SWARTHMORE, Pa. – The Haverford College softball team swept rival Swarthmore on the road Saturday. The Fords (21-6, 10-2 CC) secured an 8-0 victory in the opening game behind a combined three-hitter. Haverford took the second game by an 8-1 score as the Fords got a one-hit shutout from Emily Winesett.
The Fords hit the ground running in Saturday's opening game, scoring right off the bat in the top of the first before adding on late. Jessica Koshinski started the game with a double, while a Swarthmore error during the next at-bat put a pair of runners in scoring position. Dayle Comerford brought the game's first run home with an RBI groundout in her first time stepping to the plate.
Haverford put the run-rule into effect with seven runs over the third and fourth innings. During the Fords' three-run third inning, Koshinski started the frame with a double. Comerford notched her second RBI of the afternoon on a single into centerfield before Kristin Tatum duplicated that result to put a pair of runners on base. Jill Schnall brought home both of those runs with a two-run single to make it 4-0 after three innings.
The offense pounced again during its next time at-bat with four runs in the fourth inning. Miwa Wenzel singled and Lauren Touey was hit by a pitch to put a pair of runners on base. Comerford came through with a pair of two-out RBI, giving her four runs knocked in for the game. She came around to score on an error in the outfield, while Schnall drove in her third run of the day with a double into left field.
With the 8-0 lead, the Haverford pitching staff did its part with the combined shutout. Sara Tauriello scattered three hits over her four innings of work, moving to 9-1 on the year. She struck out six during her time in the circle. Kendall Chambers came on to finish the game, pitching a perfect fifth inning that included one strikeout.
In game two, Haverford scored the game's first seven runs before Swarthmore scored its first run in the bottom of the fourth. Koshinski and Touey started the top half of the first with back-to-back doubles. Touey drove in Koshinski and eventually scored on a wild pitch for the 2-0 lead. Tatum and Schnall started the third inning with a walk and single to put two runners on base. They both scored on a double down the right field line from Chambers to make it 4-0.
Haverford's big inning of game two came in the fourth with three more runs. Koshinski and Touey started this inning with back-to-back singles, while an error during Comerford's at-bat loaded the bases with nobody out. Schnall recorded an RBI groundout that put two batters away in the inning. Chambers walked to reload the bases and this time it was Stephanie Wolfson that came through with the two-out hit, making the score 7-0. The home team's only run of the afternoon came in unearned fashion during the bottom of the fourth.
The Fords added one more run in the sixth inning for the 8-1 final. Comerford started the inning with a single and freshman Emily Gorman followed that up with a hit of her own during her first collegiate at-bat. A hit by pitch loaded the bases before a sacrifice fly from Wolfson scored Haverford's final run of the afternoon.
Winesett was in total control all game as she allowed just one hit and one walk. She struck out eight on day, retiring the first nine batters she faced and the final 11 Swarthmore batters to come to bat. The lone blemish on her line came with a single and walk, both of which occurred during the fourth inning.
Softball will return home tomorrow for a doubleheader with first-place McDaniel. That doubleheader with the Green Terror will start at 2 p.m.