Garnet Drink in Opening Day Win over Brewers
SWARTHMORE, Pa. -- Sophomore Neil Mejia struck out six hitters in six innings and freshman Mike Waterhouse went 3-for-4 with two runs as Swarthmore won its season opener for the first time in nine years, defeating Vassar 6-4 in the first game of a non-conference baseball doubleheader Saturday afternoon at Clothier Fields.
The Brewers (1-1) rode a six-strikeout, seven-hit complete-game performance from righthander John MacGregor to win the second game 4-1. Swarthmore freshman Michael Cameron (Calabasas, Calif. / Viewpoint School) went 3-for-3 in his first collegiate start, including an opposite-field triple in just his second at-bat, and scored the lone Garnet run, while classmate Anthony Montalbano (Edison, N.J. / John P. Stevens) added a pair of hits.
The two teams originally scheduled their doubleheader for Sunday afternoon, but impending wet weather made it necessary for the event to be pushed up. One less day of preparation did not face Mejia (Oak Park, Ill. / Park River Forest), who has been Swarthmore’s big-game hurler ever since he stepped on campus. The bearded sophomore (pictured below) warmed up easily despite the chilly conditions (first pitch saw the temperature hover around 33 degrees), striking out two Vassar hitters in the first inning.
Mejia’s teammates gave him plenty of support early, scoring three runs on four hits in the bottom of the first. Wiley Archibald ’10 (Berkeley, Calif. / College Prep) drove in Waterhouse (Weston, Conn. / Weston) with a bases-loaded sacrifice fly and junior outfielder Jimmy Gill (Lewes, Del. / Cape Henlopen) followed with a soaring double to deep left field. Sophomore centerfield Ben Schneiderman (Easton, Pa. / Easton) plated the third run of the inning, driving home freshman Spencer Ross (Chappaqua, N.Y. / Horace Greeley) with a single to up the middle.
Mejia gave a run back in the top of the second, but got of a two-on, one-out jam with a strikeout and a ground out. The Brewers scratched out an unearned run off Mejia in the top of the fourth but the Swarthmore answered with two runs in the bottom half, holding a 5-3 lead.
Vassar benefited from sloppy defense by the Garnet infield in the top of the sixth, scoring twice to get within 5-4. Swarthmore responded with a run in the bottom of the frame, generated by a perfect bunt and subsequent stolen base by sophomore James Bernard (Philadelphia, Pa. / Friends Select).
Garnet freshman Ignacio Rodriguez (Silver Spring, Md. / St. John’s College HS) closed the door on the Brewers in the seventh, striking out the final Vassar batter to earn his first collegiate save.
Waterhouse proved to be an exciting catalyst at the top of the young Swarthmore lineup (the first three hitters are all freshmen). He went 4-for-7 on the afternoon, including a double, two stolen bases, two runs and an RBI.
Swarthmore’s Opening Day victory is the program’s first since the 2000 season when the Garnet, behind senior fireballer Steve Farneth ’00, defeated the University of Sciences, 14-2, at Clothier Fields on March 3.
The Garnet have postponed their next game, a non-conference date with Centenary and former Swarthmore outfielder Scott Kushner ’02 (now head coach at Centenary). The team will see its next action on the spring break trip to Arizona, slated to take place on March 7 at 3:00 p.m. Swarthmore will take on University of Pittsburgh-Bradford.