Sean Habeeb (
pictured) came through for the Muhlenberg baseball team in the bottom of the eighth, lacing a run-scoring single up the middle to bring home the decisive run in a 10-9 victory over the Haverford Fords Tuesday evening.
The sophomore's go-ahead knock was part of a 3-for-4 day for the Mules' most prolific hitter and capped off a three-run eighth for the hosts. Earlier in the frame,
Steven Dimovski tied the game at 9 with a sacrifice fly to help set the stage for Habeeb. In all, Habeeb reached base five times in six plate appearances to raise his season average to .437 and push his on-base percentage to .518.
Muhlenberg did its work both early and late, jumping on the opposition with six runs fueled by five hits in the first inning. Starting pitcher
Kieran Mulholland worked in and out of traffic over the first four innings, allotting the Fords a lone run heading into the fifth. Part of that was thanks to a pair of 4-6-3 double play balls the sophomore induced in back-to-back innings; one ended a rally in the second, and one limited the scoring in the third to that one run.
Haverford managed to break through in the fifth with five runs to bring itself within one at 7-6. That inning was helped along by a pair of errors, a hit batsman, two walks, and two bunt singles that the Mules could do little about. The Fords would then take the lead with three runs off of
Frank Kern in the sixth, who came on in relief of Mulholland.
However, Kern settled down over the next two frames, tossing a 1-2-3 seventh and striking out the side in the eighth. He wound up with the win and seven strikeouts on the day, a career high for the junior.
Leading by the slimmest of margins, the Mules turned to junior
Charlie Siper to secure the victory in the ninth. The tall righthander did just that, allowing just one bunt base hit in a scoreless inning to nab his second save of the season.
Spencer Hobson enjoyed a good day at the plate, going 2-for-3 with a pair of walks, while
Mike Carcich tied Habeeb for the team lead in hits with three.
All 13 of Muhlenberg's hits and 11 of Haverford's 12 hits were singles, something that may have been helped by the wind blowing briskly in towards the visitor's dugout or the chill in the air.
