FORT MYERS, Fla. – The Haverford College baseball team picked up its first win of the 2018 campaign with a 9-6 victory over Plattsburgh State at the Gene Cusic Collegiate Classic on Tuesday afternoon. Haverford is now 1-7 on the season while Plattsburgh State is 3-3 on the year.
Haverford sprinted out to an early 4-0 lead in the first inning as Will Karp was hit by a pitch to begin the game. After Ethan Lee-Tyson singled and advanced into scoring position on a passed ball, Spencer Sohmer walked ahead of a single from Owen Plambeck to plate the game's opening run. Sam Partee singled to load the bases and Michael Schwarze delivered an two-RBI double for a 3-0 lead. Ben Furlong hit a sacrifice fly to cap the inning at 4-0 in favor of Haverford.
In the second inning, Plattsburgh State tallied a run off of Haverford starter Andrew Johnson as Santino Ycaza singled home Noah Clark, who began the inning with a single.
The Fords chased Plattsburgh starter Jason Fingerhut from the game after just one inning, and added a run in the second off of reliever Alec Fauvell. Plambeck reached on an error and scored on a Partee single for a 5-1 Haverford lead. The Fords added a sixth run in the fourth as Karp singled home Nick Perez, who had reached on an error to begin the frame.
After four innings, Haverford held a 6-1 lead and looked poised to cruise to victory. In the fifth it became clear the Cardinals had other plans, as they pushed across a second run on a Joe Deland triple and an RBI fielder's choice from Clark. A big sixth inning helped Plattsburgh tie the score at 6-6 against the Haverford bullpen. Joe Deland keyed the rally with a two-RBI double and Clark added a sacrifice fly. Plattsburgh State also scored on a passed ball in the frame.
In the bottom of the seventh, the Fords rallied for three runs against Connor Lyons (0-2). Goss reached on a one-out error ahead of a Furlong single. Nick Perez walked to load the bases and Karp reached on an error to plate the go-ahead run. Lee-Tyson singled, scoring Perez and Furlong for a 9-6 lead.
Daniel Joffe (1-0) pitched the final 3.2 innings of the contest, picking up the win with a no-hit relief effort, giving the Fords the innings they needed to capture the season's first victory.
The win on Tuesday came in Haverford's first-ever match up with Plattsburgh State.
The Fords are off on Wednesday before returning to action on Thursday at 3 p.m. against Amherst. The Fords then play the final doubleheader of the week against Wisconsin Lutheran on Friday before wrapping up the trip with a match up against No. 6 Wooster on Saturday.
