PORT CHARLOTTE, Florida --
Trevor Adkins threw seven shutout innings, masterfully picking up his second win of the season as the Heidelberg University baseball team defeated Swarthmore College, 5-1, on a breezy Saturday. The offense, held in check by a plethora of Garnet pitchers, came alive late -- scoring three in the eighth and two in the ninth.
Heidelberg, now 4-4, got back to .500 with the victory.
Keaton Mark and
Marc Ochoa each had two hits on a day when hits were hard to come by.
Kyle Jenkins registered his 100th career hit.
Adkins (2-1) was the story of the game. For the second straight year, he kept a dangerous Garnet line up at bay. On Saturday, he threw seven innings, only allowing three hits. He fanned five and walked four.
Scoreless in the top of the eighth, Mark ignited a two-out rally with a base hit to right center. After
Eric DeVore walked, Ochoa blistered a single to left that allowed the runners to advance 90 feet. With the bases full,
Elliot Kurtz drew a full-count walk to force in Mark with the game's first run.
Next,
Jake Davis sent a grounder to third but was safe on a throwing error, which allowed DeVore to score. Still working with the bases loaded, Sports Information Student Worker of the Year candidate
Tyler Smith was hit by a pitch, forcing in Ochoa.
The Berg tacked on two more runs in the ninth.
Zach Doran -- who leads the team in name mispronunciations by the Snowbird Classic staff -- was hit by a pitch and stole second. He would score on a base hit by DeVore which followed a walk by Mark. Mark scampered home on a wild pitch.
Cameron Deemer entered in the eighth and worked the final two innings. He earned his fourth save, allowing one run on four hits while striking out one.
When Swarthmore did manage to get runners aboard, they ran into outs on the basepaths. Two runners were picked off of second -- one by Adkins, the other by Ochoa. Ochoa also gunned down another runner attempting to steal second.
The strong pitching was also backed up by great defense, including a diving catch by Kurtz in left and several picks at first by DeVore.
Heidelberg returns to action on Monday against regional foe La Roche. That game is slated for an 11 a.m. start. The game against Kean originally scheduled for Sunday has been canceled.
