HAVERFORD, Pa. - Junior Jill Schnall registered the seventh and eighth home runs of her career on Thursday afternoon but the Haverford College softball team dropped a pair of games to visiting Washington College in a rematch of last year's Centennial Conference final. The Shorewomen claimed an 8-4 victory in Game 1 before hanging on for a 4-3 win in the nightcap.
After Washington (16-4, 5-1 CC) moved out to a 5-0 lead in the opener, the Fords (12-6, 1-3) got on the scoreboard in the bottom of the third on an RBI-single by Julie Garlick.
The Shorewomen tallied one run in the fourth and added two more in the fifth but Haverford did not go away easily. Schnall nailed her first home run of the day down the left-field line in the bottom of the fifth and the Fords continued to chip away in the sixth with another run courtesy of a Jen DiCandilo RBI-double.
Haverford wound up stranding two in the sixth but went right back to work in the seventh and manufactured another run to close within four before Washington pitcher Kristin Cooper (7-2) managed to induce a groundout from Dayle Comerford to end the contest.
Garlick, Schnall and DiCandilo each finished with two hits in the game while senior Claire Fitzgerald (2-2) took the loss in the circle.
Kylie Nottingham and Lauren Dockrill shared game-high honors for the Shorewomen with three hits apiece. Dockrill's first hit of the game was historic as the senior first baseman became the conference record holder for career hits with a single in the second inning.
Washington again got on the scoreboard first in Game 2 but its lead wouldn't last long as the Fords answered one run by the Shorewomen in the second with a run of their own in the bottom of the frame. Senior Elizabeth Newman accounted for the tie with a single up the middle that scored junior Lauren Touey.
Washington tried to add another run in the third but Newman said no as she gunned down Paige Briganti at the plate from center field.
The two squads went on to trade zeroes over the next three innings before the Shorewomen tallied three runs in the top of the sixth on home runs by Cooper and Suzanne Patinella.
The first two Haverford hitters in the bottom of the sixth came up empty but Fitzgerald made the most of a pinch-hitting opportunity as she singled to center. Schnall stepped to the plate next and her bat was still hot as she sent another down the left-field line over the fence.
Sophomore Sara Tauriello, on in relief of classmate Emily Winesett (4-2), then sent Washington down in order in the seventh as darkness approached.
Looking for some late-game magic, sophomore Kristin Tatum, who went 3-for-3 in the contest, registered a two-out single to center in the bottom of the seventh but she would get no further as Sydnee Schorr (5-2) struck out freshman Kendall Chambers to close out the game.
Schnall's memorable performance moved her into a tie for third place in the program record books for career home runs (eight). Four of the top seven home run hitters in program history are currently on the roster (DiCandilo 11, Comerford 8, Tatum 8).
The Fords return to action on Sunday with a conference twinbill against host Dickinson College (6-14, 2-4) beginning at 1 p.m.