LEXINGTON, SC - The Swarthmore College baseball team built on its impressive spring break resume with a 12-6 victory over Marietta College on Wednesday. The Garnet have won four-straight games with a 5-1 record in Lexington.
The Pioneers came back to tie the game in the eighth inning before the Garnet rallied for six runs in the ninth. Leor Kedar reached base in all six plate appearances, going 5-for-5 with four runs and a walk. The sophomore, who has 15 hits in his previous four games, recorded his second five-hit performance of the week. Alessandro Propper-Bowring and Andrew Firko both totaled three hits, while combining for three RBI.
As a team, the Garnet accumulated a season-high 18 hits with five walks. Seven different players drove home runs in another well-rounded performance from the Swarthmore bats.
HOW IT HAPPENED
- Kedar got the Garnet off to a hot start with a leadoff triple to open the game. Aidan Sullivan brought the leadoff hitter home with an RBI groundout, making it 1-0. Aidan Tinker then navigated out of trouble in the bottom of the first. After allowing a one-out double, the pitcher erased the runner at second with a pickoff, while striking out the final batter looking.
- Swarthmore rallied for three more runs in the third inning. Kedar remained scorching hot, opening the frame with a double, before coming home to score on a Zac Kahn groundout. The Garnet tacked on two more runs in the inning with RBI singles from Nathaniel Kittredge and Propper-Bowring.
- Marietta got a run back in the third inning with an RBI double, trimming its deficit to 4-1. Tinker helped avoid further damage with an inning-ending strikeout to strand a runner in scoring position. Kedar then singled to left field in the fourth inning, opening the game with a triple, double and single. However, the Garnet came up empty in the frame, while the Pioneers added a run in the bottom half, making it 4-2.
- Swarthmore used a two-out rally to plate a run in the fifth. Kittredge reached base on a hit-by-pitch and then advanced on a Propper-Bowring single. Firko then laced a single to left field to regain Swarthmore's three-run lead.
- Kedar used his speed to manufacture a run in the sixth. After working a leadoff walk, the reigning Centennial Player of the Week advanced to second on a balk, stole third and then came home on an errant throw. Steven Jungers entered the game in the bottom half, tossing a 1-2-3 frame with a pair of strikeouts in relief of Tinker.
- The Pioneers brought a run across in the seventh, but were unable to rally for a big inning. After loading the bases with two-outs, Jungers induced an inning-ending groundout to avoid further damage. However, Marietta's big inning came in the eighth, bringing across three runs to even the score at six.
- The Garnet loaded the bases with three-straight walks before Firko brought home the winning run with a single to second base. Jackson Clemens kept the rally going with a two-run, pinch-hit single, while Sullivan added another run with a groundout and Brad Johnston brought home two more with a double.
- Gabe Elliott finished off the Pioneers after recording three-straight outs with a pair of runners on base. The senior struck out two batters in the inning.
GARNET OFFENSIVE LEADERS
Kedar: 5-for-5, 4 R, BB, 2B, 3B
Firko: 3-for-5, 2 RBI, R
Propper-Bowring: 3-for-4, RBI, R, BB
GARNET PITCHING LEADERS
Tinker: 5.0 IP, 4 H, 1 ER, 2 BB, 5 SO
Herrin: (W, 3-1), 1.0 IP, 0 H, 2 ER, 2 BB
Elliott: 1.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 SO
UP NEXT
The Garnet (10-3) finish off their spring break slate tomorrow against SUNY Cobleskill.
