FORT MYERS, Fla. - On the first day of its nine-game stint at the Gene Cusic Collegiate Classic, the Haverford College baseball team dropped a pair of seven-inning contests to Wittenberg (3-2). Haverford was edged in a thrilling 7-6 contest to begin the day, before the Tigers took a 10-3 victory in the late afternoon matchup at Terry Park.
In game one, Haverford fell into an early hole as Wittenberg struck for four runs in the top of the second inning against starter Andrew Johnson. The Fords had an immediate answer, charging right back into the contest with three runs during the bottom of the frame against Joe Horozsko. With one down, Owen Plambeck and Ben Somorjai struck for consecutive singles before Zach Becker ripped an RBI double, easily scoring Plambeck. Harrison Burns then plated Somorjai with an infield single, as Becker also came into score on an error.
Wittenberg added a run in the third, but the Fords pushed across a single run in the fourth and two in the fifth to take a 6-5 lead. Somorjai recorded an RBI groundout in the fourth before a Luke Wallis sacrifice bunt brought in a run and Plambeck roped a single to center to plate Zach Landry in the fifth. A single from Chase Wisner tied the score at 6-6 in the sixth, and Wittenberg pushed across the go-ahead run in the seventh. The Fords looked to be in a good position to once again knot the game, putting three baserunners on in the bottom of the seventh, but Adam Mays was able to work through the traffic to seal his first save of the year for the Tigers.
Plambeck paced Haverford with three hits, including a triple, while Landry, Somorjai, Becker, and Burns also each had multi-hit days in the back-and-forth contest. Haverford turned three double plays in another impressive defensive effort.
The second game saw Wittenberg add a pair of runs in the first inning against Haverford first year starter August Williams, before Ben Browning and Karp each powered RBI doubles in the second to score an early run off Nick Cunningham.
Wittenberg added three consecutive frames with multiple runs to build a 10-1 advantage. The Fords rallied for two in the sixth, as Oliver Bergeron and Zach Crampton each walked ahead of Browning. The sophomore catcher then blasted his second double of the contest, scoring the two first years and trimming the Wittenberg lead to 10-3. Matt Shanor calmed things for the Tigers, throwing 1.1 scoreless innings to deny the Fords. Justin McAllister had a solid relief outing for Haverford, tossing the final two innings while allowing just one hit and striking out a pair. Karp, Browning, and Wallis each had multi-hit efforts in the second game.
Haverford now faces a quick turnaround, reviving what has become a recent Sunshine State series with No. 16 Wooster on Monday. The two sides have split early March meetings in the previous two seasons, with the Fords toppling then-No. 6 Wooster in 2018 before the top-ranked Fighting Scots evened the series with a 6-2 win a season ago. First pitch in Southwest Florida is slated for noon.