SWARTHMORE, Pa. - The Swarthmore College baseball team clinched the top seed in the Centennial Conference Tournament with a series split versus Franklin & Marshall College on Saturday. The Garnet will host the Centennial Tournament next week on Clothier Field.
The Garnet bounced back from a 11-2 defeat in the opener with a 7-1 victory in the finale. Edward Berry played a pivotal role in the win with six scoreless innings and seven strikeouts in a dominant effort.
Luke Mutz was terrific for the Garnet with three extra base hits, including his first collegiate home run, in a two-RBI effort. The senior extended his on-base streak to 24 games and has recorded a hit in 23 of those 24 contests.
Austin Burgess also maintained his active on-base streak by reaching base in his 27th and 28th consecutive games. Burgess had a pair of walks and two RBI on the afternoon.
SWARTHMORE 2, FRANKLIN & MARSHALL 11
HOW IT HAPPENED
- Franklin & Marshall opened the game with two runs in the first inning on a two-run homer. Mutz helped escape the jam by turning a 5-3 double play with two runners in scoring position to end the frame. In the bottom half, the first three batters reached base for the Garnet on two hit by pitches and a walk. Paul Cooke then drove home a run with a sacrifice fly to center, 2-1.
- The Diplomats rallied for five unearned runs in the third inning to pull ahead by six runs. The visitors then added two more in the fourth on a home run, 9-1.
- The Garnet loaded the bases in the ninth inning and plated one run on a Max Roffwarg walk. Senior Drew McMahan worked a walk in the inning in his first plate appearance of the season.
GARNET OFFENSIVE LEADERS
- Mutz: 2-for-3, 2B
SWARTHMORE 7, FRANKLIN & MARSHALL 1
HOW IT HAPPENED
- Franklin & Marshall loaded the bases in the first inning, but were held scoreless. Berry escaped the jam with a bases-loaded strikeout. He ended four of his first five innings with a strikeout.
- Kirk Terada-Herzer opened the scoring with a line drive up the middle in the second inning. The Garnet then added three runs in the third frame. Mutz launched his first-career homer with a two-run blast to left field. Matthew Silvestre then golfed a ball into right field to plate another run, 4-0.
- Swarthmore added a pair of runs in the fourth inning. Andrew Olsen walked to open the inning and advanced to third on a Roffwarg double down the left-field line. Olsen came home to score on a wild pitch, while Burgess plated the second run on a sacrifice fly, 6-0.
- Berry cruised through the first six innings after escaping a first inning jam. The freshman escaped a sixth inning threat with an inning-ending double play. Mutz made a terrific play on a hopper to short, tagged the runner and delivered a strike to first base to get two.
- Mutz opened the eighth inning with a one-out triple off the center field wall. Burgess then plated the senior on a sacrifice fly to right field, 7-0.
GARNET OFFENSIVE LEADERS
- Mutz: 2-for-4, 2 RBI, HR, 3B
- Roffwarg: 3-for-5, 2 R, 2B
- Cooke: 3-for-5, 2 R
GARNET PITCHING LEADERS
Berry (W, 3-3), 6.0 IP, 0 R, 7 SO, 3 H
Jordan: 1.0 IP, 0 R, 0 H, 1 SO
Camp: 2.0 IP, 1 ER, 3 SO, 2 H
UP NEXT
The Garnet (21-17, 14-4) host the Centennial Championship Tournament on Thursday, Saturday and Sunday.
