RICHMOND, Ind. — For the first time since 2008, the Earlham College baseball team is 2-0 to begin the season.

Saturday's 6-4 victory over Kalamazoo College at Randal R. Sadler Stadium may have been closer than Earlham Head Coach Steve Sakosits wanted, but that didn't matter.

"It's good to play in these types of games early and get a win," Sakosits said. "It was a little bit of a nail-biter at the end. Any time you can learn in a winning situation, that's good."

The Quakers had some tense moments in the ninth inning. The Quakers had a three-run lead with Matt Brankle on the mound.

Brankle walked the first Kalamazoo batter he faced and then gave up back-to-back singles as the Hornets (0-1) picked up a run.

After that, the Quakers quickly reversed the momentum. The Hornets had runners on first and second when Earlham catcher Cody Krumlauf came up with a play to record the initial out of the frame. On a missed bunt attempt, Krumlauf picked off the Kalamazoo runner at second.

Brankle followed with a bare-handed play on a ground ball just off the mound to get the second out. Brandon Smalling fielded a bouncer at third to seal the victory.

Earlham starter Nate Hube (2-0) earned the victory.

"Nate Hube pitched very well and gave us a chance to win," Sakosits said. "He had been throwing pretty well into the eighth inning and he kept them off balance."

Hube, who left with one out in the eighth, gave up two runs on seven hits with four strikeouts.

Garrett York got the final two outs of the eighth as he surrendered an unearned run to set the stage for Brankle's first save of the season.

The Quakers began the contest with four runs in the first inning.

"We knew they were going to be excited," Sakosits said of the Hornets. "We wanted to get as much as we could to see what would happen because they are a much-improved team."

Devin Spurgon started the rally with a two-run double. Smalling made it 3-0 with a run-scoring single. Brennan Laird knocked the final run with a sacrifice fly.

Krumlauf made it 5-0 in the fourth inning with a RBI single to center.

Kalamazoo picked up a run in the fifth before scoring twice in the eighth.

In the bottom of the eighth, Josh Parr belted his first collegiate home run to put the Quakers up by three runs.

"That was huge," Sakosits said of Parr's blast. "One run might not seem like a lot, but it is."

Spurgon, Laird and Krumlauf led the Quakers with two hits each.

Parr, Smalling and Eric Elkus had one hit apiece.

The Quakers (2-0) and Kalamazoo finish the three-game series off on Sunday with a doubleheader that gets underway at noon.