Quakers Split Doubleheader with Kenyon

For Immediate Release:
April 9, 2008

RICHMOND, Ind. — The Earlham College baseball team battled Kenyon College on Wednesday night at McBride Stadium, and the Quakers came away with a split.

Earlham won the opener 13-11 and dropped the second contest 4-3. “We played great baseball,” Interim Head Coach Joe Rodden said. “It would have been nice to hit Dan White, Kenyon’s second starter, but it’s tough to beat a good pitcher.”

The Quakers are now 12-14 on the season. The victory total is the most since the squad won a dozen contests in 2003.

In the opener, the Quakers were forced to comeback after leading most of the game. The Lords erased an eight-run deficit with nine runs in the sixth to go in front 11-10, but Earlham had a quick response. “We kept our heads up and went right back out there,” Rodden said. “They don’t give up. We’ve won several games like that.”

With one out in the bottom of the sixth, sophomore Jake Carr (Richmond, IN/Richmond) tied the contest with a run-scoring single. After senior Eric Sturgeon (Logansport, IN/Logansport) grounded out, first-year Andrew Morrical (Summitville, IN/Madison-Grant) gave the Quakers a 12-11 lead with a RBI single. Junior Tilmon Clark (Winchester, IN/Winchester) knocked in Morrical with a triple for the final tally.

First-year Adam Painter (Ft. Wayne, IN/Snider), who was Earlham’s third pitcher, picked up the win. Painter (2-4) gave up two runs on three hits over the final 1⅔ innings. First-year Corey Murray (Richmond, IN/Richmond) started the game and worked into the sixth inning before giving way to junior Corey Gareri (Thorntown, IN/Western Boone). Murray gave up four runs on five hits.

Building the lead

Kenyon scored twice in the second inning, but the Quakers tied the contest in the bottom of the frame. Morrical made it 2-1 with a RBI double, and then Carr knotted the game at 2-2 with a sacrifice fly.

Earlham scored three times in the third to take a 5-2 lead. Carr and Sturgeon each had sacrifice flies, while Morrical came home on a passed ball.

First-year Kyle Ripperger (Richmond, IN/Richmond) put the Quakers up 6-2 in the fourth by knocking in a run on a fielder’s choice. Later in the inning, junior Danny Bridge (Logansport, IN/Lewis Cass) was the back end of a double steal with Ripperger to make it 7-2.

Painter’s three-run homer in the fifth gave the Quakers their 10-2 advantage before Kenyon rallied to take the lead.

Morrical led the Quakers with four hits, while first-year Kyle Stauffer (Kettering, OH/Fairmont) added three hits.

Second game

White (3-2) went the distance for Kenyon (16-11) in game two. “He threw a great game and we got three hits off him,” Rodden said. “We had an opportunity to get the runs in, but we couldn’t get hits in the clutch.”

Trailing 4-3, in the fourth inning the Quakers had the tying run at third base and failed to score. The next frame Earlham had runners at second and third with one out, but couldn’t get the key hit.

Junior Alex Anderson (Logansport, IN/Logansport), Ripperger and Morrical had the hits for the Quakers.

On the mound, Anderson (3-4) went six innings surrendering four runs on five hits with four strikeouts. Sturgeon worked a perfect seventh with two strikeouts.

Earlham entertains Wabash College for a North Coast Athletic Conference West Division series. Saturday, the two teams play a doubleheader on campus at 1 p.m. On Sunday, there are two more contests scheduled with the first game at McBride Stadium starting at noon.

Ohio Wesleyan

Despite getting great pitching overall and lowering the team ERA during the series against OWU, the Quakers were swept by the defending NCAC Champion and 2007 Mid-East Region Runners Up.

Painter Whitewashes Berea College

For Immediate Release:
April 2, 2008

RICHMOND, Ind. — There was some Arm & Hammer used on Wednesday afternoon at McBride Stadium, but it wasn’t the famous baking soda. It was first-year Adam Painter.

With his arm, Painter (Ft. Wayne, IN/Snider) tossed an eight-hit shutout in the opener. Then with his bat, he blasted a two-run homer to give the Quakers the lead for good in the second contest as the Earlham College baseball team swept Berea College 12-0 and 8-2.

On the mound in the first game, Painter (1-3) also had three strikeouts and only one walk through seven innings. “The player of the day was Adam Painter,” Interim Head Coach Joe Rodden said.
“This was his best start of the season and he had all of his pitches working.”

The hammer came in the form of Painter’s only hit on the day, but it was his long ball to left that erased an early 1-0 deficit in the second game and sent the Quakers to the closet to get a broom. With the sweep, the Quakers have won three in a row.

The opener

Earlham scored in the bottom of the first to set the tone of the afternoon on a sacrifice fly by sophomore Jake Carr (Richmond, IN/Richmond).

Berea threatened in the third with the bases loaded and no one out, but Painter and his teammates worked out of the jam without any damage.

In the bottom of the third, Earlham made it 2-0 on a run-scoring double by first-year Kyle Ripperger (Richmond, IN/Richmond).

Carr had a RBI double in the fifth to give the Quakers a 3-0 advantage and later in the same frame, Ripperger added two more runs with a double to make it 5-0.

A seven-run rally in the sixth ended any chance that Berea had of coming back. Carr, first-year Corey Murray (Richmond, IN/Richmond), first-year Kyle Stauffer (Kettering, OH/Fairmont), first-year Andrew Morrical (Summitville, IN/Madison-Grant), junior Alex Anderson (Logansport, IN/Logansport) and first-year Jesus Jimenez (Chicago, IL/Archbishop Quigley) all knocked in runs as the Quakers sent 12 batters to the plate.

For the game, Carr and Ripperger led the Quakers with three hits each.

More pitching

Junior Randy Kerns (West Manchester, OH/National Trail) went the distance in the second game on the mound for the Quakers. Kerns (3-1) surrendered six hits, two runs with only one being earned, while striking out three and walking one.

After Berea scored an unearned run in the second inning, Painter gave the Quakers a 2-1 lead with his mighty swing.

The scored stayed that way until Earlham scored twice to make it 4-1 in the bottom of the fifth on a RBI single by senior Eric Sturgeon (Logansport, IN/Logansport) and a sacrifice fly by Carr.

Two-run singles by junior Tilmon Clark (Winchester, IN/Winchester) and Sturgeon in the sixth inning gave the Quakers an 8-1 lead before Berea scored the final run of the day in the seventh.

Sturgeon and Clark led the Quakers with two hits apiece in the second contest.

Earlham (11-9) is at North Coast Athletic Conference foe Ohio Wesleyan University on Saturday. The Quakers are 1-1 in the conference as they prepare for the doubleheader, which starts at 1 p.m.

Quakers Start Conference Play Against Wittenberg

For Immediate Release:
March 29, 2008

RICHMOND, Ind. — The Earlham College baseball team bounced back after a game one defeat on Saturday to earn a split in a North Coast Athletic Conference doubleheader with Wittenberg University at McBride Stadium.

Wittenberg took the opener 21-3 before the Quakers won the second contest 3-2. “We showed a lot of character after the first game,” Interim Head Coach Joe Rodden said. “We have a lot of faith when junior Alex Anderson is on the mound. He gives us a good start every time. He was better than Wittenberg and we did enough offensively to help him out.”

Anderson (Logansport, IN/Logansport) went the distance in the second game giving up four hits and two runs with only one being earned, while striking out four with three walks.

With the game tied 2-2, the Quakers took the lead in the bottom of the sixth when first-year Corey Murray (Richmond, IN/Richmond) hit a sacrifice fly to score Anderson with what would be the winning run.

In the seventh, Anderson retired the first batter he faced before Wittenberg’s Jeremey Fruhwirth singled. However the threat ended quickly, when first-year catcher Kyle Stauffer (Kettering, OH/Fairmont) gunned down Fruhwirth as he attempted to steal second. “It was just a big play because Kyle made an error that allowed them to tie the game,” Rodden said. “He came up with a throw right on the money and it was huge situation.”

One out later, Anderson (3-2) had a complete game victory.

Both teams score in the first inning at the start of the second contest. Earlham’s run came on a RBI groundout by senior Eric Sturgeon (Logansport, IN/Logansport). The Quakers took the lead in the fourth when Sturgeon came home on a bunt single by first-year Kyle Ripperger (Richmond, IN/Richmond).

In the fifth, the Tigers (7-7, 1-5) tied the game when Stauffer allowed a run to score on a passed ball to set the stage for the dramatic finish.

In addition to knocking in the winning run, Murray led the Quakers (9-9, 1-1) with a pair of hits.

The opener

The first game of the day was difficult for the Quakers as Wittenberg led 2-0 after one inning. The Tigers broke the contest open after scoring three more times in the third to take a 5-1 advantage.

Sturgeon (1-1) started the game for the Quakers and took the loss after tossing four innings.

First-year Adam Painter (Ft. Wayne, IN/Snider) was involved in all three of Earlham’s runs. He had a run-scoring single in the second inning, a RBI double in the fourth and scored on a sacrifice fly in the seventh by classmate Andrew Morrical (Summitville, IN/Madison-Grant).

DODGEBALL!!!

Last Friday Coach Rodden and Coach Ebright were drafted to play in a dodgeball tournament with Women's Soccer Coach Jim Watts and trainer Bill Kinsey. They brought with them superstar guest Jacob Morrical and were able to make it into the championship final. After much controversy the title came down to a one-on-one showdown between Coach Ebright and EC Football MVP Terrell Brown. Unfortunately, Coach Ebright was defeated due to a technicality. It was a lot of fun for all involved and helped raise funds for a great cause.

Florida 2008

Quakers Visit Rose-Hulman for Pair

For Immediate Release:

March 12, 2008

TERRE HAUTE, Ind. — It took 10 days, but the Earlham College baseball team finally got back on the field Wednesday.

Unfortunately for the Quakers, they ended the night on the wrong side of the scoreboard in both contests at the Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology as the Engineers won 7-2 in the opener and 2-1 in the second game.

Since playing on March 2, the Quakers have had several games postponed or canceled. As a result the doubleheader with Rose-Hulman was scheduled on Tuesday as both teams searched for opponents and a place to get on a diamond.

In the first game, Rose-Hulman (8-3) scored three times in the second inning and then added four more in the third off Earlham starter first-year Adam Painter (Ft. Wayne, IN/Snider) to grab a 7-0 advantage.

The Quakers eventually got the in the scoreboard in the seventh inning when junior Danny Bridge (Logansport, IN/Lewis Cass) knocked in the first run with a sacrifice fly. First-year Andrew Morrical (Summitville, IN/Madison-Grant) followed with a RBI single, which was his second hit of the contest.

Earlham’s biggest threat prior to its final time at the plate came early when the Quakers left the bases loaded in the second inning. “We’re playing good baseball,” Earlham Interim Head Coach Joe Rodden said. “We’re just not getting it done when the game is on the line.”

Painter (0-2) worked six innings for the Quakers giving up seven runs on 10 hits with two walks and one strikeout.

Game two started much better for the Quakers as they took a 1-0 lead in the first frame on a run-scoring double by sophomore Jake Carr (Richmond, IN/Richmond).

Junior Alex Anderson (Logansport, IN/Logansport) started on the mound for the Quakers and he held Rose-Hulman scoreless until the fourth inning when the Engineers scored twice to take a 2-1 lead.

Anderson (1-1) tossed six innings giving up two runs on five hits with three walks and a pair of strikeouts.

Earlham had six hits in the game and put runners on base in every inning, but the Quakers couldn’t score after the first.

For the doubleheader, Morrical led the Quakers with four hits, while Carr and Anderson had two each.