Jack Wallis's towering grand slam in the first game played a crucial role in the Fords' upset victory.
In game one, Haverford relied on senior co-captain, Mike Rabayda, to challenge Salisbury's lineup. The Sea Gulls struck first, scoring a run in the bottom of the first inning when Dylan Winebrenner hit an RBI single through the middle, bringing Andrew Kell home. Kell had led off the inning with a single and advanced into scoring position on a sacrifice bunt from Kyle Brex.
The Fords rallied for five runs in the third inning. Kendrick Curry II walked, followed by back-to-back errors from the Sea Gulls, allowing Pranav Rane and Daniel Rosman to reach base. With the bases loaded and one out, Luke Treese walked, prompting Salisbury to replace starting pitcher Benji Thalheimer with lefty Shawn Rosemond. Wallis greeted Rosemond with a towering grand slam to left field, giving the Fords a commanding 5-1 lead early in the game.
The Fords continued their impressive offensive onslaught in the fourth inning, plating two more runs. Curry singled to left field, advanced to second on Rane's sacrifice bunt, stole third base, and Rosman later walked. This set the stage for Treese, who roped a double to the gap, bringing both Curry and Rosman home for a 7-1 lead.
Salisbury mounted a comeback attempt in the sixth inning, scoring three runs to chase Rabayda from the game.
Drew Doyle took over pitching duties in the seventh inning and delivered a strong performance, earning a three-inning save with perfect frames in both the seventh and eighth innings, while working around an error in the ninth.
Rabayda tossed 5 2/3 innings, earning his third win of the season, allowing nine hits, three earned runs, and striking out three batters.
In game two, Wyatt Mattison faced off against Tyler Villa in a tense pitching battle. Salisbury snagged the lead in the fourth inning, capitalizing on an error to score two runs courtesy of Roman Keith's home run.
Haverford's Kyle Beach retaliated with a solo homer in the seventh, but Salisbury added an insurance run in the same inning. Despite late threats, Haverford couldn't overcome Salisbury's lead, falling 3-1.
Mattison pitched six solid innings, while Ethan Goldstein provided 1 2/3 scoreless innings of relief.
Looking ahead, Haverford faces Arcadia on Tuesday and Widener on Wednesday before their conference opener against Johns Hopkins on Saturday.
In Other Action
Arcadia 5, FDU-Florham 0
Arcadia 14, FDU-Florham 1
Rosemont 13, Clarks Summit 3
Centenary 5, Gwynedd Mercy 2
Widener 10, Stevenson 9
Marymount 7, Neumann 1
