Baseball team sweeps four-game series
by Bryant Foreman
For the first time since 2007, the Earlham Quaker baseball team is on a 4-game winning streak, and for the first time in school history, the streak was gained by sweeping a four-game series. It came against the Robert Morris Springfield last weekend.
The first day, the Quakers sealed a 6-2 victory in the first contest, and won in a 6-0 shutout in the second. On the second day, Earlham’s momentum continued as they demolished the Golden Eagles 12-4 in the first game and sneaked away with a 4-3 win in the second.
They also split a non conference double-header with Kenyon on Wednesday, losing the first game 11-2, but coming back with a big 17-5 victory in game two to match last year’s win total (13).
Senior pitcher and team captain Kevin Greve said, “It was great to get four wins this weekend, but we as a team have to remain focused and keep everything into perspective.”
The team was able to do so against the Eagles, as the pitchers shone throughout the series. Three of the four starters pitched complete games, including the shutout by sophomore Corey Murray.
Senior pitcher Alex Anderson took the mound the first game, pitching a complete game, with six hits and two runs, adding eight strikeouts to his count as well. In the second game, Murray gave up zero runs on three hits, and added 10 strikeouts to earn his first win of the season.
Offensive highlights for the Quakers from the first day included a huge third inning in the first game, in which they added five of their six runs to the scoreboard. Junior catcher and third baseman Jake Carr led Earlham with three hits in the first game while senior outfielder Danny Bridge added two RBIs. Sophomore shortstop Andrew Morrical‘s single in the first inning of the second game added a run to the tally.
It took a while for the Quakers to follow suit, but they had another big inning in the fifth as they added three runs. Carr again led the team with four hits in the second game.
ROUND TWO
The pitching for the Quakers only seemed to get better at the beginning of the second double-header when sophomore pitcher Adam Painter took the mound. Painter (4-3) worked six innings of the game and gave up four runs but added another four strikeouts. He picked up the win after senior Corey Gareri pitched the final inning and gave up only a single. The hitting for the Quakers carried over from the day before as they added two runs early in the second inning, six in the fifth, and four more in the seventh. Carr and freshman centerfielder Tyler Schroeder each had three hits to help the Quakers’ rout of Robert Morris for the third straight time.
In the fourth game, senior pitcher Randy Kerns took to the mound looking to get him and his team a fourth and final win against the Eagles.
“I was really wanting to get that fourth win for us this weekend,” said Kerns. “I knew that sweeping a four-game was something that hadn’t been done here for a while, and after my performance against Defiance, I knew I had to make up for it.”
That’s just what Kerns did as he pitched a complete game giving up three runs on six hits with four strikeouts.
The Quakers kept their composure at the plate and proved themselves with good situational hitting to add four runs to the Eagles’ three.
As the season winds down, the Quakers continue their conference play this weekend as they make up doubleheaders against Denison here in Richmond tomorrow and another against Wabash in Crawfordsville on Sunday.
Greve added, “We want to win all four conference games this weekend and continue to finish this season strong.”
This Saturday is also the last home game for the 2009 seniors.
Senior outfielder/first baseman Ben Shuttish said, “It is sad that it is going to be our last game at home, but we are looking forward to putting up good numbers against Denison so that we can pick up a couple wins.”
Any fan is welcome to come and show their support at McBride as seniors Danny Bridge, Alex Anderson, Corey Gareri, Tilmon Clark, Ben Shuttish, Randy Kerns, Kevin Greve, Shingo Katoh and Ben Marshcand take the field at McBride one last time.
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