CLERMONT, Fla. – The Haverford College softball team used strong pitching and timely hitting to record its first two victories of the 2016 season on Thursday. The Fords captured their first victory of the spring with a 5-1 defeat of Bethany. The team then came right back with a 6-3 win against Marywood.
In the matchup against Bethany, Haverford scored in the first inning and never relinquished the lead behind a complete game effort from Emily Winesett. Shuffling the lineup in search of a spark, freshmen Rachel Wolfson and Kaitlyn Guild both singled with one out in the first inning to put runners on the corners. Guild then swiped second base, while Wolfson scampered home as the throw went off the shortstop and into centerfield.
Wolfson and Guild were again the catalysts when the Fords added to their lead in the third inning. Leading off the top half of that frame, Wolfson started things with a single into right field. Guild followed that up with a triple that found the right centerfield gap for an RBI. She later scored on a wild pitch.
Bethany scored its only run in the bottom half of the third to make the score 3-1. That run came in unearned fashion as two errors in the inning helped to move the runners around the base paths. The Fords answered with their final two runs in the sixth. Singles from Miwa Wenzel, Julia Blake, Alex Craig, and Kristin Tatum moved the runners around the bases with Craig and Tatum delivering the RBI knocks.
From there, it was all Winesett as the Fords' senior scattered five hits and did not allow an earned run in her complete game effort. She struck out five and did not walk a batter on the afternoon. She capped her day with the first1-2-3 inning of Bethany's afternoon. She did not allow more than one hit in any inning.
Haverford doubled its fun with a 6-3 victory against Marywood to close Thursday's action. A full recap of that game will be available when stats become finalized.
Softball now has two games remaining on its southern trip. The Fords will take on Manhattanville (11 a.m.) and Saint Joseph's (Me.) (1 p.m.) on Friday before returning from their spring break trip.