SWARTHMORE, Pa. – The Swarthmore College baseball team grabbed its second straight Centennial Conference doubleheader sweep with a pair of victories over Franklin and Marshall College on Saturday. The Garnet won the opener, 6-1, before scoring a dramatic win in the nightcap, 4-3.
Noah Potholm tossed 7.0 strong innings to earn the win in game one and move to 5-1 on the season. The junior allowed just one run and five hits. He walked two and struck out four.
David Herrin pitched the final two innings and picked up his first career save. Five Swarthmore pitchers combined to hold the Diplomats to three runs and five hits in the second contest.
Leor Kedar led the Garnet offense with four hits on the day. He tallied a double, one RBI, one run, and four stolen bases.
Zac Kahn and
Benjamin Buchman recorded two hits apiece. Kahn drove in a pair and scored three times while
Nathaniel Kittredge also knocked in two runs.
SWARTHMORE 6, F&M 1
HOW IT HAPPENED
- The opening contest was a pitcher's duel early on with neither team able to score until the fifth inning. F&M broke through in the fifth and took a 1-0 lead. The Diplomats put the first three hitters aboard, the last of which came on an RBI single. With runners on first and second and no outs, Potholm limited the damage by getting a strikeout and a double play to keep the Swarthmore deficit at one.
- The Garnet took advantage of some F&M miscues in the sixth to go ahead 2-1.
Matthew Silvestre drew a one-out walk and Kahn reached on an error, putting runners at first and second. A wild pitch advanced the runners and, after a foul out, the pair scored on a play involving two more mistakes by the Diplomats.
- F&M threatened again in the top of the seventh, putting the first two batters on. However, Potholm got out of the jam again, coming through with a strikeout and another double-play ball to put an exclamation point on his outing.
- Swarthmore pulled away with a four-run eighth. The first two Garnet hitters reached before Kahn laid down a bunt to move them over. Instead of throwing out Kahn at first, the Diplomats catcher attempted to get Buchman advancing to third but his throw went into left field, allowing Buchman to score. Kittredge later smacked a two-run double and Kedar added an RBI single to give the Garnet a 6-1 advantage.
GARNET OFFENSIVE LEADERS
Hits: Kedar 2
Runs: Kahn 2
RBI: Kittredge 2
Stolen Bases: Kedar 2
GARNET PITCHING LEADERS
Potholm: Win, 7.0 IP, 1 R, 5 H, 2 BB, 4 K
Herrin: Save, 2.0 IP, 0 R, 2 H, 0 BB, 1 K
SWARTHMORE 4, F&M 3
HOW IT HAPPENED
- The start of game two was the opposite of game one as the two teams combined for five runs in the first inning. The Diplomats recorded an RBI double and a sacrifice fly to take a 2-0 lead. However, the Garnet came back with three runs in the bottom of the frame to go in front. Kahn singled in a pair and Buchman knocked in Kahn with a base hit.
- The score remained 3-2 in favor of Swarthmore until the sixth. With one out, F&M drew a walk then hit back-to-back singles to tie the score at three. After a scoreless seventh, the Garnet rallied in the eighth to gain the upper hand again.
Aidan Sullivan started the inning with an infield single. Sullivan made his way to third after a sacrifice bunt and a groundout. The junior then hustled home on a wild pitch to put the Garnet back ahead, 4-3.
- After coming on in the eighth,
Steven Jungers remained on the mound for the ninth. The Diplomats put runners on the corners against him but Jungers registered a strikeout to finish off the victory and pick up his second career win.
GARNET OFFENSIVE LEADERS
Hits: Kedar 2
Runs: Four players 1
RBI: Kahn 2
Stolen Bases: Kedar 2
GARNET PITCHING LEADERS
Michael Lewis: 3.1 IP, 1 R, 3 H, 2 BB
Gabe Elliott: 0.2 IP, 0 R, 0 H, 0 BB
Ian Born: 1.0 IP, 0 R, 0 H, 0 BB
Jungers: Win, 2.0 IP, 0 R, 0 H, 2 BB, 3 K
UP NEXT
Swarthmore (14-13, 5-1 Centennial) travels to Washington College for a conference matchup on Tuesday.
