LANCASTER, Pa. - The fifth-seeded Haverford College baseball team (22-14) secured a spot in the four-team double-elimination bracket in the Centennial Conference Championships with a thrilling 3-2 victory over host fourth-seeded Franklin & Marshall (19-20) in the First Round at Caplan Field on Tuesday afternoon.
Brilliant pitching performances set the tone for the Fords, as starter Riley Grohowski fired 5.1 innings of four-hit baseball, allowing just two runs and striking out three. Drew Doyle was credited with his fourth save of the season after taking over from Grohowski and adding 3.2 innings of three-hit ball, striking out five on 51 pitches.
For the Diplomats, Dan Galef was a star in his relief turn, tossing 5.2 innings of five-hit baseball, striking out three. Thomas McLaughlin added 2.1 innings of hitless relief with two strikeouts.
Harry Genth added two hits for the Fords, and notched two stolen bases to help kickstart the offense. Daniel Rosman reached on three occasions, twice via walk and once via a hit by pitch.
As has been the case in most wins this season, Haverford started strong with runs in the first two innings. Rosman set the table with a leadoff walk and Genth then laced a single into left field, scooting into second as a misplay in the outfield allowed each runner to snag an extra base. Kyle Beach walked to load the bases and Haverford plated the opening run on a sacrifice fly by Jack Wallis, as Michael Von Zuben made an outstanding diving catch to prevent further damage.
Grohowski twirled a scoreless first inning in the bottom of the first before Haverford spelled the end of the day for starter Kiernan Keller, as Kendrick Curry II laced a triple into the right-center field gap. The quick hook allowed Galef to come into the contest to settle things down, but not before a single by Matt Dahl brought home Curry for a 2-0 lead.
In the third inning, Jeff Hoffman led off with a double into right field, and AJ Desautels walked with one out before Grohowski worked out of trouble by inducing a flyout and a lineout from Matt Hollender and Andrew Flippelli, respectively.
After Grohowski and Galef swapped scoreless frames in the fourth, Genth led off the top of the fifth inning with a single through the left side of the infield and stole second. Chuck Norton then walked and with two out, Wallis advanced Genth to third with a flyout. Jonny Flieder then rapped a single through the left side of the infield, giving the Fords a 3-0 cushion.
The Diplomats rallied in the sixth as Von Zuben walked and Hoffman delivered a flyout that moved Von Zuben to third. Drew Butera singled into left center to plate the opening Franklin & Marshall run of the game, and Desautels walked to mark the end of the day for Grohowski.
Doyle took over, and Hollender reached on an infield single to load the bases, and Flippelli was hit by a pitch to bring the hosts back within one. Doyle responded in a major way, striking out Patrick Cettina before Spencer Berson flew out to center field to end the threat.
Hollender doubled with one out in the eighth, but Doyle worked around the runner in scoring position, getting Flippelli to fly out and pinch hitter Conner Rush to push a grounder to second base to end the frame.
Haverford was unable to add insurance in the top of the ninth as McLaughlin delivered another strong inning on the hill, but Doyle went 1-2-3 in the ninth to seal the save, sending Haverford back to Baltimore for a second consecutive season.
The Fords now advance to the double-elimination portion of the Centennial Conference tournament, facing off with top-seeded and national No. 8 Johns Hopkins at Babb Field on Thursday, May 2, at 3 p.m.
Third-seeded McDaniel will battle second-seeded Dickinson in the other "semifinal" matchup, with all four teams automatically advancing to Saturday's action at top-seeded Johns Hopkins.
For more information on the Centennial Conference tournament, please visit the Centennial Conference Championship Central page.