FORT PIERCE, Fla.-- After two relatively comfortable wins in yesterday's doubleheader sweep, the Kenyon College Owls baseball team showed their grit and determination over two tightly contested games against the Lasell University Lasers (3-3). The Owls improved to 8-2 with their third and fourth straight wins, taking the top of the twin bill 2-1 and securing the sweep with a 4-2 victory.

Drew Robinson and Christian Harris highlighted each end of the sweep by clinching Kenyon's wins. In game one, Robinson stepped up to bat with two outs in the bottom of the seventh and the winning run in scoring position. The senior slapped a single to right field, and Ben Zimmerman raced around third and dove headfirst into home to win the game in walk-off fashion. The Owls offense did a little more damage with four runs in game two, but Harris secured his first career save after pitching three scoreless relief innings. The junior was dealing, allowing just two of the 11 batters he faced to reach base, and he tied a career-high with five strikeouts, including punching out the final two batters in the bottom of game two's seventh inning.

Despite getting swept, Lasell looked locked in early on in game one. The Lasers had a hard-hit leadoff single erased by back-to-back nice infield plays, including a double-play and a slick snag by shortstop Nate Rosen. Frank Lynch, Kenyon's game-one starter, benefitted from two double plays over his 4.1 innings pitched, and the defense supported the junior even when he did not have his usual strikeout stuff. Still, Lasell started the scoring with a two-out, two-strike single that put the visitors up 1-0 in the top of the second, but Zimmerman saved another run with a running catch that he snared just before smacking into the wall.

Lasell's Adam Marsh retired the first seven Owls, including ringing up four on strikeouts, but Kenyon's offense found some traction as four straight runners reached in the bottom of the third. The last of those hits was a bases-loaded RBI single from Robinson, whose bat brought in both of Kenyon's game-one runs. The hit tied the score, but Lasell dodged further trouble with an inning-ending double play as both defenses picked up their pitchers.

First-year Peyton Hodges and senior Noah Rosenberg were great out of the bullpen, and the duo played a big part in giving the Owls a chance to win late. Hodges hammered the zone and struck out four Lasers batters without conceding a hit in 2.0 innings. Rosenberg came on in the seventh after two walks, and he shut down Lasell's hopes of taking the lead with two outs, including an inning-ending strikeout that brought Kenyon up to bat.

The game looked destined for extra innings after two Kenyon outs, but Zimmerman singled to keep hope alive and turn the lineup over. Rosen picked up his second hit to move the winning run to second, and Robinson's second hit sealed the deal and wrapped up game one.

Kenyon maintained momentum in game two as Rosen and Robinson picked up right where they left off. Rosen notched a leadoff single before trading places with Robinson on a fielder's choice, but the speedy Robinson swiped two bags to get to third in just a couple of pitches. The aggressive approach generated a run when Malcolm Gaynor hit an RBI single up the middle to put Kenyon up 1-0 in the top of the first.

The Owls added two hits in the second before tallying three straight two-out hits in the third to tack two more runs onto Kenyon's lead. Dustin Lee and Gio Guliani came up with the RBI hits, extending the edge to 3-0.

On the other side, Owls starter Jackson Niedel was dealing through the first three innings, allowing just one hit and striking out three. Lasell got to the pitcher a bit in the bottom of the fourth frame as three straight hits put the Lasers on the board, and an RBI groundout cut Kenyon's lead to one at 3-2. However, Niedel and Kenyon kept the tying run at third, and the sophomore ended the inning and his outing with a strikeout to maintain the Owls' lead. 

The Owls were starting to build momentum and pull away when Giuliani scored on a wild pitch in the top of the sixth, but a questionable call resulted in Stephen Carr being called out at the plate after trying to score from third on a ball hit to the first baseman. The umpire's ruling took a run off the board and put up an out instead, and things kept going Lasell's way when their center fielder made a running, diving catch in deep left-center to end the inning and save a run.

The score stayed 4-2 as the Lasers had a chance to come back in the bottom of the seventh inning. Kenyon's defense continued to dazzle as Giuliani made a full-speed, diving catch in foul territory to get the first out. Harris handed out another strikeout to pull within an out of victory, but Lasell stayed alive with a two-out triple that upped the intensity and brought the tying run to the plate. Head coach Matt Burdette headed out to the mound to talk to his hurler, and Harris responded with a huge swing-and-miss strikeout to secure the sweep and contribute to a happy birthday for Kenyon's longtime skipper.

After four wins in two days, Kenyon has a day off before getting back in action. The Owls return to the Lawnwood Baseball Complex on Monday, March 11, to take on the Gettysburg College Bullets. First pitch is set for 10 a.m. for the single nine-inning game.