ALLENTOWN, Pa. - Haverford sophomore Riley Grohowski twirled a gem, taking a no-hit bid into the eighth inning and finishing with a complete-game, four-hit shutout in the Fords' 6-0 blanking of Muhlenberg on Friday at Cedarcreek Field. Haverford improves to 16-16 overall (6-6 CC) while Muhlenberg falls to 13-19-1 (6-6 CC) in defeat as the Centennial Conference playoff chase heats up.
In a tidy contest that took just 1:49 to play on a beautiful afternoon in Allentown, Grohowski kept the Mules hitters completely off guard. On the other side of the equation, Jayden Barroqueiro largely matched the effort of the Haverford hurler, as neither side recorded a hit until the fourth inning.
The Fords struck first in that frame as Daniel Rosman walked and Harry Genth was hit by a pitch. Jack Wallis reached on a fielding error, and Kyle Beach then delivered an RBI fielder's choice to open the scoring at 1-0. Zach Landry plated Harry Genth with a sacrifice bunt and suddenly Haverford had doubled its advantage to 2-0. Zach Becker then reached on an infield single for the first hit of the contest for either team, but was stranded after a Jonny Flieder flyout.
After a perfect fourth frame, Grohowski worked around a pair of base runners in the fifth, retiring Jonathan Toth on a fielder's choice grounder. He made quick work of the Muhlenberg side in the sixth, and was again perfect in the seventh, getting Jake Swerdloff swinging to end the frame.
Haverford gave their starter some insurance in the eighth, with Genth reaching on a one-out single and stealing second before Kendrick Curry II drilled a two-out double down the right field line. Zach Landry then reached on an infield single before a fielding error plated Curry for a 4-0 advantage.
Grohowski got the first batter of the eighth out via a fly out, but Aidan Legner punched a single through the left side of the infield for the first Muhlenberg hit of the day. Jonathan Toth and Jack Kent reached on consecutive infield singles, loading the bases with just one out, but Ryan Riccio tapped into a double play grounder, sending the Fords to the final inning with the 4-0 advantage.
The Fords tacked on two more insurance runs in the ninth, with Flieder reaching on an infield single and stealing second before advancing to third on a wild pitch. Daniel Rosman then doubled into right field, plating a run, and Genth tripled to put the Fords up 6-0.
Grohowski went back for his final inning, working around a Christian Schwarz leadoff single, getting three quick outs to seal the gem. Grohowski faced 33 batters, striking out three for his fifth win of the season. Barroqueiro was similarly brilliant for the hosts, but blinked first allowing two runs on two hits and striking out four in his seven innings of work.
This is Haverford's second complete-game shutout of the season, as Josh Fuller logged seven innings of scoreless ball in Haverford's win over Cabrini on March 18. The contest is Haverford's first complete-game nine-inning shutout since Stephen Ridings twirled a one-hit gem against McDaniel on April 16, 2016, striking out 11.
Haverford now returns to action on Saturday, taking on Franklin & Marshall in a twinbill at Kannerstein Field. The first contest is slated for an 11 a.m. start with the second game to follow shortly after the conclusion of game one.