COLLEGEVILLE, Pa. - Senior Nick Miranda tied the Haverford College program record for most hits in a game by hitting safely in all five of his attempts in Wednesday's 6-5 win over host Ursinus College in Centennial Conference baseball action at Thomas Field.
Miranda not only went 5-for-5 from the plate, but he scored three of the Fords' six runs and tallied the game-winning run in the top of the ninth inning. The senior's five hits were part of a 13-hit effort for Haverford and moved the center fielder into third place in the conference with a .400 batting average this year.
Haverford (13-13, 6-4 CC) led for most of the game until a rally by Ursinus (13-12, 5-6) knotted the game at 5-5 heading into the final frame. Miranda began the ninth with a single towards the third base line and advanced to second after a throwing error from the Bears. Shortstop William Bannard used a sacrifice bunt to move Miranda over to third and George Hatamiya followed with an infield RBI that would put the Fords up 6-5 with only one more chance for Ursinus to score.
In the bottom of the ninth, Patrick Falkoff (2-0) didn't allow a base runner and calmly preserved the 6-5 win as he picked up his second victory of the season.
The Fords got on the board in the top of the first inning after three consecutive hits from Miranda, Bannard, and Hatamiya. Two batters later Justin Coulter knocked in another run to give Haverford an early 2-0 advantage.
After a run by Ursinus in the bottom of the first the Fords responded with a three-run inning in the second. The inning was highlighted by a two-out double from Nick Ott that plated two scores for the visitors and pushed the lead to 5-1 after just an inning and a half of action.
Miranda was not the only Haverford batter to have an impressive day at the plate. Left fielder Marley Randazzo went 3-for-4 with a run scored and both Hatamiya and Ott collected two hits throughout the game.
Casey Fox got the start on the mound for visitors and only gave up one earned run over 6.2 innings of work. The right hander struck out seven Bears and only allowed one walk.
The Fords will finish their series with Ursinus on Friday, April 18 at Kannerstein Field. First pitch is slated for 3:30 p.m.