RICHMOND – The Earlham College baseball team completed a weekend sweep of Olivet College with a 10-9 win over the Comets after a ninth-inning error brought the winning run home for the Quakers. 

Earlham ends the weekend 3-0 on the season while the Comets fell to 0-3.

Maxwell Fries led the Quaker bats with three hits and four RBIs on the afternoon. Evan Griswold earned the win on the mound after the Quakers used six pitchers throughout the game. 

After a Fries single in the bottom of the first, the Quakers left one runner on base after three outs. The Comets responded with a run in the top of the second. 

The Olivet defense retired three in a row in the bottom of the second and the Quakers trailed by one heading into the third. 

After putting two runners on base, Fries hit a triple all the way back to the center field wall to bring home Zach Swearingen and Devin Basley. Fries scored on the next play by reaching on a fielding error induced by Nathan Nancianese.

Things nearly fell apart for the Quakers in the top of the fourth. Starting pitcher Dillon Fischer allowed five runners on base and three runs to score after recording just one out on the inning. DH Phoenix Guzzi came to the mound in relief but allowed four more runners and walked in a run before being replaced by Ethan Khandaker who logged the final out of the inning. The Comets scored six runs on four hits and one error in the inning, and now led 7-3.

Jeordan Kuderer began the bottom of the fourth with a double to left field to start the road to recovery. He was rewarded just two plays later when Nathaniel Whetstine hit a single up the middle to bring the run home. Whetstine scored three plays later off of a left-side single from Basley. Nathan Lancianese also came home on a throwing error while the Comets were trying to catch Basley in a steal. The Quakers ended the fourth inning with a 7-6 deficit.

After neither team scored a hit in the fifth and sixth innings, Olivet placed two runners in scoring position in the top of the seventh. However, pitcher Nick Carrizales struck out the final Comet of the inning to escape unharmed. 

Olivet gained a 9-6 lead in the top of the eighth after beginning the inning with a triple. EC had two runners in scoring position at one point in the bottom of the inning, but could not bring them home. 

Groswold faced only four batters in the top of the ninth and allowed just one single from the Comets. 

With runners on second and third, Fries hit a triple to left field which brought the Quakers closer to victory with a score of 9-8 and no outs. Nathan Lancianese then singled to left field to bring Fries in for the tying run. After a groundout and an intentional walk, the Quakers had a runner on first and second, and brought Easton Embry in to pinch hit. Embry hit a ground ball up the middle that was fumbled by the shortstop, but eventually corralled by the second baseman for the force-out at second. A throwing error while trying to turn the double play allowed Lancianese to reach home for a walk-off unearned run to secure the sweep of the Comets. 

Earlham will be back in Sadler Stadium next weekend to welcome Wilmington College for another weekend series. The doubleheader on Saturday starts at 1 pm while Sunday's game is scheduled for noon.