Pioneers Slosh Past Garnet
SWARTHMORE, Pa. - In an error-plagued battle for local bragging rights, the Widener Pioneers rolled past Swarthmore 18-8 on a windy Thursday afternoon on Clothier Fields.
The Pioneers (9-2) have now won 10 consecutive meetings - dating back to 1993- between the two schools located on the southern tier of Route 320.
A ragged game at the onset (the two team combined for nine errors in the first three innings) turned one-sided affair as the Pioneers put up five runs in the fifth and plated six more in the sixth. Jamie Schild's two-run triple highlighted the Widener fifth while Josh McLeod's three-run home run to left was the big Pioneer hit in the sixth.
McLeod's shot cleared the new fence surrounding the baseball diamond on Clothier Fields. It is the first home run hit over the shiny black chain link, estimated to travel about 375 feet.
The Garnet (3-4) were led by a pair of Swarthmore infielders: freshman Kevin Kooi had a career-high three hits and scored two runs while junior Sam Faeder added two hits, scoring three times.
Faeder extended his hit-streak to nine games with a single to left in the seventh and then followed up with an RBI triple in the eighth. The junior leads the Garnet with a .480 batting average, .640 slugging percentage, and a .588 on-base percentage.
Swarthmore plays on Clothier Field in its next set of games; the Garnet will host Eastern on Saturday, March 18 with a 12:00 p.m. doubleheader. Swarthmore has already seen Eastern this season, defeating the Eagles 8-5 on March 9 in Florida.