HAVERFORD, Pa. - The Haverford College baseball team (16-17, 9-6 CC) was defeated by visiting Swarthmore (25-9, 12-3 CC) on Tuesday afternoon at Kannerstein Field, 3-1. Matt Goss drilled a home run in the seventh inning for Haverford's run, but Swarthmore's Jack Corkery was able to work a pair of perfect innings to nail down his seventh save of the season, preserving a win for the Garnet.
Swarthmore struck for the first run in the top of the second against Luke Duris. With two out, Matt Palmer and Kenji Yoshii drew consecutive walks before AJ Liu knocked a single through the left side of the infield, allowing Palmer to plate the opening run of the contest. Palmer doubled home a run in the fourth inning for the Garnet's second run and a 2-0 lead.
In its half of the fourth, Haverford loaded the bases against Charles Groppe. Spencer Sohmer and Ben Furlong connected on back-to-back singles before Owen Plambeck walked, but Groppe was able to work out of the jam without surrendering a run.
Groppe allowed just three hits in his six innings of work, but the Fords got to work against the Garnet bullpen in the seventh. Goss welcomed reliever Zach Gonzalez to the contest with a home run to right center and Jared Turner reached on a bunt single later in the inning before Gonzalez was able to retire the side.
A sacrifice fly off the bat of Cole Beeker gave Swarthmore an insurance run in the eighth and the Garnet held a 3-1 lead heading into its final two defensive frames. In the Haverford eighth inning, Furlong launched a towering fly ball to right field but the wind kept the charge in the ballpark. Liu settled under the ball at the base of the wall to deny Haverford its second homer in as many innings.
Goss whacked two hits to lead the Fords on the afternoon. On the mound, Duris went five innings allowing five hits while striking out three. Justin Herring hurled 2.2 innings of relief work, surrendering just one hit while Tom Phillips struck out a batter in his 1.1 innings of duty.
The Fords and Garnet will wrap up the home-and-home Hood Trophy series on Friday afternoon in Swarthmore, Pa. First pitch is slated for 3:30 p.m. before the Fords return home to host Gettysburg in the home regular season finale Saturday. The doubleheader with the Bullets is slated to begin at 12:30 p.m.