CHESTERTOWN, Md.–Freshman second baseman
Conor Elliott made a diving stop and threw to first to end the game as the Swarthmore College baseball team (17-10, 1-4 CC) withstood a furious rally from the Washington College Shoremen (17-5-1, 1-2 CC) on Wednesday, April 13 for a hard-fought Centennial Conference win.
Brian Gibbs picked up the win on the mound, striking out eight and scattering five hits over five innings, and
Zach Gonzalez earned his first save after entering the game with the bases loaded and one out in the ninth.
Charles Groppe was also effective in relief and conceded one walk and no hits in three frames.
Cal Barnett-Mayotte finished 3-for-4 and turned a crucial double play in the eighth after snagging a line drive and fooling the runner, who was doubled up after failing to tag first.
Wesley Fishburn and
Roy Walker both finished with a pair of hits and a run while
Ryan Burnett also crossed the plate for the Garnet.
Fishburn got things started with a double in the first and a put a run on the board on Walker's base hit to center field. Burnett made it 2-0 in the third on Fishburn's second double of the day and Gibbs helped protect the lead by striking out six in the third and fourth innings. The junior southpaw also had a crucial punch out with the bases loaded in the fifth as Swarthmore escaped the jam with its two-run margin intact.
One more run came for the Garnet in the eighth behind
Jackson Roberts' RBI single and Swarthmore clung to its lead in the bottom of the ninth, despite two errors and a wild pitch that prolonged the inning.
The baseball team kicks off a stretch of five games in three days when it hosts Washington at Clothier Field on Friday, April 15 at 3:30 p.m.
