COLLEGEVILLE, Pa. – The Ursinus College baseball team let a pair of late leads slip, and visiting Haverford made the Bears pay in extra innings, stealing a 3-2 Centennial Conference victory with a run in the top of the 10th.
Ursinus (16-14, 2-7) got a spectacular pitching performance from senior Sean Pisik but could get little going at the dish, managing just three hits off the Fords' Justin Herring and George Hatamiya in losing their sixth straight in the series.
Still, the Bears had their chances to come away with a positive result. Junior Alex Campbell's solo shot to left in the bottom of the seventh – the first of his career – was only the home's side second hit of the afternoon, but it broke a 1-all tie and put Ursinus in position to take down a Haverford (19-10, 8-3) squad that won its first six CC contests and received votes in last week's NCBWA Division III poll.
It was not to be, though, as a two-out error put runners on the corners in the top of the eighth, and a balk by sophomore Matt Radwanski plated the tying run.
After a scoreless ninth, Haverford's Ethan Lee-Tyson sliced a double down the right-field line to lead off the top of the 10th and took third on a sacrifice bunt. With the infield in, Matt Goss snuck a hard grounder past the glove of junior Vincent Terry and into right-center field for the go-ahead run.
Junior Austin Feuerman drew a one-out walk in the bottom half, but pinch-runner Jake Banks was gunned down at second to end the threat.
Pisik allowed just one run and three hits in seven terrific innings, striking out five to just one walk; the Fords did not put a man in scoring position until a two-out error in the sixth. The five strikeouts left him one shy of 100 for his career.
Radwanski (0-2) pitched well in defeat, surrendering two runs (one earned) and striking out four in three innings.
Hatamiya (2-1) got the win with four strong innings of relief; he allowed only two hits and struck out four with one walk. Herring, who came in second in the CC with a 1.40 ERA, conceded one hit in his six innings, the Bears only scoring when he mishandled a bunt by Terry with two outs in the sixth.
Junior CJ Diana was the only player to record more than one hit in a game with only nine of them; he finished 2-for-2 with a double and a walk and scored the game's first run.
The Bears head to Haverford for the second leg of the doubleheader on Thursday, April 21. First pitch is set for 3:30 p.m.
