HAVERFORD, Pa. - Centennial Conference play continued for the Haverford College baseball team (12-10, 2-3 CC) on Saturday afternoon as the Fords split a doubleheader against visiting Dickinson (15-7, 3-2 CC) at Kannerstein Field. Haverford prevailed in the opener, 9-4, before Dickinson rallied late to take the late afternoon contest by an 8-6 final in a back-and-forth battle that featured six home runs.
Game 1: Haverford 9, Dickinson 4
Mike Rabayda was again a large part of the story for the Fords, scattering just three hits in his six innings of work, striking out 12 against just three walks.
Despite the combined 13 runs in the contest, the opener started as a pitchers' duel between Rabayda and Austin Buzza of the Red Devils. After Rabayda worked around an a baserunner in the first, Haverford pushed a run across against Buzza in the bottom of the frame as Daniel Rosman and Harry Genth each set the table for Chuck Norton, who knocked a single to center to plate Rosman. Buzza got out of the precarious position as he struck out Jack Wallis and Kyle Beach before inducing a ground out from Luke Treese.
Dickinson tied the score in the second on Christian Kim's two-out double, but Rabayda was able to keep compiling the strikeouts, with two in the frame. Buzza and Rabayda swapped scoreless frames in the third, with two more strikeouts from Rabayda, and Haverford's ace then added two more in the fourth.
The bottom of the inning saw Haverford do some damage against Buzza, with Beach punching a single to center before Treese and Kendrick Curry II each added singles to load the bases. Matt Dahl sent a well-placed grounder to shortstop and was credited with an RBI as a bobble allowed Dahl to reach first via an error. Rosman plated another run on a fielder's choice, and Haverford was suddenly up 3-1.
Rabayda and Buzza each tallied a perfect fifth inning, and Rabayda scurried out of trouble in the sixth, getting Luke Gartland to strike out and stranding a pair. In the sixth, Haverford chased Buzza from the game as Beach led off the frame with a hit by pitch. Against new hurler Joey Sangiuolo, Haverford broke things wide open.
Treese singled to move Beach to second, and Curry walked to load the bases. Dahl punched a single through the drawn-in infield to plate two, and Mauro DeCillis singled on a bunt ahead of a walk to Rosman. Genth then absolutely torched a double into left-center to plate two more, and Norton delivered a sacrifice fly ahead of a Wallis RBI single.
With a 9-1 lead in hand, Haverford turned to Drew Doyle to begin the seventh, and Dickinson showed some late life, loading the bases ahead of a Ryan Thompson RBI single as the Red Devils notched three in the frame. Aidan O'Sullivan came on in relief of Doyle and worked around a walk to Matt Torres to get two quick outs. He kept the Red Devils off the scoreboard in the eighth, and Ethan Goldstein got the ball in the ninth. Dickinson loaded the bases, but Goldstein was able to get out of trouble, inducing a ground ball from Kim that ended the contest.
Genth, Beach, and Treese each had two-hit games in the first contest, while Thompson and Gartland did the same for the visitors. The Haverford bullpen combined for three innings, allowing just three hits and four strikeouts.
Game 2: Dickinson 8, Haverford 6
Haverford scored first in game two after weathering two innings against a tough competitor in Dickinson hurler Koll Peichel. As has been the case in many contests this season, Rosman and Genth did the work of setting the table with consecutive singles to begin the third frame. Norton advanced the pair into scoring position with a sacrifice bunt before Wallis grounded out to plate the opening run.
Fords starter Wyatt Mattison was tagged with his first earned runs of his start as Matt Torres singled to left ahead of a Chase Weller home run that gave the Red Devils their first lead of the day in the top of the fourth. Peichel set Haverford down in the fourth, working around a double from Curry, and the score remained at 2-1 in favor of the visitors until Genth unleashed a towering home run in the fifth inning with two out, knotting things at 2-2.
Dickinson went back ahead in the sixth as Gartland launched a sacrifice fly for a 3-2 lead, and Peichel worked around two walks in the bottom of the frame. Home runs from Johnny Bruno and Ryan Thompson in the seventh put the Red Devils ahead by three at 5-2 before Haverford went to work offensively in the bottom of the frame to tie things in dramatic fashion.
Rosman singled with one out, and Genth then smacked a double into left. With two down, Wallis connected on a dramatic game-tying home run, knotting things at 5-5 and chasing Peichel from the contest with the momentum now squarely on the side of the Fords. Beach doubled in a bid to continue the rally against Brian Riley, but Riley was able to keep the game tied as he induced a groundout off the bat of Treese.
Alex Jenkinson came in to relieve Mattison and worked around a two-on, no–out situation to send Haverford back to the bats in the eighth. Riley allowed a leadoff walk to Curry but set down the Fords in order from that point. Jenkinson ran into some trouble in the ninth as Dickinson rallied with two out. Thompson poked a single into left, and Kaden Sigmon walked. Torres then launched a three-run homer down the right field line to put his team into the driver's seat heading into the bottom of the ninth.
Undaunted, Haverford went back to work offensively with one out in the bottom of the ninth. Norton walked, and Wallis reached on a hit batter. Riley was spelled by familiar foe Sangiuolo, who walked Beach and Treese back-to-back to plate the sixth run of the contest for the Fords. Flieder flew out to center as Sanguiolo regrouped, and the Dickinson hurler was able to craftily seal his fourth save of the season with a strikeout of pinch-hitter Sam Schaeffer.
Genth had an incredible game two, as he went 4-for-5, finishing a triple shy of the cycle. Wallis added four RBI, including the dramatic blast. Rosman added a pair of hits. Torres had four hits to pace the visitors.
On the mound, Mattison scattered eight hits over his seven innings of work with six strikeouts. Peichel took a tough-luck no decision with 10 strikeouts in 6.2 innings pitched.
The Fords now return to action with another busy week beginning with play on Tuesday, April 9, against Washington College in Chestertown, Md. The contest with the Shoremen at Athey Ballpark is slated for 3:30 p.m.