HAVERFORD, Pa. – The Haverford College softball team celebrated the winningest class in program history with two more victories against rival Swarthmore on Saturday. The 3-1 win in game one clinched the Hood Trophy for Haverford. The Fords (20-16, 9-5 CC) won their 100th game in the past four years with an 8-0 run-rule victory in six innings against the rival Garnet (10-24, 1-13 CC).
Fittingly enough, it was the Fords' senior pitchers who picked up the victories in the circle during both ends of the doubleheader. Emily Winesett tied the old school record for victories in a career with her 39th win as she improved to 9-8 on the season. Sara Tauriello now stands alone as the program record holder for wins in a career as she notched her 40th win in the second game.
The Fords jumped out to an early lead in game one as senior Kristin Tatum drove home Julia Blake with a two-out double in the bottom of the first. Blake reached after she doubled into the right centerfield gap with one down in the first. Swarthmore scored its only run of the entire afternoon in unearned fashion to tie the game in the third inning.
Senior Miwa Wenzel got the Fords' offense jump started in the fifth inning when she reached on an error and promptly swiped second base. Rachel Wolfson delivered the go-ahead RBI back through the middle with two outs to give the Fords the lead. Haverford added on two insurance runs in the sixth with both seniors scoring the final two runs. Tatum blasted her eighth home run of the season to open the scoring in the sixth. Wenzel reached on an error for the second straight at-bat and came around to score on an RBI single from Kendall Chambers.
Winesett, who also scored the game-winning run in the fifth inning as a pinch runner from the flex position, allowed just five hits in her six innings of work. She struck out three and allowed just the one unearned run. Chambers picked up the save in game one with an inning of relief.
Two big innings in the second game paved the way to victory for Haverford. The Fords grabbed the early lead with five runs in the second inning. Tatum reached on an error to start the inning and scored on an RBI single from Jessica Koshinski. Wenzel then reached on a bunt single before a two-run double from Chambers made it 3-0. Kaitlyn Guild capped the scoring in the third inning with a two-run double down the left field line.
Haverford walked off with a win on Senior Day after three more runs scored in the sixth inning. Alex Craig got things started with a double into the left centerfield gap. Two straight errors pushed the first two runs of the inning across the plate. Koshinski delivered the walk-off single with two outs in the eventual 8-0 win.
Tauriello went the distance in her milestone victory as she allowed just four hits over her six innings. She struck out seven and did not allow a walk.
Softball is now in a three-way tie for second place in the Centennial Conference with McDaniel and Gettysburg after today's results. The Fords will battle Gettysburg in the regular season finale next Saturday with the road doubleheader set for a 1 p.m. start. McDaniel will play first-place Washington College in the final weekend of the season. The Shorewomen have a one-game lead on the three teams that are chasing them for the right to host the conference tournament.