Baseball: Swarthmore Tripped Up by Ursinus
COLLEGEVILLE, Pa. - Swarthmore tied the game with a four-run rally in the sixth, yet Ursinus answered with three more to claim a 9-6 Centennial win over the visiting Garnet on Friday afternoon.
With Swarthmore down 6-2 and two men out in the top of the sixth, sophomore center fielder Scott Dalane ripped a bases-loaded double off Bears reliever Ryan Smith to clear the bases. Smith entered the game having allowed only five runs in 24 innings pitched this season.
Garnet freshman infielder Kevin Kooi followed with a two-bagger of his own off Smith, scoring Dalane with the tying run.
Ursinus (9-11 overall, 3-3 CC) took the lead for good in its next at bat as Tommy Herrmann scored on a sacrifice fly to center off the bat of David Randolph. The Bears scored two more off Garnet reliever Noah Cooper-Harris '07 in the seventh and two relievers limited Swarthmore to one hit in the final three frames to seal the win.
The Garnet (5-12 overall, 0-6 CC) jumped all over Ursinus starter Chris Threadgill, scoring twice before the Bears could record an out. Swarthmore junior Sam Faeder walked to lead off the game, senior Scott Young singled to center, and sophomore Patrick Christmas delivered a double to drive home Faeder. Ursinus brought in Pat Higgins in relief and Swarthmore outfielder Ian Adelstein '07 drew a walk. Freshman Conor Casey then grounded into a fielder's choice, bring Young into score, making it 2-0 Swarthmore. Higgins induced a ground-ball double play to end the inning.
Ursinus got two runs off Swarthmore starter Justin Chen '08 in the bottom of the first and then struck for four more in the second to take the 6-2 lead.
Chen went five innings allowing six runs, four earned, while striking out six. Cooper-Harris (1-1) took the loss for Swarthmore, pitching two innings in relief.
Dalane was 2-for-4 on the afternoon, driving in a career-high three runs. Kooi and Christmas also collected two hits and an RBI for Swarthmore. Christmas extended his career-best hit streak to 11 games with the first-inning double.
Hermann led the Bears with three hits, three runs, and three RBIs while Randolph contributed a hit, a run, and two RBIs.
Swarthmore will travel to Maryland on Saturday, April 8 for a 12:30 p.m. doubleheader with Centennial foe McDaniel.