Box Score 1 | Box Score 2 FORT MYERS, Fla. – Senior Matt Bertuch hurled a complete game and recorded four strikeouts to help lead the Swarthmore College baseball team to a 4-1 victory over Skidmore in the first game of a doubleheader between the schools on Thursday, March 13 at PDC Field. The Thoroughbreds took game two by an 8-3 decision to salvage the split.

In the opener, Swarthmore struck first in the top of the second when freshman Wesley Fishburn hit a sacrifice fly to left that scored senior Nicko Burnett, who singled to start the inning. Skidmore then tied the score in the bottom half of the same frame by taking advantage of a Garnet infield error.

But with Bertuch in full command on the mound, Swarthmore pushed across three runs in the third to pull away. The Garnet capitalized on a Thoroughbred error to take the lead before Scoop Ruxin singled and Nicko Burnett blasted a sacrifice fly to right for insurance.

Bertuch, who only allowed four hits on singles in the last four innings and retired the side in order in the seventh, picked up the victory and improved to 1-2. He gave up six hits and one run, which was unearned, while fanning four and issuing just one walk. Skidmore junior Nick Patrella suffered the loss after yielding seven hits and four runs, including three earned, over a full seven innings of work.

Skidmore (3-5) scored four runs through the first two innings and never looked back in the nightcap. Senior Erik Watkins most notably hit a one-out double that scored two runs and gave the Thoroughbreds an early 4-0 advantage.

Swarthmore started to chip away at the deficit and sliced the deficit in half by plating two runs in the bottom of the fourth. Junior Danny McMahon helped put the Garnet on the board by singling in John Lim, and Fishburn hit a sacrifice fly two plays later to score Ruxin.

After the teams exchanged runs in the fifth, Skidmore found a way to add three more in the late innings to seal the five-run victory. Senior Dan Johnstone was forced home when Watkins was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded in the sixth before the Throughbreds got two more in the seventh on an infield error and a passed ball.

Swarthmore did not go down easy and continued to fight throughout the final frames, which included placing two runners on the bags in the bottom of the seventh. But senior hurler Isaac Forman was able to get out of every jam and induced a fielder's choice groundout to end the game, as the Garnet stranded eight base runners overall and five in the last three innings.

Forman earned the win on the mound for Skidmore despite giving up six hits and three runs, which were all earned, and issuing six walks. Junior Samer Nashed was tagged with the loss for Swarthmore. He surrendered four hits and four runs, including three earned, before being relieved in the third inning.

Swarthmore (5-3) concludes play in Florida when it plays a doubleheader tomorrow morning against Salve Regina beginning at 10 a.m.