RICHMOND – The Earlham College baseball team took a pair of wins over Defiance College in Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference action on Saturday afternoon in Sadler Stadium.
The Quakers improved to 16-12 on the season, with a 6-7 conference record.
GAME ONE: EARLHAM 4 DEFIANCE 3
The Quakers won game one on a walk-off single from
Ian Bullis in the bottom of the ninth inning, after leading 3-1 for most of the contest.
The Yellow Jackets got a run in in the first inning after loading the bases on Quaker starter
Dillon Fischer. Fischer pitched the complete game for the win, allowing three runs and scattering eight hits, with seven strikeouts.
In the bottom of the first inning,
Nathan Lancianese hit a double to left-center field that brought
Sean Jeffries around for the score. The Earlham lead grew in the fourth inning with a double from
Christian Lancianese that bounced off the Maroon Monster.
The Yellow Jackets scored a two-run single in the top of the eighth inning.
Max Fries reached base on a throwing error to lead off the ninth inning for Earlham. The Quakers then deployed
Cameron Powell as a pinch runner, and the utility player reached third on a single from
Mitchell Roether. With runners on the corners and no outs, Bullis knocked a single to right field for the walk-off score.
GAME TWO: EARLHAM 18 DEFIANCE 4
Hayden Scalf got the start in game two on the day and pitched six innings for the winning decision. The freshman allowed one earned run on six hits, and struck out five on the day.
Dillon Bandi threw the final inning for Earlham, and allowed two hits with three strikeouts.
Fries led the Quakers in game two with four RBI. The senior had one hit, and scored two runs. Roether and
Michael Medley both had three RBI in the contest, they also combined for three hits. The Quakers had three homers in game two, including the first dinger of
Mac Moore's career.
After the Yellow Jackets put up two unearned runs in the top of the first inning, Earlham plated three runs with an error and a double from Bullis in the bottom of the inning.
Defiance responded with a triple in the top of the second inning for one run to tie the game at three.
The Quaker offense exploded in the bottom of the second inning for five runs scored.
Nathan Lancianese hit a double to left field to score
Zach Swearingen. Then, Fries put a double into deep center field to score both Lancianese twins on the play. Roether hit his homer over the right field fence for the final two runs of the inning.
Swearingen added a run after hitting a sac fly to right field in the third inning to bring
Easton Embry home. He also had the first run of the fifth inning by taking advantage of a wild pitch by the Yellow Jackets. The Quakers continued the inning with two runs off of Defiance errors. Medley knocked an RBI-single to left field, and Embry earned a two-RBI hit with an outfield single.
Moore and Medley both homered in the sixth inning to reach 18 total runs for the Quakers.
Earlham will be back in action tomorrow with the final game of the series against Defiance. First pitch is scheduled for noon in Sadler Stadium.
