Centennial Conference Tournament Central
HAVERFORD, Pa. – The Haverford College softball team will be looking to defend its Centennial Conference Championship from one year ago when the Fords open the Centennial Conference Tournament this Friday. The 2015 championship will be hosted McDaniel College and continue through Sunday. Live video and live stats will be available for every game of the championship tournament.
The Fords (24-8-1, 12-4 CC) enter the tournament for the third straight season, the first time that feat has been accomplished in program history. They are seeded second overall and will face third-seeded Gettysburg (28-12, 11-5 CC) in the first game Friday at 2 p.m. Top-seeded McDaniel (26-10, 14-2 CC) will battle No. 4 Muhlenberg (16-16, 10-6 CC) in the following game. The Fords are a Centennial Conference-best 12-4 all-time in the conference tournament during their previous five appearances.
Leading the Fords offensively is a core of seven seniors. Three of the six Haverford players batting over .300 on the season can be found in that class. Dayle Comerford is ranked second on the team with a .405 batting average. She is leading the team with 28 RBI and ranks second on the Fords with 32 runs. Lauren Touey is batting .355. She has stolen a team-best 15 bases this season. Jill Schnall is batting .333 on the year. The second baseman ranks third on the team with 25 RBI.
Kristin Tatum is hitting a team-best .411 on the year. She is also leading the team in runs (35), doubles (9), home runs (6), slugging percentage (.695), and on-base percentage (.513). Out of the leadoff spot, Jessica Koshinski is hitting .358 with nine doubles and 31 runs scored. Miwa Wenzel is also batting over .300 with a .338 batting average on the year. She is getting on base at a .386 clip this season.
Kendall Chambers, Julie Garlick, Sarah Brody and Stephanie Wolfson have also been regulars in the Haverford lineup this season. Garlick and Brody have each scored 16 runs on the year. Brody has three multi-hit games in the Fords's last six contests. Wolfson has a hit safely in 10 games during which she has played. Brianna Lowey has added five runs to the Haverford offense. Emily Gorman has a hit in her only at-bat of the season, while Alex Craig has scored seven runs.
In the circle, the innings have been split among three pitchers this season. Sara Tauriello (11-1, 1.26 ERA) has pitched 72.1 innings on the year. She has thrown a complete game in eight of her 11 starts. Tauriello also has two shutouts and one combined shutout to her credit. Emily Winesett (10-4, 1.99 ERA) has pitched a team-high 98.1 innings. She has thrown five complete games in 15 starts. She has one solo shutout and two combined shutouts to her record. Chambers has pitched in 46.2 innings, primarily in relief. She has appeared in a team-high 19 different games, helping out on each of Haverford's three combined shutouts.
Haverford also entered the 2014 championship as the No. 2 seed before going on to win the conference championship. Haverford and Gettysburg have never met in a postseason game. The Fords are 4-0 all-time against Muhlenberg in the Centennial Conference Tournament, including two wins during the 2014 championship. Haverford has gone 3-0 against McDaniel in the postseason. Those victories include a 5-1 win in the first game last year and a 3-2 win in eight innings during the 2013 tournament. Haverford went 3-3 against these opponents during the 2015 season, splitting each doubleheader.