HAVERFORD, Pa. The Haverford College baseball team displayed dominant pitching in Tuesday afternoon's 6-1 victory over Franklin & Marshall College. The Fords used three pitchers in the Centennial Conference contest and they combined to strikeout 10 batters without allowing an earned run throughout the entire game at Kannerstein Field.
Haverford (16-15, 9-6 CC) starting pitcher Max Gerard tossed five strong innings, dispersed five hits and struck out four batters on the day. Gerard (2-1) was at his best when it counted the most. The right-handed pitcher stranded six runners on the base paths and left four runners on a bag when they were in scoring position.
Patrick Falkoff entered in the sixth inning and did not make it any easier for the Franklin & Marshall batters. Falkoff fanned four of the 12 batters he faced and surrendered only three hits without giving up a walk. Tommy Bergjans pitched the ninth and struck out two of the three Diplomats (13-20, 5-10) he faced as he put the side down in order to end the game.
The Fords had enough offense in the first inning alone to win the game. Freshman Jared Deveau hit a two-out, bases-loaded double to deep center that cleared the bases and scored all three runners. The two-bagger was Deveau's first of the season and gave Haverford the early 3-0 edge.
A three-run fifth inning saw Justin Coulter and Zach Taylor each knock in runs for the Fords. Coulter belted a double down the left field line to score Marley Randazzo from third and three batters later Taylor singled to right field to score Deveau.
Deveau finished the day 2-for-3 at the plate with three RBIs and a run scored, while Coulter went 1-for-3 with an RBI, two runs scored, and was able to draw a walk. Shortstop William Bannard saw the ball well on Tuesday as the senior went 3-for-4 from the dish.
Haverford returns to the diamond on Wednesday, April 23 for a non-conference contest against DeSales University. The Fords will travel to the Bulldogs' home turf for a 3:30 p.m. start. Haverford finishes its season series with Franklin & Marshall on Friday, April 25 in Lancaster at 3:30 p.m.