COLLEGEVILLE, Pa. – An RBI walk off single from sophomore catcher Dylan Runsdorf lifted the Ursinus College baseball team past Swarthmore College, 11-10 on Friday evening.

 
The Bears trailed by one entering the ninth inning and behind some key at-bats and base knocks from Runsdorf and senior Solomon Griffith they improved to 6-6 in Centennial Conference action and sit in a three-way tie for fourth place in the conference standings.

 
Ursinus trailed 2-0 entering the bottom of the first inning, but they quickly opened with a runner in scoring position as junior Will Kelley collected a one-out single and swiped second base. After Griffith walked, sophomore Peter Balos cut the deficit to one with an RBI single through the middle. The Bears rally ended as a runner was picked off and a strikeout ended the frame.

 
The Garnet put two runners on base in the second, but senior right-hander Casey Murphy induced a fly out to end the threat. The Bears lineup rewarded Murphy in the bottom half of the frame scoring three runs off four hits to capture a 4-2 advantage. Runsdorf and classmate Andrew Richter led off with back-to-back singles and each advanced 90ft closer after a failed pickoff attempt. Next, sophomore Jordan Williams tied the contest at two a piece behind a sacrifice fly to centerfield. After a strikeout and a hit-by-pitch loaded the bases, Kelley came through with a two out two RBI double increased the Bears advantage to two.

 
The Garnet added a run in the fourth inning behind an RBI groundout but mowed through his fourth inning of work after recording a fly out to end the frame. Swarthmore tied the contest at four a piece in the fifth inning behind a homerun, but Murphy settled in and retired the next three batters in a row. Ursinus rallied in the fifth inning, scoring three runs off just one hits and four free passes. Senior Nick Diaz led off with a walk and Runsdorf added a base hit into right field leading to a Garnet pitching change. After a walk loaded the bases, Williams came through with a sacrifice fly to give Ursinus a 5-4 lead. Sophomore Keegan Stem followed up with a walk and classmate Jakob Cantor's free passes allowed Runsdorf to cross the plate and the Garnet's second pitching change. Kelley lifted a sacrifice fly to left field to extend the Bears lead to three, before a fly out ended the inning.

 
Murphy cruised through his sixth inning of work fanning two batters and collecting a groundout to end the frame. The Garnet answered in the seventh frame scoring three runs behind a double and a two-out homerun to tie the game at seven a piece. The Bears added two runs in the bottom of the frame and recaptured a 9-7 lead, as Cantor scored on a groundout and Kelley snuck home on a wild pitch with two outs. The Garnet responded with two runs in the eighth inning to tie the contest at nine a piece, before a fly out ended the frame. The highlight of the inning came with one out as a Garnet runner tried to score, but a great throw from Balos and tag from Runsdorf behind the plate nailed the go-ahead runner.

 
In the bottom of the eighth inning, the Bears advanced the go ahead run into scoring position, but a strikeout ended the threat. Swarthmore regained a 10-9 lead in the ninth inning as a sacrifice fly allowed the go ahead run to cross the plate. Junior pitcher Matt Tuley recorded a strikeout to end the frame and bring the Bears back up to the plate. In the bottom of the ninth, Cantor opened with a leadoff walk and advanced to second on a sacrifice bunt from Kelley. Next, Griffith tied the contest at ten a piece with an RBI single into centerfield and stole second base to put the winning run-in scoring position. The Garnet intentionally walked Balos the Bears cleanup batter and Diaz advanced each runner up 90 feet with a groundout to the pitcher. With two outs, Runsdorf came through with the winning RBI single to give Ursinus the 11-10 victory.

 
Runsdorf tallied three hits on the day and has been scorching since the start of conference play as he currently leads the team with a .412 batting average during conference games. Kelley finished 3-of-4 at the plate with three RBIs, while Richter recorded three base hits and two runs scored. Griffith also tallied two base hits and currently has 13 multi-hit games this season. On the mound, Murphy turned in yet another quality start pitching six innings while allowing six hits and four earned runs, while Tuley (2-0) earned the victory out of the bullpen throwing the final two innings without allowing a hit and striking out two batters.

 
The Bears return to action tomorrow as they travel to Dickinson College for a Centennial Conference doubleheader starting at 10am.

 
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