RICHMOND, Ind. — The
Earlham College baseball team ended it season on Wednesday by splitting a doubleheader with
Grace College at McBride Stadium.
The Quakers won the second game 4-2 after falling 5-3 in the opener.
It was also Senior Day as
Jake Carr was honored between games. “It was definitely a nice night,” Carr said. “It would have been cool to win two games, but it was good for the team to gain a little bit of momentum for next year.”
During his four years with the Quakers, Carr established new standards for the baseball program as the all-time career leader in batting average (.381), hits (180), doubles (40), runs batted in (102) and runs scored (99).
“It’s starting to sink in now,” Carr said of the end of his Earlham career. “I definitely don’t like a lot of people looking at me or the attention. (The ceremony between games) was uncomfortable at first, but it was a good feeling.”
During the ceremony, Carr was on the field with his wife, Jenny, his parents, Frank and Becky Carr, and Earlham Head Coach John Cate, who was also participating in his final game after announcing his retirement earlier this season.
The Victory
After Grace (17-26) scored a run in the first inning of the second contest, the Quakers (9-25) responded to take the lead.
In the bottom of the first,
Chris Baumann tied the game with a RBI single.
Chris Tillery put the Quakers on top in the second inning with an infield single that produced a run.
Andrew Morrical followed with a run-scoring single and it was 3-1.
The Lancers made it 3-2 in the fourth, but the Quakers answered in the bottom of the frame with a RBI double by Morrical.
Adam Painter (5-6) tossed a complete game for the Quakers to earn the 12th win of his career, which is second on the all-time victory list in Earlham history. Painter gave up two runs on eight hits with one walk and eight strikeouts.
Morrical and Tillery led the Quakers with two hits each.
There was also an Earlham connection with Grace in the second game. Kier West was the pitcher for the Lancers. He is the son of former Earlham player Jim West (1985-87).
Game One
In the opener, the Quakers took a 2-0 lead in the first inning. Morrical hit the first pitch thrown by Grace hurler Michael Clark for a homer to left field. One out later, Carr had an infield single and he scored on a double by Baumann.
Grace cut Earlham’s lead in half with a run in the third. The Lancers added three more in the fourth to build a 4-2 advantage.
Corey Murray made it 4-3 with a RBI single in the bottom of the fourth. Grace scored the last run of the contest in the top of the seventh.
Morrical, Carr and Baumann led the Quakers with two hits each.
Conner Gable (1-4) went the distance on the mound for Earlham. He gave up five runs on nine hits with two walks and a pair of strikeouts.
Game One Box Score
Game Two Box Score