atlantic regional in Lakewood, N.J., where Haverford rallied from a 9-1 deficit in the sixth inning before winning an 11-9, 12-inning thriller to eliminate the Rangers from the national tournament.