Garnet Pitching Sweeps Away Terror
Swarthmore right-hander Jared Leiderman '05 (above) tossed a complete game four-hitter in game one and teammate Noah Cooper-Harris '07 went the distance in game two, as the Garnet swept both ends of a Centennial Conference double header, 3-2 and 6-2, at Clothier Fields on Saturday afternoon.
Leiderman pumped up the Swarthmore fans right from the get-go, fanning consecutive Terror batters in the first inning. The Garnet hung on to the momentum, generating some run support for their ace in the bottom of the second. Jody Fisher '05 led off the inning with a walk and moved up to second on freshman Travis Allen's single to left. Sam Faeder '07 flew out to center and Andy Bender '08 went down on strikes, but Fisher and Allen moved up a base on a passed ball by McDaniel catcher Justin Bilohlavek. Cooper-Harris made the Terror pay, stroking a 2-2 pitch into right field, driving in two runs for a 2-0 Garnet lead.
Swarthmore added another run in the third, with second baseman Pat Christmas '08 reaching on a walk, coming around to score when Allen beat the relay throw to first on a potential double-play.
Leiderman cruised along, allowing nary a base runner until the fourth frame. The Terror generated a run in the top of that inning, and threatened to do more damage in the sixth, loading the bases with nobody out. Leiderman got Bilohlavek on strikes for the first out before a ground out by Kevin Salamone brought in a run, making the score 3-2. Tom Wenrich, the next batter, ran the count full before Leiderman struck him out swinging to end the inning.
Leiderman left little doubt who would win in the top of the seventh, the final inning of game one, striking out three straight Terror batters to earn his second win of the year. The senior right-hander tossed seven innings, allowing two runs, one earned, on four hits. His nine strikeouts in the game give Leiderman 51 for the season, tying a career-high, and push his career total to 192, second most in school history and the fifth most in Centennial Conference history. Leiderman continues to inch up the Conference all-time pitching ladder, ranking fifth all-time in innings pitched (233.1), fifth in complete games (18), and tied for fourteenth in appearances (43).
Allen led Swarthmore with a hit, a run, and an RBI with Cooper-Harris contributing a single and two RBIs as the Garnet won their first Centennial Conference game of the season.
Cooper-Harris took the mound in game two, continuing the string of solid Garnet pitching by spreading seven hits over nine innings for his first victory of the season. He blanked the Terror through eight and a third, until McDaniel (4-9, 1-5 CC) scratched out two runs on two hits, a walk, and a Swarthmore error in the top of the ninth.
By that time the Garnet bats provided Cooper-Harris plenty of runs to work with. Swarthmore broke open a scoreless game in the bottom of sixth when centerfielder Scott Dalane '08 walked and scored on a double to right off the bat Pat Christmas '08. Christmas made it 2-0 Swat two batters later, scoring on an error by a McDaniel infielder.
Swarthmore (4-12, 2-4 CC) got two more runs in the seventh and two in the eighth off Terror relievers, building a comfortable 6-0 lead.
Ian Adelstein '08 had two hits and a run, shortstop Sam Faeder '07 stayed hot with a double and two RBIs, while Christmas added a double and an RBI.
It was the first Garnet sweep of a Centennial twinbill since Swarthmore downed the Bullets from Gettysburg College, 5-3 and 3-0, on April 20th, 2002.
The Garnet travel to Baltimore on Sunday afternoon, squaring off with #7 Johns Hopkins in a 12:30 p.m. double header.