GAMBIER, Ohio – Five home runs, including a walk-off that won game one, were the catalyst of the Kenyon College baseball team's sweep of the visiting Hiram College Terriers on Thursday. The host Lords chalked up the two North Coast Athletic Conference victories by scores of 7-5 in 11 innings of game one and 17-7 in a run-rule, seven-inning game two.

Kenyon scored three times in the bottom of the ninth inning to tie game one at 5-5. The tenth inning settled nothing, but in the bottom of the 11th, with one runner on base, senior Matt Contreras smoked the first pitch he saw from Hiram reliever Justin Joyce over the center field fence. The blast was Contreras' fourth home run of the season and the 15th of his career. That count is the second-best career home run total in program history.   

Before those fireworks went off, the day started out slowly for the Lords, who were held scoreless for the first three innings by Hiram starter Shawn May. In the bottom of the fourth, Patrick O'Leary got the Lords on the board by ripping his seventh home run of the season. By that time, however, Hiram owned a 4-1 lead.

The Lords (17-8, 4-2 NCAC) moved a run closer in the sixth inning after Eric DelRosso singled home Contreras, but Hiram answered with a run of their own in the eighth to take a 5-2 advantage into the ninth.

In the bottom of the ninth, the Lords offense finally erupted. With one out, Andrew Rabinowitz and Will Sturgeon got on base via a single and a fielder's choice, respectively. They both came around to score on a Ryan Page double that went to the base of the wall in left center. After Hiram recorded the second out of the inning, Alex Gow came up with a clutch single that scored Page, forced extra innings and set the stage for Contreras' walk-off.


In game two, the Lords just kept hitting. Brent Henderson smacked a two-run single to right center in the bottom of the first and Gow followed up with a run-scoring single in the second inning to stake the Lords a 3-1 lead.

The Terriers (5-17, 0-6 NCAC) came back with two runs in the top of the third, but the Lords blew the game open with a seven runs in the bottom of the inning. Highlighting that outburst was a grand slam from Page, who lifted a Matt Norton offering over the fence in left center. That long ball was Page's first collegiate home run. DelRosso then tagged Norton for a solo shot to left field.

A four-run inning followed in the fourth and Kenyon jumped ahead 14-4. Page had a two-run single in the frame, giving him six RBI in back-to-back plate appearances. Two batters later, Gow launched Kenyon's fifth homer of the day and his third of the season.

Hiram scored three times in the fifth inning, but Kenyon loaded the bases and scored three of its own in the bottom of the seventh to end the game early.

Overall, Page was a combined 4-for-8 at the plate with four runs scored and eight RBI in the two games. Contreras was 5-for-11 with three runs and two RBI, while Gow finished 4-for-10 with two runs scored and three RBI.

Kenyon starting pitchers Patrick Craig and O'Leary did not figure into the decisions. In relief, Nathan Chandler got the game-one victory and Jimmy Clark earned the game-two win.