Baseball: Swarthmore Wins Thriller Over Shoremen
SWARTHMORE, Pa. - A walk-off single by Garnet catcher Andy Bender '08 capped a late-inning comeback as Swarthmore defeated Centennial rival the Washington Shoremen 9-8 on Tuesday afternoon.
The Shoremen (6-18 overall, 1-8 CC) came out strong in the first six innings, scoring two runs in the first, a run in the second, and three runs in the fifth to take a 6-0 lead. Washington starter Wes Anderson silenced the Garnet bats for much of the afternoon, taking a no-hitter into the sixth inning.
The Garnet offense woke up in the seventh inning batting around the order to score eight runs to take the 8-6 lead. Outfielder Ian Adelstein '07 led off with a double and scored on a base hit by junior Noah Cooper-Harris. The Garnet added three more runs on singles and infield hits.
The inning almost didn't reach that point. Still trailing 6-4, Garnet third baseman Patrick Christmas '08 stepped up to bat with two runners in scoring position and two outs. On a two-strike count, Christmas foul-tipped a pitch in the dirt that was caught by the Washington catcher. The home-plate umpire originally called the swing an inning-ending strikeout, but upon further consideration, the umpires reversed their ruling and ruled the foul ball had hit the ground first.
Christmas took advantage of the new life, sending the next pitch into center field for a game-tying base hit. Adelstein then came up for a second time in the inning, and launched a two-run home run to left field, the first fence clearing shot hit by a Swarthmore player at Clothier Field.
Cooper-Harris came in from the designated hitter's spot in the fifth to pitch three solid innings in relief, retiring the first eight batters he faced before the Shoremen got two runs to tie the game in the ninth. Freshman Sean Varsolona (3-4) earned the win in relief of Cooper-Harris by finishing the ninth, retiring three of the four men he faced.
Junior first baseman Sam Faeder led off the bottom of the ninth with a bunt single. Outfielder Scott Young '07, who was 3-for-5 on the day and swiped his team-leading 14th stolen base, moved Faeder to second with a base hit. Christmas then flied out and Adelstein reached on a fielder's choice as Faeder was forced out at third. With two outs, and the winning run in scoring position, Bender sent everyone home with a walk-off single to center field, scoring Young.
Bender was the man Swarthmore wanted at the plate, having picked up nine of his 14 RBIs and hit .450 (9for 20) this season with two outs.
For Adelstein, it is the first home run of his collegiate career. The junior already has career-highs this season in runs (15), RBIs (15), doubles (6), walks (12), average (.284), slugging percentage (.418), and on-base percentage (.393).
The Garnet (6-14 overall, 1-8 CC) head to Chestertown, Md. for a re-match against the Shoremen on Friday, April 14 at 3:30 pm.