By Gabby Bonds
Elm Staff Writer
The Shoremen of Washington College baseball played and won four games last week: two against Franklin & Marshall College and two during a doubleheader with Haverford College.
For their first game of the week, the Shoremen hosted the Diplomats on April 14.
Senior outfielder Chase Ruppel scored the first run of the game in the bottom of the first inning, which was also his twelfth home run of the season and a program record.
In the bottom of the fourth inning, the Shoremen led 8-1 when senior infielder Drew Kinsey scored a home run, and the Shoremen completed the inning up 11-1.
Although the Diplomats scored a seven runs during the top of the sixth, they still could not get past the Shoremen, who declared victory with a final score of 13-12. WC rose to 18-15 overall and 6-5 in the Centennial Conference.
“An early win in the week sets us up great for the weekend,” Kinsey said. “We make a goal of winning three of four games during the week. Already having the win from Tuesday allows us to play freely.”
On April 17, the Shoremen traveled to face the F&M Diplomats once again, this time for a non-conference match on their home turf in Lancaster, Pa.
The Shoremen took a 3-0 lead during the top of the third inning. In the top of the seventh inning, the Shoremen improved their lead to 6-4 after a home run from freshman outfielder Brett Connolly and a single from junior outfielder Ty Powell, which allowed Dardaris to score.
The Shoremen secured a 6-5 win that left them with a 19-15 record. The Diplomats fell to 17-14 on the season.
“Baseball is a marathon sport. All the work we have put in as a team in the weight room and in the offseason is helping our bodies stay as healthy as possible,” Kinsey said.
Conference play resumed the following day, when the Shoremen hosted a doubleheader against Haverford. Back-to-back games demand a high level of endurance, with which the Shoremen are well-acquainted.
“[We are] just trying to stay locked in from the first pitch of the first game till the last, and when you want to win for these guys so bad, it makes it a lot easier,” sophomore infielder Brady Wozniak said.
In the first game of the day, the Fords took a 2-0 lead during the top of the second inning.
Connolly doubled the score for the Shoremen in the bottom of the sixth when he recorded a grand slam.
Haverford scored four runs in the top of the eighth and brought the score to 8-7, but the Shoremen held them off with three outs in the bottom of the eighth inning to win the game.
During their final match-up of the week, the Shoremen battled back and forth with the Fords in what proved to be a close competition.
Each team scored two runs in the first inning, but four runs from the Shoremen during the bottom of the third inning gave them a 6-4 lead.
The Fords took a 13-12 lead at the top of the ninth inning, but the Shoremen quickly loaded the bases and scored two runs for themselves after Wozniak singled down the right field line. The ninth-inning walk-off secured victory for the Shoremen, who advanced to 21-15 overall and 9-5 in the Centennial.
WC baseball’s final week of the regular season will feature four more conference games. First, the Shoremen will take on fifth-ranked Johns Hopkins in Baltimore, Md. on April 21, before hosting them on April 24. To finish out the week, the Shoremen will play a doubleheader at 18th-ranked Gettysburg College on April 25.
“[We] just want to try to keep it rolling,” Wozniak said. “[I am] looking forward to playing more baseball with the boys and getting to compete against some really good teams.”
Photo Caption: The Shoremen celebrated eleven graduating athletes during Senior Day before sweeping Haverford.
Photo courtesy of WC Athletics