CHESTER, Pa. - In non-conference action at Widener, the Haverford College baseball team (6-5) used a big ninth inning to pull away from the host Pride (7-8), scoring six times in that frame to break things wide open after the two sides traded rallies through the first seven innings. Mike Rabayda (2-1) got the win with six solid innings of work, surrendering just two earned runs and one walk while striking out five. Zach Becker homered in that ninth-inning outburst, while first year Kendrick Curry II notched a three-hit day for the Fords.
Haverford got to Widener starter Liam Nihill in the first inning, as Luke Smith walked ahead of singles from Zach Landry and Zach Buck, with the hit from Buck plating Smith for an early lead.
Widener tied the score in the third, but the Fords put up a four-run inning in the fifth. Curry singled and stole both second and third, scoring on Luke Smith's single, and Harry Genth later added an RBI in the frame before Zach Landry brought home a pair of runs on a misplay by the Widener right fielder.
A home run from Anthony Boccio pulled Widener back within one in the seventh, but Becker launched a two-run homer after Smith got on to begin the ninth, and the on-base prowess for the Fords was on display as Landry reached on an error and advanced to second on a passed ball ahead of a single from Buck. Buck later came in to score on a passed ball, and Curry drilled another single ahead of a walk from Smith in his second plate appearance of the inning.
Matt Samson homered in the ninth, but Riley Grohowski got out of the jam to pick up the save. In total he pitched 2.2 innings surrendering just those two ninth-inning runs while striking out three.
Haverford was making its first trip to Chester since the 2010 season as the two sides renewed the series at Kannerstein Field in 2019 after seven years dormant. The meeting was the 100th in the all-time series between the two sides, a Delaware County rivalry that dates back to 1915, when Widener was known as Pennsylvania Military College.
Haverford will be right back in action tomorrow, heading to Cabrini for a doubleheader. Game one begins at 12 p.m. with the second game to follow at approximately 3 p.m. Those contests serve as a prelude to two consecutive home contests to begin next week, as baseball faces off with No. 9 Rowan on Monday and Immaculata on Tuesday as non-conference action continues.