FORT MYERS, Fla. – The Haverford College baseball team posted a 1-0 shutout victory over No. 6 Wooster on Saturday morning in the final game of the Gene Cusic Collegiate Classic, wrapping up a fifth consecutive victory. The Fords took down a ranked opponent for the second straight season after beating No. 16 TCNJ on March 30 of last season.
Sophomore Dylan Livingston (1-2) pitched an early season gem, striking out 10 over six innings while first year Andrew Johnson pitched the final three innings to secure his first career save. Ben Furlong hit a third inning homer, giving Haverford the only cushion it needed to secure victory. Haverford is now 5-7 on the young season while the Fighting Scots are 4-2.
Livingston got the best of Nanak Saran (1-1) in an old fashioned pitcher's duel at Terry Park. Each team got a runner on in the first inning, but the Fords put the first run of the contest on the board in the top of the third. Tom Phillips struck out to begin the inning, but Furlong launched a 2-1 pitch to right field for his first homer of the season, giving Haverford the early lead.
Livingston responded with a shutdown inning, striking out a pair in the bottom of the third. Livingston worked out of trouble in the bottom of the fourth inning as the Fighting Scots put a pair of runners on to begin the frame. Michael Wielanksky and Drew Tornow walked, but Livingston responded by fanning Garrett Crum and Dan Harwood before inducing a flyout off the bat of Nick Strausbaugh.
The Fords put a pair on in the fifth as Ben Somorjai singled and Phillips was hit by a pitch. The pair advanced into scoring position on a passed ball but Saran got Ben Furlong to strikeout following an eight pitch at-bat and Will Karp promptly grounded out to end the threat. The Fighting Scots loaded the bases in the bottom of the fifth inning with one out. A walk and a pair of singles suddenly left Wooster with a chance to break through.
Livingston, faced with the highest pressure situation of the game to that point, responded by striking out Wielansky and Tornow to end the threat. Livingston retired the side in order in the bottom of the sixth, handing the lead over to Andrew Johnson. Johnson walked the first batter he faced but induced a double play grounder off the bat of Jake Fling to end the seventh inning.
Furlong singled to lead off the eighth, chasing Saran from the contest, but James Usher gave Wooster a fighting chance by retiring three straight to end the stanza. In the bottom of the frame, Wielansky roped a one-out triple, but Johnson responded with a strikeout before getting Crum to fly out to strand the runner at third.
After Usher pitched a perfect top of the ninth, Johnson came back out to finish off the win the win. Harwood led off the frame with a single and Strausbaugh laid down a sacrifice bunt, putting the tying run in scoring position yet again. Johnson struck out Conner Thomson, putting Haverford on the cusp of victory before Chandler Dippman flew out, sealing the win for the Fords.
Plambeck and Furlong each had two hits for Haverford while Harwood and Wielansky both had two for Wooster. Livingston and Saran were the story in the morning contest, with each anchoring their teams in a big non-conference test.
The matchup was the first ever between Haverford and Wooster. The Fords will head home to the Keystone State today on the heels of the five game win streak. Haverford returns to home action on Monday against Gwynedd Mercy. First pitch at Kannerstein Field is slated for 3:45 p.m.