WESTMINSTER, Md. - The Haverford College baseball team (14-10, 5-1 CC) grabbed a doubleheader sweep of McDaniel (16-12, 1-5 CC) on Sunday, winning 6-4 in the first game before a 7-3 win in the nightcap at Preston Field on the McDaniel campus. Haverford has now won five consecutive games and eight of its last nine overall after snapping a five-game losing skid on March 26.
In game one, McDaniel jumped out to an early 2-0 lead against Haverford starter Luke Bessette, with Jake Smith drilling a double into left center to plate a pair. Haverford was forced to play from behind and chipped away at the lead as Zach Becker reached on an infield single and Harry Genth scored on a fielding error. First year Jonny Flieder then got in on the offensive action, roping his first career homer to right field to give Haverford the lead at 3-2. A sacrifice bunt added a run in the sixth, but McDaniel tagged reliever August Williams (4-1) for two runs in the sixth, as Shane Daly rapped an RBI ground out and Joey Hubinger then singled into left as suddenly the hosts had all the momentum.
Haverford rallied to take the lead for good in the seventh, delivering the win to Williams. Zach Buck walked with one out, and Luke Smith then singled into center to advance Buck to second. With two out, Zach Becker, who had reached earlier on a fielder's choice, advanced into scoring position on a wild pitch, setting the plate for Zach Landry. Landry continued his epic start to the season with a single into center, plating a pair of runs and chasing McDaniel hurler Ryan Kelly from the contest. Williams logged a solid seventh inning, and Riley Grohowski then fired the final two frames without allowing a run, benefitting from a ninth-inning double play for his third save of the season.
Flieder's blast was the only extra-base hit of the contest for the Fords, who tallied nine hits in total in game one.
In the second contest, the Fords sent senior Martin Matsumura (2-2) to the hill as he locked horns with Hunter Darke of the Green Terror in a fantastic pitching duel through five innings. The Fords and Green Terror swapped scoreless frames, as Matsumura seemingly had everything clicking to keep McDaniel off guard.
In the fifth, Haverford pushed across the first run of the contest as Harry Genth laced a double into left field. Genth attempted a steal at third, and McDaniel's catcher threw away his caught stealing attempt, allowing Genth to score the opening run of the frame. An RBI groundout plated an extra run in the sixth, and Jack Wallis then delivered an RBI single to extend the advantage to 3-0. In the seventh, Luke Smith pushed across an RBI single, and Becker then put a bow on a fantastic 4-for-5 outing with his two-RBI single in the eighth, as Haverford went ahead 8-0.
In the waning innings, McDaniel pushed across three runs on a sacrifice fly and an RBI groundout before Shane Daly delivered an RBI single with McDaniel down to its last out. The story of game two was ultimately the pitching prowess of Matsumura, as the lefty Californian fired eight innings of three-hit baseball, allowing just one unearned run while striking out six. Matsumura faced 32 batters on 109 pitches, landing 67 of those for strikes.
A huge game at the plate from Becker helped set the tone in the middle of the Haverford order, as Wallis also looked strong with a 3-for-5 performance while guiding Matsumura behind the dish. Smith and Landry also recorded multi-hit days as the Fords coaxed seven walks. Genth stole three bases to help the momentum at the top of the order as he scored three runs.
The Fords continue Centennial Conference play at home on Tuesday, welcoming rival Swarthmore to Kannerstein Field for a 3:30 p.m. first pitch against the Garnet. The home-and-home series wraps up Friday at Swarthmore before Haverford returns home on Saturday to take on Gettysburg in a doubleheader