HAVERFORD, Pa. - The Haverford College (11-5) baseball team dropped a narrow non-conference matchup to Widener (13-8) by a score of 13-12 on Kannerstein Field Tuesday afternoon.
Daniel Rosman led the Fords in hits with three and stolen bases with two, while Jack Wallis drove in a team-high four runs in the matinee.
Widener tagged Alex Jenkinson for two runs in the first frame following a two-run home run from Kevin Bukowski, before Haverford leveled the game in the bottom half of the first. Following a base hit and two stolen bases from Rosman, a Harry Genth single to center field plated Rosman, to trim the visitor's lead down to 2-1. Anthony Runfola then advanced Genth to third with a single, before a sacrifice fly from Wallis scored Genth to tie the game up at two runs a piece.
Both teams put up zeros on the scoreboard in the second, before the Fords' offense exploded in the bottom of the third. Following another Rosman single and a hit by pitch that allowed Genth to reach, Runfola doubled down the left field line to score Rosman, giving the Scarlet and Black a 3-2 lead. Wallis then stepped up to the plate and crushed a three-run home run, extending Haverford's advantage to 6-2. A bases loaded wild pitch then plated Matt Dahl, before Chuck Norton came home on an RBI double from Jackson Sgro, to push the lead up to 8-2.
A Myles Calderbank RBI-groundout pulled a run back for the Pride in the top half of the fourth, before Haverford hung a four-piece on Widener in the bottom of the fourth. With runners on the corners, a bunt single from Norton scored Wallis, before a fielding error from Bukowski led to another Dahl run, to increase the Fords lead to 10-3. Two bases-loaded walks led to runs number 11 and 12, as the Scarlet and Black took a nine-run lead, 12-3, into the fifth frame.
After a scoreless fifth inning, Widener began to chip away at the Haverford lead, putting up runs in the sixth frame. With one away in the sixth, Bukowski launched his second homer of the game, before a Calderbank RBI single plated Ryan Bauerle to whittle the lead down to 12-5. With two runners on, a Braedyn Clinton single off Wyatt Mattison drove in the Pride's sixth run of the game, before a failed pickoff attempt from Norton led to a Matt Koblos run to pull Widener within five runs, 12-7.
Dylan Neves then took the hill for the Pride and shut down the Scarlet and Black in the sixth, before another two-run blast from Bukowski (his third of the game) got Widener to within just three runs, 12-9, heading into the seventh-inning stretch.
Neves tossed a 1-2-3 inning for Widener before a Nick Nigro RBI-single to right field in the top of the eighth drove Chris McKenna in to make the score 12-10. Jack Balcer then doubled in a run to have the Pride trail just 12-11, before a two-run single to right field from Jon Aman gave Widener their second lead of the ballgame, 13-12.
The Fords had their last at-bat in the bottom of the ninth, and started off with momentum after a Sgro double to left field. Sgro was replaced by pinch-runner Mauro DeCillis at second, who eventually advanced to third on a throwing error after a failed pickoff attempt. Following a Rosman strikeout, the infield came in to try and defend against Genth, who was next up in the batting order. Genth chopped a hard grounder to third, as Decillis started running home. The Pride third baseman threw home, and catcher Tyler Harper tagged DeCillis out for a crucial second out. Runfola then flew out to center field for the third and final out of the ball game, as Widener sealed up a wild 13-12 victory.
Baseball will next return to action Thursday, March 27, as the Fords will host TCNJ at 3:30 p.m. on Kannerstein Field before heading out to Westminster, Maryland to face McDaniel in the Centennial opener on Saturday, March 29.