HAVERFORD, Pa. - The Haverford College baseball team (24-12, 13-5 CC) defeated Gettysburg College (24-15-1, 10-7-1 CC) twice in the team's final two home games of the regular season. The first game included historic scoring figures as the Fords won the game 26-2 and scored 16 runs in the eighth inning. They continued the offensive outpour in the second game, winning 9-3.
Game one included a program record six home runs and nine extra base hits. Three of the home runs came in the eighth inning, two of them being grand slams and one being a three-run shot. The team's 26 runs were the second-most in Haverford history.
Spencer Sohmer and Ethan Lee-Tyson each hit grand slams just a few at bats apart. Zach Taylor and Sohmer each finished with three hits, two homers, and five RBI. Ben Furlong hit the team's fourth home run. Eleven different batters had hits with six of them having multi-hit games.
Lee-Tyson finished 2-for-4 with four runs and four RBI. Ben Verducci was 3-for-4 with a double, two runs, and two RBI. Ben Furlong had two hits in five at bats with three runs and four RBI.
The Fords already carried a 10-2 lead heading into the inning. The first 12 batters of the inning reached base and Sohmer and Lee-Tyson hit grand slams before one of the Gettysburg pitchers induced an out.
Starting pitcher Stephen Ridings was excellent on the mound, throwing five scoreless innings and punching out five. In relief, John Masella pitched two shutout innings and struck out three.
George Hatamiya and Furlong followed suit in game two, each crossing the plate three times. Furlong finished 2-for-4 with a triple and a home run. He also walked. Hatamiya was 1-for-3 with two walks.
The Fords gave up three runs (all unearned) in the top of the first but shut out the Bullets the rest of the way. Furlong's two-run homer in the bottom of the first gave them two runs back and by the end of the second inning, they already led 5-2. Catcher Sam Kane walked four times in the contest.
Pitcher Jared Deveau threw six innings, giving up no earned runs, and struck out four to pick up his second win of the season. Freshman Austin Castellanos made his second appearance of the season, throwing two scoreless innings in relief.
Playoff action begins next week. In their first game, the Fords will host McDaniel on Thursday, May 5. The time of the game has not yet been determined.