---

Olivia Natan | Phoenix Staff

Pitcher Zach Weiner winds up to prepare to throw to an awaiting PSU-Abington batter.

BY MARK CHIN

In print | Published April 22, 2010 — Updated April 26, 2010 13:08

In 2006, Swarthmore’s baseball team went 1-17 against their rivals in the Centennial Conference, the team’s lowest win total in conference play since the beginning of the decade. That season, the Garnet ranked at the bottom of the conference in batting average, slugging percentage, hits and opposing batters struck out and led the league in striking out, pitchers’ earned run average and walks allowed.

The 2010 Swarthmore baseball team is a completely different animal from the 2006 team, which did not win a single conference game until nine games into conference play. The team was revamped in 2007 with a new coach and a new set of first-year players, who, as seniors this season, are leading the team to its first Centennial Conference playoff in the program’s history, the berth clinched after a thrilling comeback win this past Saturday.

After taking the first game against Franklin & Marshall in convincing fashion at 18-5, the Swarthmore baseball team shocked the Diplomats in the second game of a doubleheader on Saturday by scoring four runs in the final frame of play and coming back from behind to win it 8-7. With one out and two on base, Mike Cameron ’12 hit a double off opposing pitcher Mike Ham to bring home Anthony Montalbano ’12 and Miles Santo ’12, sealing the game for the Garnet.

With the two wins against Franklin & Marshall on Saturday, the Swarthmore baseball team assured itself a spot in postseason play. In doing so, the Garnet shocked not only the Diplomats, but the rest of the conference, as the team was picked to finish eighth out of the 10 teams in the preseason poll for the Centennial Conference.

This year’s team and season has been the result of four years of hard work. On the successes of the team in his senior year season, Captain Wiley Archibald ’10 said, “It’s been great getting a playoff berth this year. We’ve gone from a team with four total wins my freshman year to having 10 and counting in conference alone. This year really demonstrates the strides we have taken as a whole and where we now set the bar for future seasons.”

The strides Archibald mentioned have separated this year’s team in particular from those of previous years. “This year’s squad has much more depth in the pitching staff compared to previous teams. That’s been really important as the key to winning games starts with pitching. The staff has done a great job this year attacking the opposing hitters with their best stuff knowing that they don’t have to keep anything in reserve since there are others who can come in and do just as well,” Captain Jimmy Gill ’10 said.

“In addition, our lineup is deeper throughout and can attack teams many ways including bunts, homers and being hit by pitch.” Gill himself has had an outstanding season as an offensive menace to opposing teams, and currently leads the team in home runs and slugging percentage. He hit a three-run jack to help Swarthmore overcome F&M in the first game this Saturday, and it was another home run in the second game that helped put Cameron in the position for the final theatrics. Gill was named Centennial Conference Hitter of the Week for his effort.

The team’s success may be unfamiliar to some of the older players on the team, but it isn’t to Head Coach Stan Exeter. Exeter was hired to head Swarthmore’s baseball team in 2007 after the disastrous season the previous year, and came to coach the Garnet the same year seniors Gill and Archibald started playing for the team.

Even before coming to Swarthmore, Exeter was named Pennsylvania Athletic Conference Coach of the Year twice, having led Arcadia University to two conference championships in his 10 years serving there.

Since Coach Exeter stepped into the head coaching position, the Garnet have improved year after year, winning more games against their tough conference foes. After winning two conference games in 2007, the baseball team had added one more conference victory each year through the 2009 season, for a total of nine conference wins in that time period. The Garnet have exploded this year, and have already captured 10 wins in one of the more competitive divisions in the region.

Coach Exeter didn’t have to change much of the Swarthmore baseball team’s philosophy or add any gimmicks to his coaching style to adapt from Arcadia, however. On what he expected when he first accepted the head coaching job, Coach Exeter said, “I knew the guys played hard at Swarthmore and took pride in what they did on and off the field. So if we kept that attitude and added more players to the roster and a bit more talent it would be a great combination … It’s real simple; play well today is our only goal. All the rest will fall into place.”

But the season has had its own ups and downs for the Garnet before their significant Saturday win. After winning its fourth conference game against Washington in early April, the team suffered a five-game skid against Centennial Conference opponents to fall under .500 in conference play. But the team overcame the slide, and rang off four victories in a row to stay in the playoff hunt, using those losses as inspiration to perform better.

“We got a little out of stride and were playing some very good teams that do not allow you to make mistakes. I think to end it we just got together and said, ‘This is not how we want our season to go. There’s nobody in this conference we cannot beat’,” Archibald said. “Beating Haverford was great for our confidence and pride too and definitely gave us a momentum change. The great side of that slump is we will likely see those teams again in the playoffs and have a chance to beat them when it counts.”

The Garnet will need that confidence heading into the playoffs, as they’ll face teams like Johns Hopkins and Haverford who have already clinched playoff berths as well. The Garnet may have split the games against Haverford this season, but they lost both games that they played against the Blue Jays.

But there may be no better coach that Coach Exeter in preparation for postseason play, who led Arcadia to the postseason every year from 2002 to 2006. On the team’s preparation for its first postseason, Coach Exeter said, “We are playing pretty tough teams down the stretch which helps. We’ll treat each game like a playoff game and prepare the team that way."

Looking into next season, it appears that Swarthmore’s baseball team will continue to be a powerful force in the Centennial Conference. Despite losing key seniors such as Archibald, Gill and Zach Sinemus ’10, the rising sophomores will have gained playoff experience in their first years on the roster, and will continue to improve. “The first-year players have mixed into the team nicely bringing positive energy to the team. They all have bright futures as Swat baseball is starting to establish itself a force in the Centennial Conference for years to come. I predict that when they graduate, they will be the winningest class in Swat baseball history,” Gill said.

But before the Garnet can look toward the 2011 season and what it may bring, the team has the ability to do what no other baseball team in Swarthmore history has done before: win a playoff game. When asked about the most memorable moment of his career, Archibald said, “I’ve had some great moments in my time here, but I think I will probably have to get back to you about my best moment. Ask me again in May when we are playing in the conference championships.”

The baseball team finishes its conference schedule at Dickinson this Saturday, returning home on Sunday for its senior day and final home game of the season against Centenary College at 1 p.m.

---

« RETURN TO SPORTS

« PREV ARTICLE | NEXT ARTICLE »