HAVERFORD, Pa. – Behind scoring 10 runs over the final two innings, the Ursinus College baseball earned a 12-6 Centennial Conference victory over Haverford College on Wednesday afternoon from Kannerstein Field.
The Bears received a quality outing on the mound from first-year
Nick Crocona and totaled 11 hits, while turning in a clean defensive sheet to collect the victory. First-year
Brandon Sullivan recorded a career-high three hits in the contest including extending his hitting streak to four games. Junior
Peter Balos finished 2-for-5 at the plate with 2 RBIs, while sophomore
George Nestor went 2-for-4 with a career-high three RBIs. First-year
Barritt Ross added a base hit and three RBIs to extend his on-base streak to 16 games.
Both starting pitchers cruised through the opening two innings, only allowing a walk before each induced inning ending double plays. The Bears scratched the opening run of the game across the plate during the top of the third inning to gain a 1-0 advantage. Ross led off the frame reaching base on a hit-by-pitch and advanced into scoring position on a passed ball. After Sullivan recorded his first base hit on an infield single, junior
Andrew Richter earned the first RBI on a sacrifice bunt back to the mound. Haverford escaped the jam during the ensuing at-bat as a strikeout ended the inning.
Back on the mound, Crocona continued to keep the Fords bats off balance as a base runner reached, but an unassisted double play from junior
Jude Gilhool closed out the third frame. Corcona faced some trouble in the fourth inning as the Fords' leadoff batter reached on a single into left field. After a foul out, Nestor cut down the tying run trying to swipe base while a fielders later ended the inning.
After the Bears went down in order in the fifth inning, Haverford responded by tying the contest at one apiece behind back-to-back singles to lead off the frame. With the go-ahead run on third, Crocona picked up his first strikeout to end the inning. In the sixth inning, Sullivan reached base on his second infield single, while junior
Jakob Cantor walked to advance Sullivan into scoring position. With one out and two runners on, Haverford's pitcher recorded a flyout and groundout to escape the jam.
The Bears capitalized off a defensive error by the Fords in the seventh to regain a 2-1 advantage as Nestor collected an RBI single. In the bottom half of the frame, Crocona's day was finished as he was relieved on the mound by classmate Ben Coutre. Haverford tied the contest as a two-out base hit brought home the tying run, but a great relay from Sullivan and Cantor cut the go-ahead run down at the plate to end the inning.
Ursinus responded in the eighth inning as the Bears scored four runs off just three hits to regain a 6-2 advantage. Richter led off the frame by jumping on an 0-1 breaking ball launching his first homerun of the season to rightfield to give the Bears a one-run lead. Next, Cantor and Gilhool each reached base on free passes while a single to left field from Balos scored a run to give Ursinus a 4-2 lead. Nestor and Ross recorded the final two RBIs of the inning as Ursinus stretched their lead to four runs.
Haverford answered in their half of the eighth inning scoring one run, but Ursinus bounced back with six runs in the ninth to take a 12-3 lead. The Bears capitalized off four free passes, four hits, and one key defensive error to score their final six runs. The Fords would answer with three runs in their half of the ninth inning, but the lead proved to be too large as Ursinus earned the 12-6 victory.
On the mound, Crocona pitched a career-high six innings scattering six hits and one earned run while striking out two batters. Couture and junior
Connor Bogansky each recorded two outs in relief, while junior
Mike Scheller collected the final five outs to give Ursinus the Centennial Conference victory. For the Fords, Daniel Rosman paced the lineup finishing 3-for-4 at the plate with three other Fords tallying two hits apiece.
The Bears will return to action on Friday as they host Franklin & Marshall College at 3:30 p.m. from Thomas Field.
