HAVERFORD, Pa. - In a Centennial Conference doubleheader slate that was pushed to Sunday due to wet weather in Saturday's forecast, the Haverford College baseball team (14-16, 4-6 CC) registered a split with visiting McDaniel (16-13, 4-6 CC). The Fords notched a 9-6 victory in game one, before falling by a 9-7 final in the second game.
Game 1: Haverford 9, McDaniel 6
Haverford sent Josh Fuller to the hill in game one, and Fuller ran into a spot of early trouble as the Green Terror flexed their offensive muscles in the first two frames, putting up a 4-0 lead on the Fords.
The Fords got right back into the contest with the longball in the fourth inning against Ryan Martino. A two-out rally was sparked by a Zach Landry walk, and after Zach Becker reached on a throwing error, Pranav Rane absolutely drilled a three-run homer into right field, cutting the McDaniel lead down to just one at 4-3.
McDaniel plated a pair of fifth inning runs, but Haverford got one back immediately in the fifth as Harry Genth lifted a solo shot into left field. After Jack Wallis was hit by a pitch, Kyle Beach unloaded on a two-run homer into left, tying the score at 6-6.
In the very next inning, Haverford plated two more to pull ahead. Rane led off the frame with a single, and Norton followed suit as he punched a single to right center. After a sacrifice bunt moved both into scoring position, Genth was walked intentionally. Flieder poked a single into left field to plate a pair. The Fords then scored another on a bizarre fielder's choice with Wallis at the dish. Wallis notched a bases-loaded grounder to first base, which was immediately flipped to second for the second out of the inning. Norton scored for an insurance run, but the trail runner, Genth, was caught in a rundown to end the inning at third.
A bases-loaded wild pitch scored a run without the benefit of a hit in the seventh as Haverford added some more insurance. August Williams was brilliant in his five innings of relief work, surrendering just one hit to pick up the victory while striking out six. Rane, who continues to have a strong April, went 3-for-4 with a pair of runs scored and three RBI to lift the Fords.
Game 2: McDaniel 9, Haverford 7
In game two, Haverford wasted no time with the offense getting to work immediately against Ryan Kelly. Haverford put the first six batters of the game on base, with five singles, as Flieder and Landry each notched RBI hits in the stanza to put Haverford in a comfortable spot early, up 4-0.
McDaniel responded against Drew Doyle in the second inning, as they put up five to match the Haverford four-spot and add an additional tally. Todd Calhoun and Ben Davis each had an RBI wrapped around the big hit in the inning, a two-RBI single from Joey Hubinger.
The Fords went back to work, with Genth launching his second solo homer of the day ahead of a Flieder single. Jack Wallis then lifted a double, and Kyle Beach collected an infield single that plated a run on a throwing error.
With 12 runs between the two sides in just two innings, the contest figured to be an offensive slugfest. However, both sides were held relatively in check for the remainder of the contest. Connor Uhrig notched an RBI double in the fifth to plate Austin Goudeaux, putting McDaniel back within one, and a big sixth inning rally featured a Goudeaux single ahead of a Hunter Kelly triple into the right field corner, plating a pair and giving McDaniel the 9-7 lead that they would not relinquish between some stellar pitching.
Haverford put baserunners on in the seventh and ninth innings, with Genth sprinting into third base with two down in the ninth, but a strong turn on the mound from Conor Henderson proved to be a huge difference maker as he tallied 3.2 innings pitched, surrendered just two hits and struck out three for the save. Max Vener was credited with the win after logging 3.2 innings of scoreless relief himself, holding Haverford off guard after they quickly tagged Kelly in the early goings.
For Haverford, Wyatt Mattison was a standout with three scoreless innings, striking out four and completely neutralizing the McDaniel bats, allowing Haverford a shot at climbing back into the contest. Ethan Goldstein scattered four earned runs over his four innings but struck out five Green Terror batters. The three hour game featured 13 total walks and four hit basemen.
Flieder continued a scorching week in game two going 3-for-6, while Genth again proved almost unstoppable with a four hit game. Landry also notched three hits while Wallis added a pair.
A quick turnaround now awaits the Fords, as Muhlenberg visits Kannerstein Field on Tuesday to begin a home-and-home series at 3:30 p.m.