Aggies Chill Garnet
SWARTHMORE, Pa. -- Four Swarthmore players picked up two hits as the hometown Garnet fell to Delaware Valley 13-8 in non-conference baseball action Thursday afternoon at cloudy Clothier Field.
Garnet senior Sammy Faeder went 2-for-3 with two walks, three stolen bases and two runs while sophomore Conor Casey continued his recent hot streak with a 2-for-4 effort.
The Aggies took a 1-0 lead in the second as Brent Terlecky led off with a double to leftfield and then scored when Jason Kahr's two-out rocket down the leftfield line glanced off the glove of a diving Justin Chen '08 at third base.
Swarthmore busted out the bats in the bottom of the frame when freshman Wiley Archibald walked and stole second. Casey followed a single up the middle, moving Archiblad to third base. Chen put Swarthmore ahead 2-1 with a long double to left, scoring both Archibald and Casey while reaching third when the Aggies bobbled the relay throw. Chen scored as the next batter, junior Andy Bender, laced a single to left.
Delaware Valley came back with three runs in the top of the third, highlighted by John Persicketti's triple to right-center, to go in front 4-3. The Garnet (4-23) knotted the game at 4-all in their next at-bat. Archibald reached on a fielder's choice, swiped second and slipped home on Casey's second hit of the day.
The Aggies (9-18) blew the game open in the top of the fourth, scoring six runs on five hits with the benefit of two Swarthmore miscues.
Swarthmore, as has been the case much of the season, continued to fight. Faeder bombed a one-out double in the sixth while Dalane and freshman Jimmy Gill walked. Sophomore Grant Yoshitsu picked up two RBIs with a bases-loaded single to left, bringing the home team within 13-7.
Faeder generated a final run in the bottom of the eighth, drawing a one-out walk and then swiping both second and third. Gill plated Faeder with a line-drive single to right for his team-leading 22nd RBI of the season.
Swarthmore reliever Zach Sinemus (2-4) took the loss for Swarthmore while Aggies starter Chris White (2-3) earned the win despite allowing seven runs in six innings pitched.
The Garnet have a plethora of home games to close out the 2007 season—the Lincoln Lions are in town on Friday for a 4:00 p.m. game, the Dickinson Red Devils will take part in the final Centennial doubleheader on Saturday beginning at 12:30 p.m. as Swarthmore celebrates Senior Day, and Gwynedd Mercy will be on campus Sunday for the final game of the season (first pitch set for 1:00 p.m.).