SWARTHMORE, Pa. - Led by senior shortstop Thomas Nakamura's game-winning
RBIs, the Swarthmore College baseball team (11-5, 2-0) rallied twice for
a dramatic doubleheader sweep of the Dickinson Red Devils, 7-6 and 12-9,
on Saturday afternoon from Clothier Field. The twin bill marked the
Garnet's first Centennial Conference competition of the season.

In both games, Swarthmore overcame early four run deficits to stage
late-inning comebacks on the strength of a resilient offense. In
addition to Nakamura's clutch performance, the order was bolstered by
junior third baseman Spencer Ross' six-hit day and junior first baseman
Michael Cameron's second home run of the year.

In Game 1, the Garnet found itself in a 4-0 hole before coming to bat,
as Dickinson capitalized on an error with a string of two-out hits.
Facing Red Devil ace Sean White, the Swarthmore offense wasted no time
erasing the deficit. Bottom-first RBIs by Nakamura, Ross, Cameron,
sophomore right fielder Tim Kwilos, and senior catcher Matt Lamb gave
Swat a 5-4 edge by inning's end.

The slugfest settled into something of a pitcher's duel for the
remainder of regulation play, as junior starter Ignacio Rodriguez found
his groove after surrendering a quartet of unearned runs in the first.
Swarthmore tacked on a run in the third, on Cameron's home run to
left-center; Dickinson added single runs in the fourth and the fifth,
and the seventh inning – scheduled to be the last inning of play – came
and went with the score knotted at 6.


The Garnet wasted an opportunity in the bottom of the seventh, stranding
runners on the corners, and again in the eighth, stranding the winning
run on second, but Dickinson was held at bay by a clutch relief outing
from junior Kyle Crawford, who threw four shutout innings.

Crawford was made a winner in the bottom of the ninth when Ross doubled
with one out, setting the stage for Nakamura. Hitless on the day so far,
Nakamura lined a double to left-center, and a celebration commenced at
home plate as Ross slid in underneath the tag.

The early innings of Game 2 showed little hope for a sweep, as, despite
jumping ahead 1-0 in the second on a Kwilos sac fly, the Garnet trailed
5-1 by the end of the third. The offense brought the team to within 5-3
by the fifth, thanks to RBI doubles by Ross and junior catcher Mike
Waterhouse, but it wasn't until the sixth inning, now trailing 6-3, that
the Garnet bats began to strike back, with a little bit of help from the
Dickinson defense.

With two outs and runners on second and third, sophomore left fielder
Rory McTear was hit by a pitch for the team-leading ninth time this
year, loading the bases for junior second baseman Anthony Montalbano.
Montalbano hit a ground ball to short that made its way through the
Dickinson shortstop's legs, scoring two runs. Waterhouse proceeded to
strike out, but a wild pitch allowed him to reach first and scored
McTear. Although Montalbano was subsequently forced at third on freshman
designated hitter Niko Burnett's grounder, the rally had tied the game
at 6-6.

After sophomore pitcher Ramsey Walker worked out of a second and third,
no outs jam allowing only one run to score in the top of the seventh,
the offense continued rolling in the bottom of the inning. Cameron was
hit by a pitch to lead off, and Kwilos attempted to sacrifice him to
second but reached on a two-base error by the Dickinson pitcher. Ross
drove Cameron in with a single, re-tying the game at 7, and Nakamura
notched his second decisive game-winning hit of the day, scoring Kwilos
on an RBI double to give the Garnet an 8-7 advantage.

Senior centerfielder Ben Schneiderman was hit by a pitch to load the
bases for McTear, who walked, forcing in a run. A pair of sacrifice
flies by Montalbano and Waterhouse ended the scoring run at six, and
sent the game into the eighth with a 12-7 Garnet lead.

Walker appeared to tire in his second inning of work, allowing two
walks, a double, a single, and two runs before he was relieved by junior
Sean Mangus. Mangus stopped the bleeding in the eighth, inducing a bunt
groundout, a pop fly to left, and a strikeout. He also pitched a 1-2-3
ninth to earn the save and seal a 12-9 victory for Swarthmore.

The Garnet returns to the field on Tuesday afternoon, as Tri-Co rival
Haverford (14-4-, 0-2) comes to visit Clothier Field. First pitch is set
for 3:30 p.m.