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BY MELINDA PETRE

In print | Published April 17, 2008

Swarthmore baseball (8-16, 2-11 CC) began its long weekend of games with a disappointing loss to Muhlenberg College (17-13, 8-5 CC) 8-2. On Friday, the Mules took an early lead but by the fourth inning Swarthmore had temporarily tied the game 2-2. Unfortunately, the Mules quickly regained their ground, scoring the final six runs to end the game. Pitcher Andy Allen ’11 (1-3) picked up the loss at the mound.

“Conference games take a tremendous amount of concentration and if you let your guard down, other conference teams will jump at the opportunity,” Coach Stan Exeter said. “We played hard but Muhlenberg made more plays. That’s baseball.”

“Never underestimate your opponent, it was an important lesson to learn, and something we will carry with us for the rest of the season,” Kevin Kooi ’09 said.

On Saturday, Swat continued its Centennial Conference season with a home doubleheader against the Green Terror from McDaniel College (9-16, 6-7 CC). The Garnet picked up the loss in both games, 8-1 and 11-4. Swarthmore led early in the first game, as they took a 1-0 lead in the forth inning, when Andy Eisenlohr ’11 hit a single to send Jimmy Gill ’10 home. The Green Terror picked up four unearned runs in the sixth inning, and held on in the final inning to secure the victory. Neil Mejia ’11 (4-3) picked up the loss.

In game two, Swarthmore fought back to close an 8-0 gap to 8-4 going into the eighth inning. In the end, however, McDaniel held onto its lead and closed the day with two victories. “In both games, McDaniel took advantage of the opportunities presented. We had a great effort on the field but we need to take better advantage of the opportunities that present themselves during each game,” Exeter said.

“We lacked the fire in our eyes, a certain grit and hustle was missing from the team. We didn’t have that never-say-die attitude that you need when you’re down in a close game,” Kooi said.

Baseball traveled Tuesday to face its main Centennial Conference rival, Haverford College (21-8-1, 9-4 CC), for a much anticipated matchup. “The feeling is different with Haverford, a rival game, always a fun atmosphere and each team expects the other to play at a high level,” Exeter said.

Scott Dalane ’08 picked up his 35th hit of season, as he and Thomas Nakamura ’10 added two hits apiece to the effort. Unfortunately, the Fords were able to capitalize more than the Garnet, and Swarthmore suffered their 11th Conference loss of the season.

“We weren’t consistently throwing strikes, and hitting-wise, we’re getting our pitches to hit, just not taking advantage of them. We’ll work on some things the next few days and it’ll all come together on Friday,” Justin Chen ’08 said.

The Swarthmore-Haverford rematch is scheduled for 3:30 p.m. this Friday at Swarthmore. This will be the Garnet’s senior game, which will honor four Swarthmore seniors: first baseman Travis Allen, pitcher Justin Chen, center fielder Scott Dalane and catcher Ben Mendelson.

“Our style of baseball needs to be executed for us to be successful, and I feel the team understands that and therefore could care less about which team [opponent] shows up on Friday,” Thomas Nakamura ’10 said.

“Just like we’re ready for them, we know they’re ready for us. The question is, who is going to want it more,” Kooi said.

“I mean, its Haverford. If you can’t get pumped to play Haverford, you might as well not play at all,” Chen said.

On Saturday, the Garnet heads to Gettysburg College for a doubleheader, beginning at 12:30 p.m. Tuesday, Swat baseball will travel to Rutgers University-Camden for a game at the Camden Riversharks Stadium under the lights starting at 7 p.m.

“Within these next games, there could be upped intensity and greater stakes, but in the end, baseball is still a very simple game. You throw the ball, you catch the ball, you hit the ball. Sometimes you win, sometimes you lose, sometimes it rains,” Nakamura said.

“Our biggest accomplishment is that we have improved throughout the season. It has been fun watching this team develop,” Exeter said.

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