The Dickinson baseball team entered a doubleheader with Swarthmore on Saturday, April 28 with more than just Senior Day celebrations to look forward to. With a sweep of the Garnet and some help from teams around the conference, the Red Devils would have made the Centennial Conference playoffs. Unfortunately, even though the Red Devils swept Swarthmore, their celebrations would be short lived. Everything else in the conference went wrong for the Red Devils and they were eliminated from the playoffs on Sunday afternoon when McDaniel beat Ursinus to clinch a playoff spot. They finished tied for third but due to tie-breakers missed out on the four-team playoffs.

The Red Devils dominated game one against the Garnet, prevailing 7-1. Ryan Kramer ’14 pitched one of his best games of the season. He threw seven innings, allowing a single run on four hits. Harley Moore ’15 closed out the game in dominating fashion, coming on with men on base in the eighth and pitching two scoreless innings. Despite the lopsided final score, the game remained tight until the Red Devils’ offense came alive in the seventh inning. Key hitting by Tyler Rosa ’12 and Steven Haynes ’15 loaded the bases. A passed ball would move everyone up a bag, bringing Andrew Sterling ’12 home from third. Then, with men on second and third base, Garrett Horan ’12 drove in Rosa and Haynes with an RBI single, making the score 5-1. Jordan Kaufman ’12 would follow with an RBI double to deep left-center field. Finally, after Ben Sciambi ’12 hit a sacrifice fly to move Kaufman to third base, Matt Vidal ’12 placed an RBI single down the right field line to drive in Kaufman.

Game two would be the final collegiate start for standout pitcher Sean White ’12. He closed with a masterful performance, allowing just five hits in a complete game shutout as the Devils won 2-0. Once again, the game remained tight until the Devils broke through in the sixth inning. Mike Adams ’15 came up to the plate with a pair of runners in scoring position and ripped and ball into right-field to drive in Rosa from third and give the Devils a 1-0 lead. The second run came in the bottom of the eighth inning. After Horan doubled to right-center field, which tied Ryan Stearett ’07 for most two-baggers in a career with 43, Kaufman hit an RBI single down the right field line to score Horan.

The excitement of the final weekend as the Devils concluded their season on a four-game winning streak and winners in 7 of the last 8 is certainly dampened by the fact that the team just missed out on the playoffs. However, the team’s seniors certainly ensured that they would end their career on a high note. “I don’t think the idea has hit me yet,” White commented on how it feels to have played his final game in a Red Devil uniform. “It still feels like we deserve to be playing next weekend. Overall there is no better way to go out than a sweep and individually a final complete game.”

Although they did not make the playoffs in their four years, this senior class certainly left their mark on the baseball program. They set the school record for wins in their junior year (21) and broke it this year with 25. This season they set school marks for numerous offensive categories, hitting .326 with 25 HRs and 309 runs scored. Andrew Sterling broke the school record for hits in a season with 58, hitting .385 with 27 stolen bases. Tyler Rosa led the conference with 7 homeruns and graduates with 15 on his career. Jordan Kaufman, the SS, hit .416 and had 34 RBI this season. Garrett Horan hit .357 with 3 HRs and 30 RBI. He also caught most of the team’s games, including several instances where he caught both games of a doubleheader. He threw out over 30% of the runners. Ben Sciambi started in RF and hit .295, and 3B Matt Tuneski drove in 24 runs and displayed an excellent glove throughout the year. From the mound, Sean White went 7-1 with a 2.65 ERA this season and could be 1st-team All-Conference. Sterling, Kaufman, Rosa and Horan all could recieve conference accolades. White graduates as the school’s all-time leader in wins (22) and strikeouts.

The Red Devils’ future is bright even though they graduate eight. Six graduating starters will promote a lot of competition next season and there are many capable bodies. Several first-years, including Haynes, Adams, Moore, Zee Crawford, Mitch Helmandollar, Sam Wachs and Charlie Gaines made big impacts this season, and sophomores Kramer and Joe Tursi were among the team’s most valuable players. The pitching staff that posted an exceptional 4.42 team ERA loses only White. Junior Andrew Mauro finished the season 6-2 with a 3.25 ERA.

The Red Devils finished their fantastic season with an 11-7 Centennial Conference record and 25-12 overall record.