SCORES: G1 – Earlham 9, Hanover 7 / G2 – Hanover 9, Earlham 6
LOCATION: Richmond, Indiana – Randal R. Sadler Stadium
RECORDS: Earlham 8-6 / Hanover 9-5

RICHMOND, Indiana – Earlham College baseball held off a late Hanover College rally to post a 9-7 victory over the visiting Panthers in game one of the teams' Sunday Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference doubleheader, giving Earlham Head Coach Steve Sakosits his 200th victory as a collegiate head coach.

Earlham's bid for the doubleheader sweep over Hanover was dashed with a 9-6 loss to the Panthers in game two, despite home runs from Cameron Wissel and Danny Dopp.

GAME 1
The Quakers and the Panthers traded runs over the first two innings before Earlham put up three runs in the third. Nathan Lancianese crossed for the first Quaker run in the third on Danny Dopp's single to left field, and two more runs came home on Isaiah Shake's slow grounder to first two batters later – including a run scored by Austin Hatfield after an interference call on the Hanover third baseman.

Hanover plated two runs in the top of the fifth on Alex Christie's two-run double, cutting the margin to 4-3.

Earlham manufactured four runs in the fifth inning on four hits, two walks, and a pair of wild pitches, extending their lead to 8-3. The Panthers responded in the top of the sixth with a three-run home run from Andrew Littlefield, making the score 8-6.

The Quakers tacked on an insurance run in the bottom of the sixth when Brian Pincura got aboard with a leadoff single, later crossing on a wild pitch to push the Earlham lead to 9-6. Hanover added a run in the eighth, but reliever Domanick Michael ended the Panther rally effort in the eighth and retired the side in the ninth.

Danny Dopp went 2-for-3 with three runs scored and two runs batted in, while Nathan Lancianese went 3-for-5 with two runs. Starter Aidan Talarek last five-and-a-third innings on the mound and fanned nine Hanover batters on his way to the victory, with Michael earning the save.

GAME 2
Earlham and Hanover again traded runs early, but a five-run uprising from the Panthers in the second inning put Hanover in command early. The Panthers sent nine batters to the plate in the second and collected four hits, a walk, and an Earlham error, with Zeke Porta's two-run single to left-center providing the big hit for the frame.

Wissel's two-run monster blast to right field in the fourth – his first collegiate home run – also scored Connor Drews, and cut the Hanover lead to 6-3. However back-to-back solo round-trippers from the Panthers' Connor Farnsley and Christie extended Hanover's lead to 8-3.

The Quakers manufactured a single run in the bottom of the fifth, trimming the margin to 8-4, but the Panthers responded with a single run of their won in the top of the seventh.

Dopp's two-run belt to right field in the seventh pulled the Quakers back to within three, 9-6. The home run was the 12th of Dopp's Earlham career. Earlham got runners aboard in the eighth and ninth, but was unable to find the game-tying runs.

Justin Dillhoff was charged with the loss for his five-inning start on the mound, with Dillon Fischer and Nate Hemmerich combining to work four innings of relief. Hanover starter Matthew Alter allowed six runs on eight hits over six-and-two-thirds innings of work, but was credited with the win.

Dopp led the Quakers at the plate in game two with a 2-for-3 performance with two runs and three RBI. Nathan Lancianese and Hatfield also had two hits.

NEXT UP:
Earlham baseball will host Bluffton University in a single nine-inning game on Wednesday, March 31, at 6:00 p.m. at Sadler Stadium.