SALISBURY, Md. - The Haverford College baseball team (10-6) split a doubleheader with No. 4 Salisbury (16-4) on Sunday at Williams Stadium on the campus of Salisbury University. The Fords secured a 7-4 victory in game one before Salisbury salvaged a 3-1 win in game two. Jack Wallis's towering grand slam in the first game played a pivotal role in the Fords' upset victory.
Game 1: Haverford 7, No. 4 Salisbury 4
In game one, Haverford relied on its staff ace and senior co-captain, Mike Rabayda, to challenge Salisbury's lineup. The Sea Gulls struck first, scoring a run in the bottom of the first inning when Dylan Winebrenner hit an RBI single through the middle, bringing Andrew Kell home. Kell had led off the inning with a single and advanced into scoring position on a sacrifice bunt from Kyle Brex.
The Fords rallied for five runs in the third inning. Kendrick Curry II walked, followed by back-to-back errors from the Sea Gulls, allowing Pranav Rane and Daniel Rosman to reach base. With the bases loaded and one out, Luke Treese walked, prompting Salisbury to replace starting pitcher Benji Thalheimer with lefty Shawn Rosemond. Wallis greeted Rosemond with a towering grand slam to left field, giving the Fords a commanding 5-1 lead early in the game.
Despite a double by Kyle Beach later in the inning, Rosemond limited the damage. The Fords continued their impressive offensive onslaught in the fourth inning, plating two more runs. Curry singled to left field, advanced to second on Rane's sacrifice bunt, stole third base, and Rosman later walked. This set the stage for Treese, who roped a double to the gap, bringing both Curry and Rosman home for a 7-1 lead against the fourth-ranked team in the nation.
Salisbury mounted a comeback attempt in the sixth inning, scoring three runs to chase Rabayda from the game. Winebrenner and Danny Sheeler singled, followed by a one-out single from Adam Tommer to load the bases. Dom Frigiola then laced an RBI single, and a throwing error allowed two more runs to score. Aidan O'Sullivan replaced Rabayda and secured the final out of the inning. Drew Doyle took over pitching duties in the seventh inning and delivered a masterful performance, earning a three-inning save with perfect frames in both the seventh and eighth innings, while working around an error in the ninth. Doyle struck out two batters during those three innings of work.
Rabayda tossed 5.2 innings, earning his third win of the season, allowing nine hits, three earned runs, and striking out three batters.
Mitchell Wittkamp helped keep Haverford's offense at bay after the big third inning, pitching four two-hit innings and striking out five batters for the hosts.
Game 2: No. 4 Salisbury 3, Haverford 1
In game two, Haverford handed the ball to Wyatt Mattison for the start. Mattison engaged in a pitcher's duel with Tyler Villa, with neither team scoring a run until the bottom of the fourth inning.
Salisbury took the lead in the bottom of the fourth inning after Ben Anderson reached base on an error. Roman Keith then hit his first home run of the season to left field, giving the Sea Gulls a 2-0 lead. In the top of the seventh inning, Kyle Beach responded for the Fords with a leadoff homer to left field against Villa.
O'Sullivan relieved Mattison in the seventh inning, and Salisbury loaded the bases without recording a hit. Sheeler then hit a sacrifice fly, adding an insurance run for the hosts. In the eighth inning, Rosman connected on a one-out double off new pitcher Rosemond, but Garrett Beaver entered the game and recorded the final two outs of the inning. Beaver also navigated through traffic in the ninth inning, with Beach hitting a single and pinch-hitter Sam Schaeffer drawing a walk. Beaver struck out Rane with the go-ahead run at the plate to secure the save.
Beach had an outstanding performance in game two, going 4-for-4 with a home run and three singles. Mattison pitched six innings, allowing one earned run on six hits and striking out two batters. Ethan Goldstein added 1.2 innings of scoreless relief work, striking out two batters.
Haverford faces another challenging week as non-conference play winds down before the CC opener against Johns Hopkins on Saturday, March 30. The Fords will host Arcadia on Tuesday (3:30 p.m.) before visiting Widener on Wednesday (3:30 p.m.).