HAVERFORD, Pa. - Haverford College baseball has a new name on the top line of the career strikeout list. Fords' junior pitcher Tommy Bergjans fanned 12 batters and recorded his program-best 215th career strikeout in Sunday afternoon's 3-0 Centennial Conference win over Dickinson College at Kannerstein Field.
Haverford (12-13, 5-4 CC) only needed three runs to secure the victory as Bergjans (5-1) pitched a two-hitter over eight scoreless innings. The right-hander tied Chaon Garland's previous record of 210 strikeouts in the fifth inning when he got the Red Devils' Brian McCloud to strike out looking. The record fell in the top of the seventh when Bergjans struck out Mark Adams and momentarily put his career total at 211. Bergjans fanned the next two batters to strike out the side to further increase his school mark.
The junior struck out a pair of batters in the eighth to finish the game with 12 strikeouts and push the new program record to 215. Bergjans fanned at least one batter in seven of the nine innings that he pitched in on Sunday and also lifted his school-best strikeouts per game average up to 10.91.
The Red Devils did threaten in the top of the ninth as they loaded the bases with only one out, but closer Patrick Falkoff entered the game and got out of the jam to preserve the win.
Dickinson (18-7, 4-5) starting pitcher Mo Felt (3-1) gave up two runs in the first inning and another in the third as he picked up his first loss this season. Red Devils' first baseman Mike Adams was one of only two batters to record a hit for the visitors as he went 2-for-3 from the plate.
The Fords scored their runs in the first inning on a bases-loaded single from Mike Tentilucci. Nick Miranda led the inning off with a single to left field and advance to second on a passed ball. George Hatamiya and Nick Ott both walked to fill the bags and Tentilucci followed with a two-RBI hit to left field.
Nick Ott batted in the third run of the game for Haverford on a two-out single in the third frame that scored Casey Fox from second. Fox preceded Ott with a two-out hit and a swipe of second to put himself in scoring position.
The victory for the Fords clinches a season sweep of Dickinson. Haverford and the Red Devils were unable to play two games on April 5 due to darkness because the first game of the scheduled doubleheader went to 16 innings and lasted five and a half hours. The Fords prevailed in that meeting as they won 17-16 on a walk-off hit from Hatamiya.
Haverford has a key conference series with Ursinus College this week. On Wednesday, April 16, Haverford will travel to Ursinus and on Friday, April 18, the Fords will host the Bears at Kannerstein Field. Both games are slated to start at 3:30 p.m.