HAVERFORD, Pa. - A day after hitting five RBI's, sophomore Nick Ott came through again for the Haverford College baseball team by belting a three-RBI double into deep left center field to give the Fords a 5-1 win over Johns Hopkins University in Game 1 of Sunday's doubleheader. The Blue Jays escaped with a 7-6 victory in the second game to split the Centennial Conference twinbill.
Haverford (10-10, 3-2 CC) played as the visiting team at its own facility since Johns Hopkins (13-6, 1-4) is undergoing construction on its home turf. The Fords trailed for much of the first contest until their bats awoke in the eighth inning.
Ott came to the plate in the top of the eighth with the bases juiced after an error, hit batter, and walk by the Blue Jays. With two outs and his team down 1-0, the catcher scorched a fastball to left center field, clearing the bases and putting the Fords up, 3-1.
Starting pitcher Tommy Bergjans didn't even give Johns Hopkins the hope of a late rally, sending the first three batters he faced in the bottom of the eighth back to the dugout. The junior pitcher fanned eight batters in eight innings of work and moved into second place in Haverford history with 203 career strikeouts. Chaon Garland (1988-90) holds the school record at 210.
Haverford tacked on two insurance runs in the top of the ninth and George Hatamiya pitched the bottom of the inning, making his third appearance this year, and secured the 5-1 win.
In Game 2, the Fords clamped down on the Blue Jays after allowing seven runs in the first three innings. Similar to the first game, Haverford rallied late and scored one run in the fifth and five in the eighth to pull within one run heading into the final frame. The five-run eighth began by three straight singles from Nick Miranda, William Bannard, and Hatamiya, and followed by a three-run double from first baseman Justin Coulter.
In the ninth, Bannard reached scoring position after a walk and a steal, but Johns Hopkins halted the threat with a pickoff and then a strikeout.
Miranda finished the doubleheader with four hits and an RBI, while third baseman Casey Fox went 2-for-4 on the day with an RBI. Sophomore catcher Sam Kane sparked the offense in Game 2, going 2-for-4 with a run batted in and a run scored.
The Fords will play in the comforts of Kannerstein Field for their fourth straight game when they host Muhlenberg College on Tuesday, April 8. Game time is set for 3:30 p.m.