BRYN MAWR — For a brief second, Harriton had the Haverford Fords on their first true upset alert of the year.
That alert wouldn’t last as they scored eight runs over their final three at-bats to earn an 11-5 victory and stay undefeated.
With a game against defending league champions Strath Haven looming on Wednesday, Haverford elected to start Gavin McClafferty and save ace Jimmy Boyle.
Nick Elvanian made sure McClafferty took the mound with a lead. His single scored Shane Durkan and put the Fords up 1-0 in the top of the first.
Harriton answered right back with a little help from Haverford’s defense. Bryce Siegel doubled with one out and was able to come home on a two-out error to tie the game.
Haverford’s duo of Jefferson commits put them back ahead in the third. Ryan Cassidy hit an RBI double that made it 2-1 and Jimmy Boyle singled him home for a 3-1 lead.
Again, the Fords couldn’t hold onto the lead. Harriton drew two walks to start their half of the third and Cole Chodkowski bought everyone home and tied the game with a single. Colin Sullivan gave the Rams their first lead of the day with a double and Gaven Bowman put them up 5-3 with a RBI groundout.
A scoreless fourth inning left Haverford with their first late-game deficit in a little while but they were able to rally.
The top of the lineup showed how quickly they can strike in the fifth. Cassidy drew a walk and Boyle put the Fords within one with a triple to right. Durkan, the next batter, tied the game at five with a single.
Elvanian drew a walk to continue the no-out threat and Cam McCormack put Haverford back ahead with a single.
Durkan continued a great day at the plate and added to the lead in the sixth. With two outs and one on base, he stepped up and hit a two-run home run to right that gave Haverford an 8-5 lead.
Andrew Brown put the game away in the top of the seventh. After Sam Sturman and Ben Ishmael both got on with singles, Brown scored both with a single of his own. Brown scored later in the inning on an error to push the lead to 11-5.
Rocco Kelleher did a great job to settle things down on the mound for the Fords today. After some struggles from the starter, McClafferty, Kelleher pitched a scoreless, hitless final four innings to earn the win. He also struck out seven in his outing.
Haverford is now 9-0 in the Central League and 12-0 overall. They have a lead in the Central League standings and also hold the top spot in the District 1 6A rankings. That undefeated record will get another big test Wednesday when they host Strath Haven.
Harriton falls to 3-6 in the Central League and is on the outside of the 5A playoff picture but has a lot of time to make up ground. The Rams have another tough matchup on Wednesday. They go on the road to Garnet Valley (5-4).