HAVERFORD, Pa. – Behind scoring 11 runs over the final three innings, the Ursinus College baseball team earned a 11-6 comeback victory over Haverford College on Friday afternoon.
With the victory, the Bears even the season series and snap a five-game skid against the Fords dating back to April 2018.
Senior right-hander
Casey Murphy earned the victory on the mound behind pitching eight innings and allowing six earned runs while striking out four batters. At the plate, sophomore
Peter Balos collected three hits and six RBIs behind an eighth inning grand slam that lifted Ursinus to the victory. This marks as the first time a Bears recorded six RBIs since Will Peiffer completed the feat against McDaniel in 2019.
Ursinus led off the contest with back-to-back singles, but a double play ended the Bears threat as they stranded a runner in scoring position. Haverford capitalized on the miss opportunity and jumped on the board in the bottom half of the first inning scoring two runs behind four base hits. On the mound, Murphy settled in retiring five of the next six batters, but Ursinus still trailed 2-0 heading into the middle innings.
The Fords extended their advantage to three in the fifth inning as Haverford's Daniel Rosman tallied his first homerun of the season. Murphy bounced back on the mound retiring each of the next five batters behind three groundouts and a strikeout as the Bears still trailed 3-0 entering the seventh inning.
The Bears offense came alive in the seventh inning as they chased Haverford's starter Drew Doyle out of the game and regained a 5-3 lead. Sophomores
Andrew Richter and
Jakob Cantor led off the inning by reaching base on a free pass and a single from classmate
Dylan Runsdorf loaded the bases with no outs. Senior
Solomon Griffith brought the Bears within a run as a defensive error allowed him to reach base and two runs to score. During the next at-bat, Griffith swiped second base and improved to a perfect 13-of-13 on the season on stolen base attempts. Junior
Will Kelley brought home a run on an RBI groundout allowing Runsdorf to score and Griffith to advance to third. After a walk and a strikeout, Balos came through with his first two RBIs behind a two-out single into right field to give Ursinus a 5-3 advantage.
Haverford answered in the bottom half of the seventh inning behind a one-out two-run homerun to tie the game at five a piece. After the homerun, Murphy continued to keep the Fords lineup off-balance receiving a fly out and groundout to end the frame. In the eighth inning, the Bears offense once again broke through for a six spot on the scoreboard to regain a 11-5 lead. Cantor led off with a single and advanced to third on a double from Runsdorf. After Griffith was intentionally walked, Kelley gave Ursinus a one-run advantage with a sacrifice fly to left field. First-year
Cameron Krugel reloaded the bases after being hit by a pitch and a Haverford error allowed the Bears to stretch their lead to two when Runsdorf crossed the plate. The largest hit of the night came next as Balos blasted a 1-1 pitch to left center for his team leading third homerun of the season and stretching the Bears lead to 11-5. The Fords added a run in the eighth inning, but the lead proved to be too large as Murphy and junior picher
Jared Minnichbach combined for the final six outs to give Ursinus the victory. Murphy improved his season record to 4-3 on the season, while at the plate Griffith, Balos, and Runsdorf each finished with multi-hit performances.
The Bears return to action tomorrow as they host No.4 Johns Hopkins for a Centennial Conference doubleheader starting at noon.
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