SWARTHMORE, Pa.–Four runs in the first inning and a complete-game gem by starting pitcher Noah Linhart powered the Swarthmore College baseball team in a 6-2 triumph over the visiting DeSales University Bulldogs on Thursday, March 30.

Freshman outfielder AJ Liu and third baseman Wesley Fishburn each went 3-for-4 with one run at the top of the order. Liu also drove in two runs while Fishburn had one RBI in his first appearance of the season. Jared Gillen also finished with a pair of hits and plated a run.

On the mound, Linhart had an efficient outing, striking out five and allowing no earned runs or walks while throwing 113 pitches. The sophomore did not surrender a hit until the fifth inning and allowed six overall.

Swarthmore jumped out to an early lead, scoring its first run barely five pitches into the bottom of the first. Liu led off with a double and scored on Fishburn's single up the middle. DeSales' fielding error put Fishburn in scoring position and he reached third on a sac bunt by Conor Elliott.
 
Max Grullon's single scored Fishburn and Gillen's double plated Cole Beeker for a 3-0 lead. A sac fly from Matt Palmer brought in Grullon for the fourth run of the frame.

The Garnet added two more runs in the fourth for a 6-0 advantage. Palmer reached after being hit by a pitch and made it to second after Jaron Shrock singled. A sac by Ryan Burnett put two runners in scoring position and Liu drove them in with his third hit of the afternoon.

DeSales threatened in the top of the fifth with the bases loaded and only one out, but the Swarthmore defense rolled up a 6-4-3 double play to escape the jam and keep the Bulldogs off the board.

The visitors would eventually score two runs in the top of the ninth before Linhart ended the contest with a strikeout.

Swarthmore opens league play on Saturday, April 1 when it travels to Johns Hopkins for a conference doubleheader at 12:30 and 3:30 p.m.