HAVERFORD, Pa. – Casey Fox hand a hand in most of the goings on Wednesday afternoon at Kannerstein Field as he started and earned the win on the mound while nearly hitting for the cycle in 21st-ranked Haverford College's, 6-4, non-conference baseball win over visiting Moravian College.
The victory pushes Haverford's record to 15-3 while the Greyhounds slip to 12-10 for the season.
Moravian jumped to the lead in the top of the first when it pieced together three singles off Fox to push Alex Longernecker across the plate for a 1-0 advantage. The margin was short-lived as Fox answered in the bottom of the first with a two-run home run over the left-field fence, scoring Nick Miranda who had reached on an error, that provided the Fords with a lead they wouldn't relinquish the rest of the chilly and windy day.
Fox sat down the Greyhounds in order in the second, then aided the offense again with an RBI single during a two-run bottom half of the inning.
An unearned run in the top of the sixth trimmed Haverford's lead in half, 4-2, but Fox led off the bottom of the inning with a double down the left-field line, moved to third on Alex Hudak's single over the second baseman's glove, then scored on Sam Kane's single deep in the hole to the shortstop's right. Luke Frankiw pushed another run across the plate in the inning with a sacrifice bunt that scored Hudak to increase the Fords' advantage to 6-2.
The Greyhounds put together a lengthy inning in the top of the sixth, chasing Fox with two outs and two runs already in, but Max Gerard extinguished the fire in relief to allow Haverford to maintain its edge.
Gerard worked out of a first and third jam with no outs in the seventh, then closed out the side in order in both the eighth and ninth to earn the save, his first of the year.
Fox (1-0) picked up his first win of the year on the mound pitching five and two-thirds innings, surrendering two earned and two unearned runs off seven Moravian hits and a walk while striking out nine. Gerard pitched the final three and a third allowing three hits without a walk and fanning one.
Miranda and Fox sparked the Haverford offense from the second and third spots in the order as each finished with a 3-for-5 day. Fox homered in the first, singled in the second and doubled in the fifth, collected three RBIs and scored twice. Miranda reached on an error and scored in the first, singled for an RBI and scored in the second, and added two more singles later in the game. Kane and William Bannard also had multi-hit games for the Fords.
Haverford has the day off Thursday but welcomes Swarthmore College to Kannerstein on Friday for a single Centennial game before heading to Dickinson College in Carlisle, Pa., on Saturday for a conference twinbill against the Red Devils.