KOKOMO, Ind. – The Earlham College baseball team split a doubleheader with Franklin College at Championship Park in Kokomo, Ind. on Wednesday afternoon.
The Quakers and Grizzlies both move to 11-5 in the HCAC standings and are involved in a three-way tie with Rose-Hulman for the lead of the conference.
GAME ONE: EARLHAM 9 FRANKLIN 13
Andrew Bradley began the series with a two-run homer in the top of the first. The senior went on to hit three deep shots and have four RBI in game one.
Jeordon Kuderer and
Zach Swearingen also enjoyed three-hit outings and both recorded a double.
Justin Dillhoff started off on the mound and tossed four innings with five earned runs and three hits allowed.
Nate Hemmerich came into the game with runners on the corners in the fifth inning and pitched 1.1 innings for the Quakers.
The Grizzlies countered Bradley's home run with a score in the bottom of the opening inning. A single to right field from Swearingen brought home two more runs for the Quakers in the top of the second inning, and the lead extended to 6-1 in the top of the fourth inning.
The Grizzlies scored four runs in the bottom of the fifth inning, starting with a home run to lead off the frame. Franklin also began the sixth inning with a lead-off home run to tie the game, and continued with five more runs later in the inning.
Bradley hit his second homer of the game and
Easton Embry recorded an RBI single to close the gap in the seventh inning, and the Grizzlies scored two more runs in the bottom of the eighth before Bradley's final home run.
GAME TWO: EARLHAM 8 FRANKLIN 4
Devin Basley led the lineup in RBI with three from two hits in game two.
Maxwell Fries and Swearingen both hit their first deep shots of the season.
Dillon Fischer started his second game in five days with six innings pitched. Fischer surrendered six hits and four earned runs with five strikeouts.
Jacob Renner tossed two relief innings with two strikeouts and one hit allowed, and
Aidan Talarek cleaned up the final inning with two strikeouts. The Earlham relief pitchers combined for just one baserunner in the final three innings.
Fries hit his homer to begin the scoring in the top of the second inning and an RBI groundout from Basley extended the lead to 2-0.
Basley recorded another RBI in the fourth inning from a single to left field before the Grizzlies hit a two-run homer in the bottom of the frame.
The Quakers enjoyed a four-run sixth inning kicked off by a single to the outfield from Embry, and was capped off by Swearingen's home run. Franklin scored two runs in the bottom of the sixth inning and
Nathan Lancianese brought his brother home on an RBI single in the ninth inning.
The Quakers have just one regular season series remaining and will travel to Manchester on Saturday for a doubleheader starting at noon. A sweep of the Spartans will guarantee at least a piece of the HCAC regular season championship for Earlham and send the Quakers to the tournament with the top seed.
