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Box Score 2 WESTMINISTER, Md. - The Swarthmore College baseball team earned its twentieth win of the season on Saturday and remained in the postseason chase, earning a split with the McDaniel Green Terror. The Garnet won its first game 14-9 before losing the second 12-4.
With the Game 1 win, the 2013 team became the fourth consecutive Garnet squad to collect a 20-win season.
Sophomore left fielder Brian Kaissi was an offensive juggernaut in and of himself, collecting seven hits over the course of the doubleheader and driving in four runs, all in Game 1. Senior right fielder Tim Kwilos went 4-for-5 in the first game, while junior first baseman Nicko Burnett drove in three runs on two hits, sophomore centerfielder Trevor Shepherd picked up two hits and two RBIs, and junior second baseman Nick Constantino went 3-for-4. In the second game, sophomore catcher Joe Rizzo went 3-for-5 and drove in two runs.
In Game 1, the outcome appeared a contest only for a few quick innings. The Garnet went up 2-0 in the first, and, although McDaniel tied the game in the bottom of the inning, a second-frame sac fly from Kaissi gave Swarthmore a lead it wouldn't relinquish.
Kaissi's RBI single and Burnett's sac fly in the fourth put the Garnet up 5-2, and the offense broke the game open with five runs in the fifth to take the game in hand. The inning featured several costly misplays by the McDaniel defense as well as RBI hits from Kaissi and Burnett.
Swarthmore tacked on four more in the seventh on hits by Burnett, Shepherd, and sophomore designated hitter Scoop Ruxin. Although the Green Terror did rally, scoring seven times in the last four innings combined, the Garnet lead proved insurmountable as Swarthmore took the first game.
Senior starter Ramsey Walker earned the win, throwing five innings of two-run ball.
In the second game, however, Swarthmore was unable to build on its offensive momentum as the team went down early and stayed down till the end. McDaniel took an early lead with three in the third and sealed the Garnet's fate with seven in the fourth. Swarthmore staged something of a minor two-out rally in the sixth, scoring three times courtesy of a bases-loaded walk to Burnett and a two-run single by Rizzo, but the team failed to score for the final three innings and fell 12-4.
One bright spot for Swarthmore was the relief work of freshman Alex Chiang, who threw 2 2/3 scoreless innings.
The Garnet takes a break from Conference play on Monday, visiting Rutgers-Camden. First pitch is set for 6:00 pm.
