ALLENTOWN, Pa. – The Haverford College softball team captured the second Centennial Conference tournament championship in program history with a 6-2 victory over top seed Muhlenberg College on Sunday afternoon at Cedarcreek Field.
Haverford's program-record 27th win of the season was also head coach Jen Ward's 200th career victory.
After going undefeated on the first day of the double-elimination tournament, the second-seeded Fords (27-9) entered Sunday needing just one win to hoist the conference trophy and claim the Centennial's automatic bid to the national tournament.
The Fords watched the Mules (25-13) advance to the final by edging third-seeded McDaniel College (26-15), 2-1, in the first game of the day. Unfazed by having to take down the tournament host for the second time in as many days, Haverford opened the scoring with one run and three hits in the top of the second inning. Junior Dayle Comerford got things started with a leadoff single to right field before Stephanie Wolfson followed with a single of her own. Muhlenberg's Heather Porrini (10-8) retired Elizabeth Newman and Sarah Brody but Lauren Touey kept the frame alive with a two-out RBI-single to center field that scored Miwa Wenzel, who was pinch running for Comerford.
The Mules managed to tie the contest at 1-1 in the bottom half of the inning on a sacrifice fly by Nicole Iannarone before the two squads exchanged zeroes on the scoreboard over the next two innings.
Julie Garlick helped put the Fords on top again in the fifth when she delivered a two-out single through the left side of the infield. Garlick later came around to score an unearned run as Haverford took advantage of two Muhlenberg errors in the inning.
The Mules looked to rally with two base runners in the sixth but starter Sara Tauriello (10-1) ended the threat by striking out Iannarone.
Realizing they were just three outs away from a title, the Fords broke open the game with four runs in the seventh. Brody worked a leadoff walk that ended Porrini's outing and Touey greeted relief pitcher Kelsey Jones with a single. Junior Jill Schnall then added an insurance run with an RBI-single to right that plated Brody but Haverford was far from finished. The Fords came through with three more runs on two more hits including a two-RBI single through the right side by Comerford.
Muhlenberg responded with one run in the bottom of the inning but the Mules would get no closer as Emily Winesett came on to get the final two outs of the game on the way to her fourth career save.
Garlick, Comerford, Touey and Wolfson finished with two hits apiece in the contest as Haverford reached the double-digit mark in hits for the second straight game against Muhlenberg. Tauriello allowed just two hits while registering her second victory in as many days.
Comerford, who went 6-for-11 with seven RBIs over the course of the weekend, was named the most valuable player of the conference tournament.
The Fords, who previously won the Centennial tournament in 2006, will wait to find out their next opponent as the NCAA Division III tournament brackets will be revealed on Monday morning at 10 a.m. on NCAA.com.