CHESTERTOWN, Md. – The Haverford College softball team staved off elimination with a resounding 7-1 victory against McDaniel on Saturday afternoon in the first elimination game of the Centennial Conference Tournament. The fourth-seeded Fords dropped their opening game against Washington College by a 3-2 score.
The Fords will now face the loser of Washington College and Gettysburg in Sunday's second elimination game. The Shorewomen and Bullets saw their game suspended in the top of the sixth inning due to darkness with Washington College in front, 7-3. That game will resume Sunday at 10 a.m. The Fords' battle with the loser of that contest will be played after a 30 minute break from the first game. Haverford will need three straight victories tomorrow to clinch the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA Championship.
Haverford scored first in its matchup against the host Shorewomen. Rachel Wolfson's double into the right centerfield gap scored Emily Winesett, who was on to run from Emily Gorman after a leadoff single. However, the Shorewomen answered back with a two-run bases loaded single in the bottom of the third. The hosts added their final run of the afternoon in the fourth inning.
Haverford brought the game to within a single run on a Miwa Wenzel single in the sixth inning. However, Wenzel would be stranded on third to end the frame. The Fords also had the potential game-tying run on base in the seventh inning following a two-out single from Julia Blake before a strikeout ended Haverford's opening game.
Kendall Chambers got the start and allowed just five hits and three runs (two earned) over her four innings of work. Sara Tauriello came on in relief and allowed just one hit, while striking out four, in her two innings of relief.
Tauriello got the ball again for the elimination game and went the distance for the win. She allowed just six hits and one run during the win against McDaniel. The two sides were tied 1-1 after two innings, but three runs in both the fourth and sixth innings kept the season alive.
Back-to-back doubles from Kristin Tatum and Jessica Koshinski to start the fourth inning got the first big inning started. Koshinski advanced to third on the throw into the infield on her double and scored on an RBI from Wenzel that was misplayed by the shortstop. Wolfson added a second unearned run to the inning when she singled back through the middle with two down. Haverford added three more insurance runs in the sixth inning with an RBI groundout from Kaitlyn Guild and two-run single from Tatum.
McDaniel's biggest threat came in the bottom of the sixth inning when the Green Terror put two runners on with a two-out hit by pitch and single. However, a pop up to short got the Fords out of that jam. McDaniel also stranded the bases loaded in the bottom of the second after tying the game. Tauriello got the team out of that jam with a ground out to second base.