SWARTHMORE, PA – The Cairn University Baseball team took on the Swarthmore Garnet on the road on a rainy Tuesday afternoon, picking up their first win of the young season, 7-4.
 
The afternoon got underway with a stellar pitching performance out of freshman right-hander Mikey Gutierrez (Cooper City, FL / St. Thomas Aquinas), who went five strong innings, allowing six hits and surrendering a single run while striking out seven in his first career start. The lone run would give Swarthmore (2-2) a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the fifth. Cairn (1-1) would respond immediately in the sixth, as fifth year third baseman Sam Spadea (Yardley, PA / Pennsbury) knocked in junior first baseman Tyler Warr (Langhorne, PA / Neshaminy) and freshman outfielder Zachary Johnson (Hawaii Kai, HI / TCS Post Grad Academy) on a double to right field. Both Johnson and Warr would reach base on a walk, giving Cairn a 2-1 lead.
 
The Highlanders continued in the seventh as junior outfielder Will Wikner (Gaithersburg, MD / Shenandoah) and fifth year second baseman Joe Greenwood (Wall, NJ / Calvary Academy) began the inning with a pair of walks. Freshman shortstop Nathan Schurga (Wilmington, DE / Conrad Schools of Science) was called upon to lay down a bunt, scoring Wikner as Swarthmore chose to attempt the out at third, throwing the ball away. Johnson would follow with another bunt, scoring Greenwood as the Garnet would make another error, putting Cairn up 5-1. Sophomore catcher Zach Bauers (Cooper City, FL / Cooper City) brought Johnson around to score with a single to right field, giving the Highlanders a 6-1 cushion.
 
In the bottom half, Swarthmore was able to grab three runs back on four straight walks and a double to left-centerfield, cutting the Cairn lead to 6-4 at the end of the seventh inning. As the darkness began to loom on this rainy February afternoon, Johnson would find himself up again with runners in scoring position, driving in Wikner on a single to right-centerfield for an insurance run. Senior righty Eli Schooley (Horseheads, NY / Horseheads) picked up the four-out save with three groundouts in the bottom half of the 8^th inning, securing the Highlanders' first win of the season.
 
On the first win, Head Coach Brett Marks remarked: "Today's win was an all-around team effort. The start by Mikey Gutierrez (the first start of his career) was phenomenal through five innings. The bats came alive with some timely hitting. Swarthmore is a very good team and it was a hard fought game. Timely hitting, small ball, and great pitching is what won us the game today. The season is young but it's nice to see a full team effort this early in the season."
 
Bauers and Johnson led the way for the offense with a pair of hits and an RBI each, Johnson scoring twice as well. Warr and Spadea each had a hit, Sam driving in two runs. On the pitching side, Gutierrez picked up the win, moving to 1-0, as sophomore lefty Nick Benson (Philadelphia, PA / Father Judge) struck out three in an inning and third. Schooley secured his third career save, first on the season in 1.1 innings of work.
 
The Highlanders will depart Langhorne for Myrtle Beach, SC on Saturday, gearing up for a seven game stretch in six days before setting off to face #6 Johns Hopkins on March 11 upon their return.