CARLISLE, Pa. – The Ursinus baseball team was swept Saturday at Dickinson College, falling 9-8 in 10 innings in the opener before dropping the nightcap, 8-7.
With the losses, Ursinus falls to 17-12 overall and 4-6 in Centennial Conference play. Meanwhile, the Red Devils improved to 18-12 on the season and 4-6 in conference action.
Game 1: Dickinson 9, Ursinus 8 (10 innings)
A late rally by the Red Devils proved to be the difference as Dickinson scored five runs over the final three innings, including two in the 10th, to earn the 9-8 comeback victory.
Ursinus opened the scoring in the top of the first inning, capitalizing on two hits and two errors to grab an early 1-0 lead. Junior
Brandon Sullivan led off the inning by reaching on an infield error, then advanced to second and stole third with two outs. First-year
Brett Barrett followed with a single to center to score Sullivan and give Ursinus a 1-0 lead. Sophomore
Isaac Gesford added a single, but a strikeout stranded runners on the corners.
First-year
Jamie O'Neill got the start on the mound for Ursinus and worked around a pair of baserunners with two strikeouts to keep the Bears ahead.
In the top of the second, Ursinus scratched across its second run as sophomore
Matthew Callahan doubled to score senior
Kyle Rosenfeld from second. Rosenfeld reached on a single before senior
George Nestor executed a sacrifice bunt to move him into scoring position.
The Red Devils responded with a run in the bottom half of the inning on a sacrifice fly. Dickinson added two more runs in the fourth before Ursinus answered with a run in the fifth to tie the game at three.
Sophomore
Luke Kopec was hit by a pitch to lead off the fifth, stole second, and advanced to third on a balk. Barrett then drove in the tying run with an RBI groundout.
After Dickinson took a 4-3 lead in the bottom of the fifth, the Bears plated three runs in the seventh on four hits to regain a 6-4 advantage. Kopec reached on an infield single, and Barrett followed with a single to right to put runners on the corners with no outs. Gesford recorded an RBI on a sacrifice bunt to tie the score at four, while Rosenfeld tripled, and Nestor doubled to extend the lead to 6-4.
The Red Devils scored on a bases-loaded walk in the eighth, but senior
Dan Bass escaped the inning with a strikeout to preserve a 6-5 lead.
In the top of the ninth, Barrett led off with a double to left-center and advanced to third on Dickinson's second balk of the game. Gesford followed with an RBI single to give Ursinus a two-run cushion entering the bottom of the ninth.
Dickinson rallied for two runs in the bottom of the ninth to tie the game at eight. After a one-out walk and a triple, an infield ground out brought home the tying run and forced extra innings.
Ursinus took the lead in the 10th on a sacrifice fly by Rosenfeld, but Dickinson answered with a bases-loaded double to plate the tying and winning runs and complete the comeback.
Game 2: Dickinson 8, Ursinus 7
A six-run eighth inning nearly powered an Ursinus comeback, but Dickinson held on to complete the sweep with an 8-7 victory.
In the bottom of the first, Dickinson scored two unearned runs, capitalizing on a pair of Ursinus errors. The Red Devils extended their lead to 3-0 in the third after a runner reached on a throwing error and later scored on a two-out double.
After Ursinus went down in order in the fourth, Dickinson added three runs on three hits to push its advantage to 6-0. The Bears threatened in the fifth with three straight two-out hits, but a groundout ended the inning. Nestor, first-year
Nolan Carroll and Callahan each recorded hits in the frame.
Ursinus broke through in the sixth, cutting the deficit to 6-1. Kopec led off with a double to left-center, and Barrett followed with an RBI single to put the Bears on the board. Dickinson responded with two runs in the bottom half to extend its lead to 8-1.
After a scoreless seventh, the Bears erupted for six runs in the eighth to trim the deficit to 8-7. Kopec and Barrett drew walks to open the inning, and Gesford was hit by a pitch to load the bases with no outs. Senior
Shane Beaver delivered a sacrifice fly, and Rosenfeld added an RBI groundout to make it 8-3.
Following a walk, Carroll singled in a run, and a Dickinson error combined with a wild pitch allowed three more runs to score, cutting the deficit to one. Ursinus left the tying and go-ahead runs in scoring position as a flyout ended the rally.
In the ninth, Ursinus again put the tying and go-ahead runners in scoring position, but a fielder's choice and a groundout ended the game. On the fielder's choice, Nestor bunted toward the first-base side, and Dickinson's pitcher threw home to cut down the tying run at the plate.
Ursinus returns to action Tuesday, April 14th, hosting Haverford College in a Centennial Conference matchup at 3:30 p.m.
