SWARTHMORE, PA. - After rain flooded Collegeville Monday evening, the Ursinus College baseball team headed to Clothier Field for Tuesday's Centennial Conference matchup against Swarthmore. The Bears brought the go-ahead run to the plate in the ninth inning but were unable to overcome a two-run deficit and fell 4-2 to the Garnet.
With the loss, Ursinus falls to 10-18 overall and 3-6 in conference play. Meanwhile, the Garnet improved to 16-15 overall and 9-2 in Centennial Conference action.
After being named Centennial Conference Pitcher of the week early this morning, junior right-hander Casey Murphy took the mound for Ursinus and turned 5.2 innings, allowing four earned runs, and fanning five batters.
In the top of the first, the Bears got two baserunners on after Solomon Griffith walked and Tim Pyne dumped a single into right field. Swarthmore's starter Jeremy Jensen got out of the jam after a flyout to rightfield ended the inning. In the bottom half of the inning, Murphy escaped a bases-loaded jam after a 6-4-3 double play ended the Garnet's threat.
The Garnet jumped out to an early 1-0 lead in the third after senior Paul Cooke successfully reached first via a bunt scoring Luke Mutz. The Bears tied the game at one a piece in the fourth when senior Nick Diaz singled to left scoring Matteo Falcone.
Ursinus loaded the bases in the 5th inning but were unable to push across a run after a fielder's choice ended the inning. In the fifth inning, Swarthmore took a 2-1 advantage after a double to left center from Austin Burgess scored Mutz from first with two outs.
The Garnet added two insurance runs in the sixth inning after Emmet Reynolds lifted a homerun to left center to stretch their lead to 4-1. Both teams' bullpens started to settle in during the seventh and eighth innings as each team only mustered two baserunners.
In the ninth inning, Sophomore Dylan Crammer blasted his second homerun of the season over the left-field fence to make the score 4-2. Peter Balos followed up with a single to left and Griffith doubled down the left field line to move the tying run into scoring position. Swarthmore's Zach Camp escaped the jam after a pop up in the infield and a strikeout ended the rally.
For the Garnet, Rohan Cherukuri earned the win on the mound pitching two innings while just allowing two hits, while Camp earned the save closing out the final three innings. First-years David Morgan and Connor Bogansky combined for 2.1 innings of scoreless relief while just allowing three hits for the Bears.
Griffith led the way at the plate for the Bears going 3 for 4 while Pyne added two hits in four appearances.
Ursinus will look to bounce back on Friday as they host Swarthmore from Thomas Field at 3:30pm.