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Baseball Sweeps Series From Ursinus, 10-6

Martin Matsumura
Martin Matsumura

COLLEGEVILLE, Pa. - The Haverford College baseball team (18-17, 9-7 CC) remained right in the thick of the Centennial Conference playoff hunt entering the final day of the regular season, withstanding a late charge from Ursinus to come away with a 10-6 victory over the Bears (12-24, 4-12 CC) on Friday afternoon. 

Martin Matsumura (3-4) got the starting assignment for the Fords and tossed a gem, striking out 10 batters in his 6.2 innings of work, allowing just four hits. August Williams was credited with his first save of the year after settling things down in the ninth inning, ending the contest on a strikeout of Dylan Runsdorf to send the Fords home with a crucial win. 

Haverford struck first, tagging an unearned run to the ledger of T.J. Snyder after Anthony Runfola doubled with two away in the first and Zach Becker reached on an error allowing the first year Runfola to score. Ursinus tied things up immediately with an RBI single from Peter Balos in the bottom of the frame, but the Fords connected for seven runs over the next two innings to gain some much needed separation. 

A wild pitch in the second scored Landry, and after singles from Daniel Rosman and Harry Genth, a Luke Smith single through the right side of the infield plated a pair of runs. Runfola then reached on an RBI infield single, and suddenly Haverford had a 5-1 lead before the sixth out was recorded. The visitors tacked on more in the third, with two consecutive RBI hit-by-pitches coming ahead of a bases-loaded walk to Runfola. 

Matsumura settled in at that point, holding the Ursinus lineup in check before some insurance runs for the Fords made the score 10-2 in the seventh. It was another bases-loaded walk to Smith in the seventh that made the score 9-2, and Runfola then blasted a sacrifice fly for the 10-2 lead. 

Ursinus rallied with a one-out triple from Dylan Crammer in the eighth, ahead of a walk and a hit batter that loaded the bases for Nick Diaz with two outs. The Ursinus catcher laced a single to right field, plating a pair of Bears. The Bears continued to threaten in the ninth with doubles from Tim Pyne and Crammer bringing home a run before Williams was summoned out of the bullpen for what suddenly became a save scenario for the captain. 

He allowed an RBI groundout and put two runners on base before slamming the door with a strike out of Runsdorf to propel the Fords into their crucial matchup with the Blue Jays of Johns Hopkins on the final day of the regular season.

Despite the 10-run outburst, Runfola had the only extra base hit of the contest for the Fords as the very first hit of the ballgame. Haverford did not commit an error, playing clean baseball when it mattered as Smith tallied four RBI and Runfola added three. Pyne had a game-best three hits for the hosts. 

Haverford is one of three teams that will enter the final day of the regular season with a 9-7 record in conference play as the Fords control their own destiny with two spots available for five teams. The other two squads are Dickinson and Washington College, who will play each other in a doubleheader. 

The Fords now return home tomorrow for that aforementioned regular season finale doubleheader against Johns Hopkins. The first contest is slated to begin at noon on Kannerstein Field.