CHESTERTOWN, Md. - In a contest that saw 18 runs scored during the final four innings, the Haverford College baseball team slugged past Washington College, 13-9. The Fords (13-13, 6-2 CC) scored three runs in the eighth and five in the ninth to pull away from the Shoremen (19-11, 3-5 CC). Owen Plambeck registered a career-best four-hit game, adding four RBI to pace the offensive effort for Haverford. Ben Somorjai also drove in three runs.
The Fords got on the scoreboard first, building up a 5-0 lead through five and a half innings. In the second, Matt Goss tagged a no-doubt two-run homer to right field for a 2-0 advantage. Haverford tacked on a third run in the third as Plambeck singled to lead off the inning and stole second and third base before scoring on a Somorjai single. In the fourth, it was Will Karp with a one-out single before stealing his way into scoring position. Plambeck then singled through the right side, beating the shifted Washington College defense that had been protecting against a double steal. The fifth run came on an RBI groundout from Michael Schwarze in the top of the sixth.
In the bottom of the sixth inning, the Shoremen finally got to starter Nathan Bass. Bass had been cruising up until that point with five strikeouts and just two hits surrendered. Ryan Donnelly led off the frame with a homer and Luke D'Ostilio tripled later in the inning against reliever Andrew Johnson. With two outs, pinch hitter Gavin O'Donnell connected on a three-run homer to give Washington College a stunning 6-5 lead.
After a scoreless seventh that included Johnson recovering for a perfect inning, the Fords pushed the go-ahead run across in the top of the eighth. Karp and Spencer Sohmer walked ahead of Plambeck, who doubled to right center to tie the contest. After Schwarze was intentionally walked, Ben Furlong walked with the bases loaded, picking up an RBI after a methodical at-bat that appeared to swing the momentum of the contest back to the Fords. Somorjai added a sacrifice fly as Haverford went ahead 8-6 at the end of eight.
In the ninth, Sohmer reached on an infield hit, picking up an RBI ahead of a two-run blast from Plambeck that made the score 11-6. A ground-rule double from Ben Furlong broke things open at 12-6 and Ben Somorjai added an RBI single for Haverford's 13th run of the contest. Tom Phillips allowed three unearned runs in the bottom of the ninth, but recovered to send the Fords to victory in a thrilling Centennial contest.
In addition to the offensive outputs of Plambeck and Somorjai, Furlong and Ethan Lee-Tyson each had multi-hit contests. Sohmer tied a program record with four walks, batting in the third position. Johnson (2-1) picked up the win in relief, striking out a career-best five in 2.2 innings pitched.
Haverford now faces a quick turnaround, hosting Johns Hopkins for a pair of games on Kannerstein Field Saturday afternoon. The first game of the doubleheader is slated for a 12:30 p.m. first pitch.