FORT MYERS, Fla. – The Haverford College baseball team used a strong pitching performance by senior Tommy Bergjans to defeat the Monmouth (Ill.) Fighting Scots, 6-1, and banged out 18 hits in a 12-5 victory over the Dominican University Stars on Friday afternoon.
Haverford 6, Monmouth (Ill.) 1
The Fords jumped on the board in the top of the third inning. Freshman Ben Furlong led off with a walk and advanced to second on a sacrifice bunt by sophomore Thomas Vollaro. The next batter, sophomore Ben Verducci, ripped a single, scoring Furlong to give Haverford a 1-0 lead.
The next inning, Haverford added three more runs. Senior Mike Tentilucci's sacrifice bunt made it 2-0 while Furlong singled in senior Marley Randazzo a batter later. Verducci's second hit of the game gave the Fords a 4-0 advantage.
That would be all that Bergjans would need. Over the first six innings of the contest, the Fighting Scots had only three runners reach scoring position. Monmouth's best opportunity to get to the senior came in the seventh frame. The Fighting Scots managed to load the bases with two against Bergjans, but senior Clay Bloszies came in relief and struck Brandon Harroun to end the threat.
Bergjans struck out 11 hitters, allowing just four hits in 6 2/3 innings of work. It's his 12th career 10 strikeout performance.
Haverford tacked on two more insurance runs in the ninth inning with a freshman Matt Goss RBI double and Tentilucci RBI knock. Monmouth's Raahsaan Fox homered in the bottom of the frame for the team's only run of the game.
Head coach Dave Beccaria's squad had 13 hits, highlighted by Verducci's 3-for-4 game with two RBI. Sophomore Jared Deveau, Goss, Tentilucci and Furlong also picked up multi-hit games. The Fords also continued its marvelous base running, stealing six bags.
Haverford 12, Dominican (Ill.) 5
Verducci's banner day continued in game two vs. Dominican, setting a career high and tying the program record with five hits. He has 10 hits in his last 13 at bats over the past three games.
In the early going, it was the Stars that had the lead as they posted a run in the first inning and two more in the second.
Haverford recorded three runs in the third inning to tie the game. Freshman Spencer Sohmer knocked in Vollaro to get the Fords within two. After a fielder's choice yielded another run, junior Nick Ott doubled to left center, bringing the game back even.
Dominican went ahead again with runs in the fourth and fifth innings, but Haverford tied the game for a second time in the sixth.
The Fords' ninth inning featured 11 batters, seven runs and six hits. Verducci, Deveau and Fox had RBI singles in the inning while junior George Hatamiya ripped a two-run double. Ott also had an RBI when he was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded.
The reigning Centennial Conference champions posted a season-best 12 runs, 18 hits, and four extra base hits. Hatamiya tied his career high with four hits and six total bases. Eight of the Fords' starters had base hits in the contest while four had multi-hit games. Deveau, Ott, and Hatamiya each recorded two RBI.
Junior Grant Finn gave up just one hit over the final 4 2/3 innings to tally the victory. He retired 11 of the final 12 Dominican hitters and allowed just two runners to reach scoring position.
Quinlan Milne Rojek and Nathaniel Natividad had three hits while Chance Emlund struck out 10 Fords' hitters in the loss.
The baseball team now stands at 3-5 overall while Dominican fell to 2-4 and Monmouth dropped to 2-5 overall. The Fords have one final game on their spring break trip vs. Rockford tomorrow beginning at 9 a.m. Rockford took down Haverford 5-3 on Tuesday.