SWARTHMORE, Pa. – The second-seeded Swarthmore College baseball team used a five-run second inning to take the lead and it held up in an 8-5 victory against third-seeded Haverford College on Thursday in the Centennial Conference Tournament.
The Garnet will travel to the top seed, Johns Hopkins University, for the remainder of the tournament. Swarthmore will take on the host Blue Jays, the number one team in the country, on Saturday with the winner advancing to Sunday's championship round.
The Garnet scored in the opening frame but the Fords responded with a pair in the second to take a 2-1 lead. However, Swarthmore came back with a five-spot in its half of the second and remained in front for the rest of the game.
Aidan Sullivan went 2-for-5 with a triple, three RBI, and two runs.
Matthew Silvestre was 2-for-3 with a double, two RBI, and a run.
Zac Kahn also tallied two hits while
Brad Johnston kept his power streak going, homering for the fifth consecutive game.
Noah Potholm tossed seven innings for his seventh win of the season.
Zach Potthoff came in for the final two frames and earned his second save. The duo combined to shut down Haverford's elite lead-off hitter, Harry Genth, who went 0-for-5 to end his 34-game hit streak.
HOW IT HAPPENED
- The Garnet began the scoring in the first on Silvestre's two-out RBI double. The Fords scored twice on a single in the second to take a 2-1 edge.
- Swarthmore went off for five runs in the bottom of the second to go in front 6-2. The Garnet put the first three men on to load the bases for
Nathaniel Kittredge, who recorded a sacrifice fly.
Leor Kedar walked to load them up again for Sullivan, who smacked a bases-clearing triple to right center. Silvestre followed with a base hit to score Sullivan.
- Neither team managed a run over the next four innings and the score remained 6-2 entering the seventh. Haverford smashed a two-run homer to close the gap to two. However, Swarthmore answered with two runs of its own in the bottom half to up the margin back to four (8-4). Johnston crushed a two-run shot to left to give the Garnet some breathing room.
- Potholm ran into some trouble in the eighth, putting the first two hitters on. Potthoff came on in relief and allowed just one run to score in the frame. Two Fords reached again in the ninth with one out but Potthoff induced a double play to end the game.
GARNET LEADERS
Hits: Sullivan, Silvestre, Kahn 2
Runs: Sullivan, Johnston 2
RBI: Sullivan 3
Stolen Bases: Silvestre 1
GARNET PITCHING LEADERS
Potholm: Win, 7.0 IP, 5 R, 10 H, 1 BB, 2 K
Potthoff: Save, 2.0 IP, 0 R, 3 H, 0 BB
UP NEXT
Swarthmore (24-16) battles Johns Hopkins on Saturday afternoon.
